TOLOCO EM-26 Massage Gun

I was recommended by my physiotherapist to use a percussion massage gun to loosen up my calves and shoulders, but I couldn't justify paying $300 or more for a Theragun. First, I picked up the sharper Image pro(SIP) massager from Costco for about $100. It seemed okay, although somewhat loud. After a few days, I came across this TOLOCO T11 pro massager on Amazon, and thought to give it a try, especially since it was being offered at an amazing promotion price. The regular price for TOLOCO is in the ballpark of the popular SIP, and they both offer very similar functions and form factor, so I thought it made sense to compare them side-by-side. Size and Weight: The Toloco is almost the same size as the sharper image, though the handle is a bit thicker than the SIP. They both have about the same weight. Using either of these shouldn't be a problem for an athlete or an average person, but if you have particularly small hands or suffer from conditions that limit your grip or arm strength, you might want to get someone else to help you administer the massage. Build Quality: The Toloco feels solidly built; there is no give or movement on any of the surfaces of the machine. There's a nice colored ring that lights up when the machine is powered on, and the back display is bright and clear. The SIP is comparable in this regard, with the advantage of having a bit nicer feel and a metallic color on the surface of the machine. The seams on the SIP also have no gap. On the Toloco, there are small changes in height between some surfaces (apparent in the photos) but these are only aesthetics and don't impact the function in any way. Performance: Now this is where I was impressed by Toloco. The first thing I noticed was how quiet it is compared the SIP. I was bothered by the noise the SIP makes starting from lower settings and getting louder as I increased the power. But the Toloco is pleasantly quiet at the lowest setting, with very small increases to the noise when increasing the power all the way up (I have uploaded a video comparing the two). SIP falsely advertises itself as whisper quiet but that is the description that the Toloco deserves. The only unexpected noise that I got on both devices was a very low volume but high frequency noise (like a hiss) that came from the display when the devices were On but idle. Ofcourse, this is not a practical issue, as you are supposed to turn off the device when not using it, and you absolutely won't be able to hear this hiss during the massage. Next in the performance department, Toloco can be adjusted in 20 steps, compared to the six steps on the SIP. This certainly gives you more fine-grained control over your massage experience, if that is something that you require. Toloco's max RPM is 3200. The full strength on both devices seems to be comparable with a bit of an edge for Toloco but I can't tell for sure as the SIP doesn't provide the power for their motor. Regarding the movement range, the Toloco cites 12mm as its amplitude, while again the SIP says nothing about its range of motion. I could be mistaken but I feel that Toloco has a higher range of motion, which is exactly what you want in a massage gun, as it enables you to reach deeper tissue. Battery: The battery size on both is advertised as 2500mah. The battery percentage is shown on both devices. I have never used either of them so much to run out of juice, and I'm in the habit of not letting any battery run completely empty as it is supposedly bad for the battery life on any kind of electronics. But I can say that using the Toloco for the recommended 10 minutes didn't put a dent in the battery, as indicated by the display. Speaking of the 10 minute limit, both devices recommend limiting your sessions to 10 minutes at each sitting. This is partly due to physiological reasons and to prevent you from overworking your muscles. But also, you need to give the motor on these kinds of devices some rest to prevent overheating. The Toloco has an auto-shut off function that turns the device off after 10 minutes of continuous use. I appreciate this feature as it protects my device. I don't know if the SIP has a similar feature, but I didn't see it in the manual. Accessories: I was initially persuaded to buy the SIP because of its 6 massage heads, but Toloco comes with a whopping 15 massage heads! It is certainly nice to have more choices about the shape and size of the heads you wanna use. The SIP tries to make up for it by including two soft ball heads as opposed to only one in Toloco, but I personally prefer having more options instead of one more soft head. Both devices come with nice carrying bags and a separate smaller case for the heads. The last thing worth mentioning here is the user manual; I really liked that Toloco gives you detailed specification of the device and provides you with extra information regarding the heads and how to use the device in general. The SIP comes with a very small manual that tells you almost nothing about the device itself and says very little on how to use it. Generally, I recommend that you go online and watch some videos on how to use a percussion gun, if you haven't had previous experience with one, but it's not necessary, and you can start right away by pointing the gun at you muscle and starting to get the pleasant feeling! All in all, I found the Toloco to be a formidable device, capable of holding its own and even providing advantages over the popular SIP device. As a declaimer, I should say that I have used both of these devices for only a few days, as I wanted to write this review as soon as I can, before returning the Sharper Image device that I don't need anymore to Costco. Therefore, I have no idea about the longevity of either device. I will try to update this review after a few months of use and let you know how it holds up (though if I don't, it usually means that it is working fine :D) .