Osaki OS-3000
It’s been quite a couple of weeks in the massage chair industry. Infinity announces it’s new Iyashi model, Luraco announces an astounding $3000 jump in the price of the their new iRobotics 6, and Osaki comes out with it’s newly designed OS-3000.
Prior to the change, the OS-3000 was basically a “lesser” version of the very popular OS-4000, the chair that essentially put the Osaki chairs on the map. It didn’t have the feature set of the OS-4000 but it looked exactly like it. Well, I suspect that sales of the OS-3000 were suffering because of the similarities. My experience in this industry is that when two models are presented to the public, with a differentiation of features yet a similar body style, the sales of the more expensive of the two will be much greater. This could be said for the Inada Sogno vs. Inada Sogno Plus when that chair first came to market in 2008, as well as the HT-7120 vs. the HT-5040 vs. the HT-3300 from the good folks at Human Touch.
And, now Osaki has made the move to redesign the OS-3000 to further differentiate it from the OS-4000 and perhaps create a new market and demand for this new product.
Here are the features as I’ve had them relayed to me by my friends at Osaki:
1. Roller system that extends beyond the low back and into the buttocks and thighs. Osaki reports a roller track length of 36″, which is a good bit longer than the 31″ “record” previously held by the Osaki OS-7075R and the Panasonic MA70 models. Of course, if you read my last blog post about the new Infinity Iyashi, you’ll see that the 36″ track actually pales in comparison to the 49″ length of that new model.
I’ve always wanted rollers that would extend below the low back. Inada teased us with the way it’s rollers hit the sacrum and the top of the buttocks, but now we have these two new models, in the Osaki OS-3000 and the Infinity Iyashi which, it would appear, really get down to the gluts and hamstrings. Great news for tight hamstring sufferers and hopefully a bit of a reprieve for sciatica sufferers, too!
2. 180 degree recline. This is a nice feature. I don’t know if you’ve sat on a chair that actually reclines to a full 180 degrees, but is feels great. Even though it is only 10 degrees further than the 170 degree recline of most other massage chairs, that 10 degrees makes quite a difference. You will actually feel like you are inverted and that your head is below your lower body. Spinal decompression fans will particularly get a kick out of this feature.
3. Seat and leg vibration. If you like vibration therapy, you will love this. If you don’t like vibration, and there are folks who don’t, this might be annoying to you. Vibration can be extremely relaxing so having it in these two areas will put you in la-la land.
Other features included in the new OS-3000 are body scan technology, new remote design, and chromotherapy. The price, after a $300 instant discount, is $2249. Colors, as far as I know, will be black, brown, charcoal, cream.
Dr. Alan Weidner
www.massage-chair-relief.com
