The Infinity IT-8500 vs the Osaki OS-PRO Honor
When reviewing massage chairs, especially fairly expensive chairs, some features can make or break your decision. When you look at the IT-8500 and the OS-PRO Honor, understanding what sets them apart is crucial for your decision making. Which of these $4,999 massage chairs will offer the massage you want? These chairs provide an S-Track or L-Track massage, and there are some supplementary features that differ as well.
Let’s start with understanding the most important feature- the massage track.
S-Track
The S-Track, named after the S-shape of the human spine, is the standard track found in a massage chair. The S-Track rollers move up and down your back without losing contact with you as they follow the natural curvature of your spine.
It moves more forward at your neck and lower back and comes back a bit at the middle back and tailbone so that you receive the most comfortable, most effective massage. Spines aren’t straight lines, after all, so you don’t want the track to be a straight line.
L-Track
As developments in massage chairs progress further, the S-Track was extended into the L-Track. The L-Track can travel down the spine under the seat to the glutes and hamstrings. The first L-Track prototype was an Inada.
However, Inada took time to perfect their chair, and because of this Infinity launched its Iyashi model, the first commercially available L-Track massage chair. More and more models have come out since then, and many have started to implement the extended L-Track for greater massage coverage.
S-Track vs. L-Track
When you’re examining each track, think of it this way. The L-Track is an extension of the S-Track that massages your seat and hamstrings. It can work the glutes, piriformis, and hamstrings just as effectively as the neck, mid-back, and lower back. Before the L-Track was created, these areas could only be reached by airbags.
If you suffer from tight or sore glutes or have sciatica or piriformis syndrome, an L-Track could be a great addition to your massage chair. And remember, an L-Track massage chair still delivers the benefits of an S-Track. After all, the L-Track is just an extension of the S-Track.
Now, let’s take a look at what these specific chairs offer.
Infinity IT-8500
The Infinity IT-8500 massage chair is one of the best-selling Inversion therapy massage chairs offered by Infinite Therapeutics. Designed with several high-end features, this chair provides a quality massage experience using innovative technology like inversion therapy positions that relax parts of your body that the massage roller can’t reach. Learn more about this inversion therapy massage chair below.
Features
Inversion Therapy
Inversion therapy is what Infinity massage chairs are best known for. By putting gravity to work for you, the IT-8500 lengthens your spine, allowing the vertebrae to decompress and relieving pressure throughout your back. This chair has numerous pain-relieving benefits for both your neck and your lower back.
Zero Gravity
The zero gravity position, introduced by NASA a few decades ago, is designed to mitigate stress on the body as the result of gravity. The Infinity IT-8500 offers two stages of zero gravity that raise your legs above your heart to promote better circulation and minimize gravity’s influence on your spine and joints.
Spinal Correction
Through the Tru-Grip V Stretch program, you can improve your posture each time you enjoy a massage. As the airbag system works with the back rollers, the chair grabs you and stretches out the muscles along your spine to relieve tension and promote proper alignment.
Waist Twist
The seat twists your hips from side to side to stretch the lower back and hip muscles. This loosens up tension in the lower back and hips that cause lower back pain. This feature has three levels of adjustable speed and is available at the push of a button. You can combine this with your massage or use it alone.
Optical Body Scanning
Every time you start a massage program, the rollers glide up your back to map of your unique shape and curvature. This ensures that the rollers hit all of the right muscles. This has become a staple in modern massage chairs so that every user can receive a customized massage.
Quad-Style Massage Roller
The IT-8500’s massage roller features four massage heads that mimic the feel of human hands. There are three levels of width adjustment as well as six adjustable speed levels. This style of massage roller is advanced and has become a staple in most modern chairs.
30” S-Track
The S-Track accurately mimics the curvature of the human spine for a uniform massage across your entire back, including often neglected areas such as the lower back and the upper shoulder areas. At 30” long this track makes the IT-8500 ideal for users from 5’1” to 6’4”.
Elaborate Airbag Massage System
There are 38 airbags strategically placed throughout the chair that offer a compression massage to your hands, arms, legs, shoulders, and feet. This system is the basis for almost all of the stretching programs in the IT-8500. The system works in tandem with the rollers and by inflating in the shoulder, lower back, and foot area, you’ll receive a deeper tissue massage.
Lumbar Heat
Heat therapy is a quick way to loosen up muscles. Two heating elements have been placed in the lumbar of the backrest to help loosen up the large muscle groups in the area. This home massage chair allows your back massage and stretch programs to be even more effective, and greatly improves the benefit you receive from your massage.
Foot Massage Rollers
Massage rollers built into the leg rest deliver a vigorous, relaxing reflexology massage that targets acupoints at the bottom of your feet. There are three massage rollers in each footrest that offer three levels of adjustable speed to suit your personal tastes.
Intuitive Panel-Style Remote
The remote provides easy access to everything you need to quickly personalize your massage. There are four automatic programs and six massage styles to choose from to customize your massage.
Six Massage Styles
The six massage styles present include Kneading– deep strokes that focus on stretching the muscle, Tapping– quick, light taps on both sides of your back to relax muscles, Dual– combines Kneading and Tapping, Knocking– alternating tapping on either side of your spine, Shiatsu– firm strokes that relieve tension, and Synchronic- syncs up with your paired music device to provide a rhythmic massage.
Four Massage Programs
The four massage programs include Recover– full body massage for post-workout recovery, Refresh– ideal for morning time wake up routines, designed to revitalize and refresh the body, Extend– focuses on deep tissue massage and stretching, Relax– a lighter massage routine for relaxation and is ideal right before sleep.
Manual Massage Adjustments
Personalize every part of your massage from the technique being used and the area being massaged to the speed and width of the rollers. The remote lets you quickly make manual adjustments to your massage so that you can customize your massage to your needs at any given time.
Spot Massage
This feature allows you to pinpoint the location of your massage to work out specific areas of tension.
MP3 Player & Built-in Sound System
The sound system is quite impressive with built-in speakers that point inward instead of out into the room. It’ll create your own little world of relaxation. Plus, you can use any USB stick with your MP3’s on it and listen to your favorite music.
Independent Backrest and Footrest Recline
The backrest and footrest can be raised and lowered independently so that you can find an ideal position for lounging or sitting while receiving your massage.
Accu-roll Shoulder Massage Technology
This technology creates a more impressive upper body massage by tailoring the massage to your particular size and shape.
Now let’s look at the OS-PRO Honor.
Osaki OS-PRO Honor
The Osaki OS-PRO Honor offers an L-Track that was designed with Japanese-style massage mechanisms. The Honor has a simple and attractive design with sleek lines and an array of settings and capabilities. A unique feature to the Honor is the 3D+/3D- function, which the user can use to customize the chair’s dimensional effect, making the 3D massage techniques adjust to their needs during every massage.
Features
3D+/3D- Massage Rollers
Unique to the Honor, this feature allows you to customize how in-depth the 3D massage operates. The 3D technology allows you to control how far the rollers extend out from the backrest, adjusting them forward or backward. You can increase or decrease the effect through three different levels of adjustment for varied massage strengths.
Backrest Scanning
The Honor’s rollers can map your back with advanced accuracy, which translates into a more precise massage for all the key areas of your back. This highly advanced chair can self-adjust, making each massage experience unique and tailored to every user.
L-Track Massage
The Honor has an L-Track that can reach from your neck down through to your lower back and on to the glutes and upper hamstrings.
Zero Gravity
Inspired by NASA, zero gravity is the optimal position for relaxation and spine decompression. Plus, this position heightens your massage effects. In this position with your knees above your chest, you’ll experience improved blood flow and alleviated pain and achiness.
Space-Saving
Osaki's design team has engineered the Honor with space-saving technology, allowing it to fully recline n only 4.5 inches. This is a vast improvement over the previously needed 10 inches.
Full-Body Air Massages
There are 14 airbags throughout the massage chair in the shoulders, arms, lower back, feet, and calf area. These provide a compression massage that helps to improve blood circulation throughout your body and relieves pain and tension.
Heating
The Honor has heating pads in the lumbar area that offer a magnificent compliment to the roller and airbag massage. Heat is known to boost blood circulation and relax tense muscles.
Foot Rollers
The Honor has two spinning reflexology massage rollers in the footrest that offer a soothing kneading style massage, attending to acupuncture points. As the airbags inflate, a much deeper massage is created along the bottoms of your feet. It also offers an ankle grip function that holds your feet in place.
Arm Massage
Airbags offer a compression massage to your hands and forearms working together with the roller massage.
Extendable Footrest
The Honor’s leg rest can extend up to 4.5 inches to accommodate taller users.
Six Auto Programs
The Honor has six unique pre-programmed massage functions, each offering different combinations of massage styles and focused areas. They include: Neck / Shoulder, Strengthen, Relax, Thai, Recover, and Sleeping.
Simple Remote Control
The Honor remote has an easy-view screen where you can select the massage type, intensity, speed, and location. You can also operate the functions independently in the Manual Mode. Customize a massage by pressing the Spot or Partial Back Massage buttons, which allow you to choose a spot massage for any particular area of your back.
Six Massage Styles
You can select from six massage techniques that include Kneading, Tapping, Swedish, Shiatsu, Clapping, and Rolling.
Deciding Factors
When choosing between these two chairs, the massage experience you’re searching for is the most important factor in your purchase. Both of these chairs extend similar massage experiences, some of the same features, but their massage tracks and some of the supplementary features differ.
The inversion therapy, spinal correction, and waist twist features can make the IT-8500 very desirable. The 3D massage, space-saving, and L-Track can make the Honor very desirable. Do you want a chair that can provide a soothing, more decompressing massage? Then choose the IT-8500. Do you want the chair to provide a deep tissue massage with attention paid to your glutes without taking up to much space? Then choose the Honor.
What it all comes down to, as it does with most purchases, is your personal preference in a massage. What experience are you looking for and what chair delivers that experience for you?
If you have any questions about these massage chairs or any others on our site, you can contact us over the phone or through email at info@massagechairplanet.com. We can also offer you financing options that can make taking home either of the best-sellers much more doable. After all, nothing should stand between you and ultimate relaxation.