INADA HCP-S373 (B) Flex 3s Massage Chair, Black

We did not purchase this chair from Amazon, but it's such a fantastic purchase, I have to rave about it. It does its job and the feeling thereafter is absolutely comparable to that after a session with a massage therapist. Does it light aromatic candles and talk in a soothing voice? No.. but it will work those tight muscles. I can see that I couldn't write a better review than Bruno but I would like to get behind everything he said.I'd like to add that the manufacturer's customer service department has been spectacular. They provided immediate and effective support with an issue we had and solved our problem.

As of the time I am writing this review, the Inada Flex 3S is incredibly new to the market. In fact, I was the first person to own one of these chairs in the Washington, DC area!A few notes first:-I own 2 massage chairs, as a result of brain surgery and a car accident. The chairs are meant to address muscle spasms, chronic neurological pain, and bad posture-My other massage chair is the kind that gives you an aggressive deep tissue massage, and can be directed to very specific areas of your body. I will refer to it hereafter as the "aggressive chair."-I always thought the Dreamwave was a little too wimpy... thus my desire to get the aggressive chairFor years, I had the impression that there one makes a trade-off between sophistication (Inada) and intensity (other brands) when choosing certain massage chair brands. This was my mindset going into my purchase of the Flex 3S.This may sound crazy, but I actually made the purchase sight-unseen. I never got the chance to try a Flex 3S on the display floor. They hadn't been fully distributed in the DC area yet! My first experience with the Flex was when it arrived in my house, fully assembled! But I decided to pull the trigger for three reasons:1) I got a great deal on the chair,2) I heard great testimonials from people who had tried it, and3) From all accounts, it seemed like the one chair that could fix my "computer hunch" posture - something that has bothered me my entire life.I was absolutely nervous and skeptical during my first session. Would it be too "wimpy" like the Inada? Would it REALLY help my posture, as advertised?Let me just say that I was shocked to find how aggressive this thing can be with the simple press of one button, "Max Intensity." The pre-programmed sessions on the front of the controller are all incredible. It used to be that my favorite session was "Full Body Stretch" (Program 2) but now I prefer "Fully Body Massage and Stretch" (Program 1). Actually, I like every single program... but I always start with the massage and stretch. It really does both.Appearance wise, this chair is chic and small compared to the goliath, aggressive one that sits right next to it. I went with the black model and am very happy with its appearance. Since I was the first person in the DC area to get one of these chairs (!), I had a unique experience: I got to use it exclusively for 2 weeks before I got my "aggressive" chair.Within two weeks of use, several times a day, every day, my hunched-over posture improved dramatically. A tight band of muscle that used to run through my thoracic spine area became as soft as putty. People started to remarked that I was standing up taller, and seemed more confident (most were unaware that I owned the chair). As if this weren't good enough, I could feel a remarkable difference myself: improved self-confidence, better spinal mobility, and - crucial to me - drastically reduced back pain. It is amazing how much bad posture contributes to back pain. This is something that you don't appreciate until you drastically improve your posture.And when I say "drastically improved posture," I am not exaggerating. I was hopeful but skeptical of the claims that Inada made about this chair. Would it really reform my spine into an ideal S shape? To begin with, my lower (lumbar) spine was straight, whereas it should swoop inwards (this is a result of computer hunching). My middle (lumbar) spine had an exaggerated arch, that led into my neck (cervical) spine, which was in a permanent "head-forward" position. You all know what I am referring to. If you don't, just look at someone who hunches over at a computer all day.I am beyond thrilled to testify that the Inada Flex 3S has pulled my spine into an ideal position... in less than a month. It has done more for me than a lifetime of going to chiropractors, physical therapists, yoga classes, using foam rollers... you name it. This chair is simply incredible in those respects. It also strikes the perfect balance of subtle/sophisticated and aggressive.Every single pre-programmed session on the front of the controller is worth going through. There are even more pre-programmed sessions inside of the "custom settings" flap of the controller that are also worth your time. In fact, I would call them essential. Here are my current favorite programs, in order (they are always changing):1) Massage and stretch (Program 1)2) Stretch/Low body (Inside the flap, under "Focused Sessions")3) Full body stretch (Program 2)4) Low body focus *Quite simply... this one just feels really niceMy personal preference is to press the "Maximum intensity" button for all of these sessions. Keep in mind that I am a muscular, 30 year-old male.Let me take a few moments to explain the difference between "Stretch/Low body" and "Full body stretch." I think that the programs may be mislabeled a bit, but that's okay... because they rock."Stretch/Low body" has the following defining feature: the chair pulls your shoulders back; it brings the rollers to your midback (or a different part of your back, if you are creative enough to "hack the chair" using the shoulder position buttons); the chair puts you into a sitting position... and then gently pushes forward on your midback, while keeping your shoulders back. It is an absolutely divine sensation. The chair holds that stretch for awhile, then it starts massaging your back.The "Full body stretch" mode is very similar, except that you are in a lieing down position while all of this happens. There are also periods when, instead of having rollers pushing into your back, the rollers retract (giving a completely different type of stretch). For reasons that I don't completely understand, these two different modes improve my posture in different ways. It truly does seem like the "Stretch/low body" program pushes your lowback forward more.Ultimately, "it just works."However, the chair isn't perfect. I debated for weeks about whether these imperfections deserved subtracting a star or half-star from my review. But... ultimately... I couldn't bring myself to do it. The benefits of this chair simply outshine any of the negatives that I can think of. Here they are, nonetheless:-The controller: little to nothing has changed between this controller and the Dreamwave controller. Inada had 5 years to make a more sophisticated controller... and yet, they have kind of fallen behind the competition in this regard. This isn't a fatal flaw, but it would make customizations, and visualizations of what the chair is doing better-Lack of thoracic/lumbar heating. This seemed like more of an issue when I first got the chair. However... the rollers heat up on their own, probably due to friction. So this really isn't much of a problem.-Lastly, and most crucially, you need to STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE independently of using this chair in order to truly maintain your posture. This chair WILL, as near as I can tell, GIVE YOU perfect posture. But if your core muscles aren't strong enough to maintain this new back position... your spine will want to revert back.Still, the positives of this chair so far outweigh the negatives that it deserves nothing less than a perfect rating. Whereas other massage chairs out there temporarily (for days or so) relieve muscle pain, the Inada Flex 3S has the potential to fix posture-related back pain FOR LIFE. This chair is expensive, no doubt, but how much is perfect posture and vastly reduced back pain worth to you? I would pay for this chair twice over, knowing what I do now.How about my "aggressive chair"? Well... it is still very nice... but I could probably live without it. I would not hesitate to pick the Flex 3S over my other chair if I were pressed to take "just one." The Flex 3S does so, so much one its own. Sure, there are some things that it does not do, but... at the end of the day, those "missing" things don't really matter.If you are in the market for a massage chairs - or if you have been suffering from bad posture your entire life - DO YOURSELF A FAVOR and take a serious look at this chair. The Inada Flex 3S has changed my life... and I am not one to exaggerate.

It's an awesome massage chair. I recommend it.