HT-7120 Massage Chair Review

This offering from Human Touch is quite popular, on doubt because of its price point as a good, name-brand massage chair. It is the

modern day equivalent of the HT-125, HT-135, and HT-136 models, which were quite popular up to 4-5 years ago.

My very first massage chair was an HT-125 and I used it in my clinic everyday to assist in the treatment of patients. It was delightfully durable, but I would periodically get complaints about its intensity. The rollers seemed to be too intense for some, the airbags in the calves was too intense for others.

I couldn’t do much to change the calf intensity since they were set by the manufacturer, but we could turn the ottoman over so that the legs of the patient were not massaged at all. For the roller intensity, the only thing we could do was put in a damper pillow, which came with the chair, to lessen the intensity.

Well, along came the HT-7120 massage chair, the “grown-up” version of the HT-125. About 3-4 years ago, Human Touch came out with the HT-7120, which provided all the things that were apparently lacking in the old 125/135/136 series, plus a little extra.

HT-7120 Massage Chair Features:

1. Intensity adjustment of the rollers. The HT-7120 has an intensity adjustment button on the side of the remote which moves the rollers forward and backward to accommodate a more or less intense massage. The chair still comes with a damper pillow, just in case the lowest intensity is still too intense. You can actually unzip the chair back and slide the damper pillow inside the chair back so that it is hidden. The old HT-125 did not have that discrete feature.

Human Touch massage chairs are well known for their intense rollers. I would have to say that the rollers in the Human Touch chairs are among the most vigorous in the industry. If you are looking for a  gentle massage that barely does anything to your muscles, you might want to try out something like the Panasonic 1285, but if you are looking for a good, vigorous massage any Human Touch chair will provide that for you, including the HT-7120.

2. Intensity adjustment of the calf airbags. This is an important one. Many, many patients could not handle the default airbag intensity in the old ottoman. Now, a calf width adjustment is available wherein the amount of air pumped into the calf airbags can be regulated to allow for more or less inflation and, thus, intensity.

The ottoman can still be rotated under so that the calf massage wells are not visible at all. If you can’t stand your calves massaged, no matter the intensity, you can always rotate the ottoman under and use it as a normal leg rest.

3. Low back heat. The old models did not have any heat element whatsoever. Now, the HT-7120 boasts low back heat. I think that the heat function in most chairs is overrated because your back will get heated up by the rollers going over your muscles repeatedly anyway. But, if you are fixated on having heat, the HT-7120 massage chair has a very nice heat function. Especially helpful if you have chronic muscle scar tissue.

4. Elegant style and design. I am not a sophisticated shopper, but I will say that I noticed the design on the old models was very, very plain. The new HT-7120 has a very nice, stylish, almost executive chair feel to it. It is still the same bonded leather upholstery but it seems so much more plush and elegant than the old models.

5. The old HT-125 had a button on the remote control to electronically move the ottoman up and down. The HT-7120 does not but has a lever at the side of the chair seat that you must pull up to lift the ottoman. I don’t like this as much as the old button on the remote, but you get used to it awfully fast.

Other notable features of  the HT-7120 massage chair include:

1. A base that offers a 60 degree swivel of the chair. This is one of the few massage chairs that has a swivel base feature.
2. 3 automatic programs. Not as sophisticated as more expensive massage chairs, but very basic full body, upper back, and lower back programs that provide a great massage for everyone.
3. 1 year comprehensive on-site warranty.
4. A “Stretch” program that most users of the chair absolutely love. The chair reclines, the calf airbags grab your calves, and the rollers go up and down your back while the chair back and ottoman go up and down. Great program that works your back out something fierce!
5. No body scan technology. Human Touch has a scanning technology they call “Acupoint Detection System” which allows the chair to get a reading of the spine and back of each user before beginning the massage. It uses the reading to determine how the massage will be carried out for your spine by the chair. The HT-7450 and HT-9500 massage chairs have this feature, but not the HT-7120.

So, the long and short of it is that the HT-7120 massage chair is a great bargain for the money. It is under $3000, it is made by a very big and well-known US massage chair company, it is manufactured in China, and Human Touch has a fabulous customer service department should you ever have a problem with your chair. You can’t go wrong with this chair and you’ll get a very good and vigorous massage.

Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com