****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
In the past several years, the quality of the hydrocollator packs have declined with seams splitting or the lift tabs pulling out/off. This product works well, but am already seeing fraying on the end lift tab. These do the job... just not for more than a year or two.Keep it damp in a baggie in the fridge. LOVE this baby! Works great anywhere moist heat is needed. Great on broken ribs. Instant relief.I have bad arthritis in my shoulder. They use this at physical therapy not to lessen pain but to warm up the joint prior to therapy. I purchased it for the same reason when i exercise my shoulder at home. I heated in a pot which takes about 1/2 hour then apply for 1/2 hour, so it's a commitment in time. It does work and feels great.Yes, I read the reviews, and I knew that some people said it feels so good, and others said it doesn't stay warm long enough, etc. But a trusted person recommended it to me for my painful back, and I decided to try it. Unfortunately, while I am using it, I can't say I recommend it for others.First of all, the appearance is off-putting. It looks like something from a psych ward circa 1952. Industrial-looking canvas, odd loops of webbing at the four corners, and just clunky in every way. I made my own cover for it by folding a kitchen towel in half and stitching up 3 sides of it, and that works fine.The method of preparing to use it is also awkward. Before you use it for the first time, you have to find a container large enough to hold it, but not one made of aluminum (like my largest pot is) and soak it for 2 hours. Then if you want to use it regularly, you are advised to keep it immersed in water all the time (where? I don't have room for this!) or if you will only use it occasionally, you should store it in the freezer. And finally, for each use, you either boil it in a large pot of water (which will take 10-20 minutes) or you can submerge it in water and microwave it--but again, this is unexpectedly more trouble than you might think. I don't have a container large enough to fill with water, submerge this 10 x 12" item, and fit it into the microwave. It will take 10 minutes or more to heat all that water. And if you back hurts, do you really want to be lugging pots of water around? Finally, you are told to heat it till the water it is in reaches 160 degrees, rather than a time. So either get out your thermometer or just take a guess.After all that, you put it into a towel-cover and put it on your back. And yes, it feels great, and the warm moist heat is soothing. But the heat dissipates quickly, and now your clothes are damp, so in the end, it really is not up to 21st century expectations of convenience.Good points--moist heat feels great, and you don't need any fancy equipment to use this, just a way to boil water, so it would work on a camping trip or in primitive surroundings. Bad points--it takes longer to prepare it than the time the heat it holds lasts.When I first used this, I thought I had made a mistake. It was not pliable at all and didn't seem to produce much heat. And I tried it again and again. I ultimately realized this unit needs to be resoaked and reheated a few times before it is pliable enough to give quality heat transmission. After using it about 3 times, the heat was amazing. Again, after using it just one time, I was going to ask for a refund. Give it time and it does its job.Works well. Durable. Maintains heat for 30 min. Moist heat is not recommended for longer than 30 min intervals. Well made.I love the fact that the moist heat removes the pain within a few minutes. I don’t have to worry about forgetting to turn off a heating pad or running out of hot water in shower.I have endured 5 surgeries on shoulders and neck including a laminectomy. It had become virtually impossible to get relief from the pain in the muscles and ligaments supporting my head. This beats pain medication any time.I have had a large Chattanooga hydrocolator for decades andthe pads used to be made of Navy-grade heavy-duty cotton duck fabric. They lasted for YEARS! they started using thinner and cheaper cotton duck that disintegrates in the hot water in only weeks. This causes the bentonite clay to ooze out and muddies the tank water.Its really disappointing to have a good (and expensive) tank I want to keep using but have to keep buying cheaply made pads that are not priced as a frequent disposable product. I believe the pads are now made in China. We need to go back to making our products in the U.S.A. again.It's a healing heat pac that is boiled in a pot. After heated wrap with a towel. I've been using this product(s) since 1987. Highly recommend this product for tradesmen and athletes, or anyone who has tight sore muscles. My chiropractor applied it to my 2 month old back pain and it relieved me of this chronic pain the next day!I wish I could put a 0 star. First off shipping took longer than normal packages. I had initially purchased the long one for the back and I quite like it. So I went ahead and ordered the one for the next and I sincerely regret it. The one for the neck is paper thin. And in order to return it I lose 15% of the price I paid as some sort of a deposit. Ridiculous. I supposed I might return it anyway and take the loss for the 15% but this is horrible in this day and age where shipping and returning is so easy and often free of charge.The product is not what it claims to be. It does not stay even warm for 15 minutes. AND NOTE; THEY WILL NOT LET YOU RETUN THEIR JUNK….WASTE OF MONEYI had this product recommended by an occupational therapist for a rotator cuff injury.It gives me so much relief and used consistently it has given me more movement to my shoulder.The only problem I find is that being an older person I have to be very careful lifting it out of the boiling waterI just purchased approx. 4-5 of these 3 weeks ago. Received them 2.5 weeks ago, and if one is already broken and leaking. I’m extremely unhappy with the quality. It also says I cannot return.
