At First Glance, The Champ Is An Impressive Massage Chair At A Reasonable Price!

Welcome to yet another massage chair review! Hope you guys had a splendid week and are taking care of yourselves during this pandemic.

Today we will be looking at one of Osaki’s recently released massage chairs, the OS Champ.

Aside from packing an L-Track as well as independent foot rollers, the Champ offers space saving recline as well as 2 stages of zero gravity. “Impressive” are my initial thoughts. The more I look at the Champ, the more I think it’s an upgrade/update to the now ancient, but still impressive 4000T.

Osaki, along with other big massage chair brands have come to realise that many individuals just do not have the budget to spend $2K for a massage chair. As recent as 2 years ago, the options these individuals would’ve had would be limited.

However, these days (in 2020) you can find a solid unit for less than $2K!

One trend I am starting to notice more and more especially in the last 6 months is the phasing out of S-Track chairs in favour of L-Tracks. We see more and more brands like Osaki/Titan/Infinity and other brands all favouring the use of L-Track rollers instead of S-Track.

This is definitely a positive as far as I’m concerned because you get an extended range of massage that goes all the way to the glutes, but….

The caveat is that S-Tracks give you that tight spinal tracking which in my opinion an L-Track might not. SL-Track is the best of all options but comes with a hefty price tag. An interesting evolution in technology and I just love being at the forefront of it all!

Here’s a quick synopsis of the Osaki OS Champ! (source: Official Titan Osaki Massage Channel)

5 Interesting Features Of The Osaki OS Champ Massage Chair!

#1 2D L-Track Rollers

I gotta say I’m impressed to see that more and more brands are introducing newly released L-Track chairs at very affordable prices. Previously it was the Riage CS from Infinity I reviewed that had an L-Track, and that chair cost less than $1K!

If you’re unfamiliar with 2D rollers, here’s a quick explanation on what they are and how they function!

But what are rollers? If you’ve never seen inside an actual massage chair, like inside the upholstery I mean, then it’s hard to have an appreciation.

Rollers are to a massage chair, as hands are to a massage therapist!

In other words, without rollers you’ve got no massage chair. They’re the most integral component responsible for delivering massage to the user. In most massage chairs, rollers have been designed and programmed to be able to perform several different massage techniques ranging from Shiatsu, kneading, tapping etc.

The Osaki OS Champ is fitted with a 2D roller system mounted on an L-Track. But what’s an L-Track?

Think of it this way….the roller needs to be mounted on something, a track of some sorts. The track is simply a means for the roller to move from neck downwards. It’s like the car and road analogy. In order to drive a car, you need a road. Same deal with the rollers!

So like this there are different types of roller tracks. There are 3 main types you should know about:

#2 It’s Got 5 Auto Modes To Pick From

I’m always very big on auto modes, so when I evaluate a massage chair, it’s one of the first few things I look for.

The more auto modes on a massage chair, the better!

5 auto modes is what you would expect to see in an entry level, budget massage chair. Seeing the price of the OS Champ, I’m not sure if it’s right for me to be disappointed. However, if this chair was upward of $2K, this for sure would be a shortcoming!

What are these 5 auto modes?

Note: If you don’t count the demo mode, the OS Champ has a total of 4 auto modes. All things considered, it’s not much at all. My current massage chair has about the same number of modes, and I can tell you that it didn’t take me long to get bored of these 4 routines.

#3 It’s Got A Total Of 18 Airbags

What are airbags?

Airbags are pouches that simultaneously inflate/deflate with compressed air. Because these airbags are located adjacent to muscles, they push against and compress these muscles thereby resulting in a compression style massage.

Foot airbags give a compression massage to the feet. Hand airbags give a compression massage to the hands, and so on so forth. The OS Champ has a total of 18 airbags located in various parts of the chair such as the arms, shoulders, calves, feet and waist. Below image shows the approximate locations of these 18 airbags.

Word Of Caution: Compression massage can be pretty painful if a high intensity is selected. It’s always best to start off at a low intensity setting and then make your way up as your body feels comfortable. You can always adjust intensity from the remote control to a lower setting as required.

#4 Foot Roller Massage Covers The Bottom Of The Feet!

Definitely impressed to see foot rollers on the OS Champ. For how little it costs, I wasn’t expecting a design that has foot rollers.

Are foot rollers important and should you look for them when buying a massage chair?

In my honest opinion (and this is just my opinion and nothing more!), foot rollers are absolutely necessary in a massage chair. Without them, foot massage is severely lacking. The airbags in the foot area are not enough to deliver a comprehensive foot massage, and that’s why foot rollers are required.

I say this after having used a chair with foot rollers and without, and my experience tells me that they are a must. I know that other bloggers might feel differently and that’s totally fine, everyone is entitled to their opinion and this is mine.

Anyways, let me know what you guys think. Are you for foot rollers or do you think they don’t matter? Leave it in the comments!

#5 Space Saving Recline (But Not Really….)

Space saving recline is a feature common to most modern massage chairs. It’s an incredibly simple feature that allows large massage chairs to fit in tight, constrained spaces. This typically would not be possible, but with space saving recline, it is.

What is space saving recline?

It’s a pretty simple feature where the chair moves forward on a base as it’s reclined backward. What this essentially does is reduce the overall clearance required from the back of the chair to the wall. But by how much does it reduce this distance?

Different chairs perform differently when it comes to this. I’ve seen chairs that only require one or two inches of clearance, and then I’ve seen chairs that require several inches.

The OS Champ requires about 9 inches of clearance!

Which is quite a bit if you ask me. While most chairs from Osaki have excelled in this area of “space saving”, I must say I’m a little disappointed with how they’ve designed the OS Champ. Anyways, more on this in the cons section below!

Osaki OS Champ Massage Chair Specifications

Osaki OS Champ Massage Chair Pros & Cons

Should You Buy The Osaki OS Champ Massage Chair?

There’s only one way to properly answer this question, and that is to do a side by side comparison of the OS Champ against other similar 2D L-Track massage chairs!

Now you’re probably wondering “why don’t we compare a 2D chair to a 3D or 4D chair?” If you wanted to, you can compare anything against anything! But the risk with doing this is you’re not seeing like to like.

Ever heard the saying compare apples to apples? Same deal applies with massage chairs! Compare 2D to 2D, 3D to 3D, and 4D to 4D!

This way you will get the most benefit, and you’ll be able to clearly see which is the more superior product. It’s for this reason I always compare one chair to another chair that’s similar in terms of technology. Let’s do the same here!

We will be comparing the Osaki OS Champ to the Osaki OS Pro Maxim and the Apex AP Pro Ultra massage chairs. Both are fantastic chairs in their own right and have earned a solid reputation as best selling units!

What do you think?

Price is usually the deciding factor for most people, as it should be! Knowing this let’s talk about pricing. The OS Champ is about $1K and then some cheaper than the Pro Maxim and the Pro Ultra. Granted the Pro Maxim and Pro Ultra are better chairs in terms of performance and functionality, but….the OS Champ is still a decent chair!

If you’re on a tight budget, but you want a 2D L-Track chair no matter what, the OS Champ is definitely a decent option!

It’s got decent rollers coupled with a solid foot massage system. The only 2 shortcomings are the reduced auto modes as well as the chair not being able to accommodate larger body types. Otherwise, I can’t see anything wrong the OS Champ!

Again, this is my opinion and how I see and evaluate chairs. That’s not to say everyone else’s opinion agrees with mine. As you should with any big investment, do your due diligence! Read up on other reviews and then decide for yourself based on what makes most sense for you and you only. If you got anything from this post, let it be this!

Hope You Got Some Value!

If you enjoyed reading and got some value from this post, please consider sharing it! If you have any unanswered questions, feel free to chuck them down below in the comments and I’ll be sure to get back to ya! Otherwise, have a splendid week ahead!

Osaki OS Champ images were used with permission from Osaki Massage Chair