Titan Luca V Massage Chair Review

Titan Luca V Massage Chair Review

7.2

Back Massage

8.5/10

Foot/Calf Massage

8.0/10

AIR COMPRESSION MASSAGE

8.0/10

User Flexibility (Height/Weight)

6.5/10

Value For Money

5.0/10

Pros

  • Because It Only Requires 4'' Clearance, The Luca V Is Great For Tight Spaces!
  • 50'' L-Track Allows For Extended Massage All The Way To The Glutes!

Cons

  • For A 2D Chair, It's Quite Expensive!
  • User Flexibility Is Slightly Lacking
  • 4 Auto Modes Are Disappointing And Result In A Limited User Experience

Luca V: A Somewhat New Release…..

The Luca V was released back in early 2019 making it almost 2 years old, given that 2020 is almost at a close. We’ll go through a detailed review but my initial impressions of this chair are the following:

Too Few Auto Modes—4 auto modes for a chair that costs about $3K is in my mind unacceptable. I think because of this the Luca V lacks in terms of overall user experience.
Pricey!—All things considered, the Luca V is quite pricey for how little it offers in comparison to other massage chairs. This will make a lot more sense later on in the post.
User Flexibility Is Not The Best—Specifically the Luca V’s ability to accommodate various height ranges is lacking in my honest opinion. More flexibility would have been nice.

These 3 things (auto modes, price, and user flexibility) alone are a deal breaker for me, but I think it’s still important to do a full review so you can see the reason behind my thinking.

I’m also not too blown away by the commercial ad from Titan which seems to focus more on the luxury aspects of owning a massage chair rather than the key aspects/features of the Luca V (Video Credit: Official Titan Osaki Massage Channel).

Alright, let’s dive in and talk specifics!

 

5 Things To Know About The Titan Luca V Massage Chair!

#1 It’s Got A 50” 2D L-Track

One of the things I actually like about the Luca V is it’s 2D quad roller system that’s mounted on a 50” L-Track. Lots of massage chair lingo there, so let’s take some time to break it all down!

What does “2D” mean and what are 2D rollers?

2D simply means 2-dimensions. Before we talk about 2D rollers, let’s try to understand what rollers are. Rollers are the most important contraption on a massage chair, as they are responsible for delivering 70-80% of the massage.

At this present time, there are 3 main types of rollers: 2D, 3D, and 4D.

From all 3, 2D rollers are the most basic and oldest technology. They move in 2-dimensions: up/down tracing along the vertical axis of the back, and side to side tracing along the horizontal axis of the back. The arrows in the image below depicts this better.

2D Rollers Move Up/Down & Left/Right

So that’s basically 2D rollers in a nutshell. Now that you know what 2D rollers are, what’s this thing called L-Track? L-Track is a type of roller track. A roller track is basically what allows the rollers to move. Without a roller track, rollers would be confined to one position at all times.

A roller track allows the rollers to move from the neck to lower back, or in the case of an L-Track chair, all the way from the neck to the glutes and hamstrings.

Titan Luca V L-Track

Can you guess why they call it an L-Track? Leave your answer in the comments down below!

You should also know that there are 2 roller tracks you can currently find on most massage chairs: S-Track and L-Track.

S-Tracks are great for back massage because they tightly contour to the spine’s “S” shape, L-Tracks in my opinion are better than S-Tracks because you get extended coverage from the neck to the glutes, something you wouldn’t get in an S-Track.

SL-Track is the same as L-Track, there is no difference at all. It’s just that some manufacturers call an L-Track an SL-Track so that people understand that the L-Track still has the “S” curvature.

#2 It’s Got A Total Of 4 Auto Modes (Nowhere Near Enough In My Opinion!)

Auto modes are the very reason why 95% of people decide to purchase a massage chair in the first place. Why are auto modes so important?

Because they offer the flexibility and the convenience of simply sitting in a massage chair, pushing a button, and getting a massage basically right away!

This is not true for traditional massage where you would need to book an appointment, drive to the establishment, wait your turn to allow the therapist to clean and prep the room, undress and then finally after all these steps, massage at last! That being said, the very reason we invest in a massage chair is because it’s quick and easy to get a massage in just a few minutes!

My problem with the Luca V is it doesn’t offer close to enough auto modes as it should!

4 auto modes is something I have come to expect on a chair that costs less than $1K, not on a chair that costs almost $3K! Anyways, I will note it down as a con so you’re aware of it, but for me this alone is a major drawback. Let’s keep forging ahead and look at what these 4 auto modes are:

    • Refresh—A relaxing routine that employs both the rollers (to perform kneading and tapping) as well as the airbags.
    • Stretch—A full body stretch intended to break tension and thereby promote relaxation. This again uses the rollers and airbags.
    • Relief—A mild routine that focuses on the lower half of the body including the lower back and legs.
    • Relax—Mild massage routine designed to work the full body. Both the rollers and airbags are employed.

Titan Luca V Auto Massage Modes

#3 Needs 4 Inches From Backrest To Wall!

Here’s a feature in the Luca V that has me pleased. If you’re at all familiar with Titan/Osaki/Apex chairs, you would have heard of the term space saving technology before.

If you haven’t, space saving technology is a pretty simple design enhancement which allows one to place a massage chair without needing too much clearance from the backrest to the wall.

How is this possible? As the chair reclines backward, it also slides forward on a base thereby minimizing the clearance space needed from the back. For the Luca V, this distance is just 4 inches, which all things considered is pretty decent.

Titan Luca V Space Saving Recline

#4 16 Airbags Strategically Placed Throughout The Chair

What are airbags? Airbags are simply empty pouches that are designed to simultaneously inflate/deflate with compressed air.

When they are in the inflated state, airbags push and squeeze muscle and tissue thereby providing what is commonly referred to as a compression massage.

Often times I see people comparing one chair to the other and evaluating performance based on airbag count. Is this the right thing to do? Yes and no. No because airbag count is not indicative of how good/bad the chair will perform compression massage.

Think of it this way, you have chair X which has 32 airbags, and then you have chair Y which has 16 (half the airbags as chair X). However, chair Y has more airbag surface coverage than chair X. Which do you think will perform better?

Chair Y will perform better for the simple reason that it has more surface coverage than chair X, never mind that it has fewer airbags. I hope that makes sense. If not, drop a comment and I’ll see if we can clarify this to make it more easier to understand!

Concluding my spiel about airbag numbers versus coverage, you should know that the Luca V has 16 airbags. At first glance this does seem to be on the lower end for airbag numbers, but all of the new Titan chairs have this streamlined airbag design. Titan have elected to reduce airbag count, but maintain decent coverage with fewer airbags.

This works really well because now there’s less overall stress and strain on the chair! (fewer valves, less airbags etc.)

Titan Luca V Airbags

#5 Kneading Foot Rollers Provide A Relaxing, Pain Relieving Massage!

Almost all the 2019/2020 massage chairs I’ve reviewed come equipped with foot rollers. That being said, it does seem like foot rollers are the norm!

Are foot rollers actually important or can you forgo them when considering a massage chair?

I used to think they were unnecessary and so I purchased a massage chair without foot rollers, needless to say I regret that decision to this day! If you want to get a feel for it, try a chair without foot rollers and then try one that does have foot rollers. Feel the difference? It’s pretty significant!

The spinning foot rollers on the Luca V are designed to stimulate the acupressure points on the soles of your feet. As a result, you can expect pain relief from sore, achy feet and it might even help improve conditions like plantar fasciitis!

Titan Luca V Foot Rollers

 

Titan Luca V Massage Chair Specifications

  • Titan Luca V Massage Chair Specs
  • Roller Type: L-Track
  • Roller Length: 50 Inches
  • Total Airbags: 16
  • Upright Dimensions: 59"L x 28"W x 43"H
  • Recline Dimensions: 69"L x 28"W x 34.5"H
  • Chair Material: Synthetic Leather
  • Height Range: 5’0 – 6’0 ft
  • Maximum Recommended Weight: 285 lbs

 

Titan Luca V Massage Chair: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly!

Pros—The Stuff I Like!
Cons—The Stuff I Don’t Like!
    • 50” L-Track—One of the few things I like about the Luca V is the extremely long 50” L-Track which allows users to enjoy an extended massage all the way right down to the glutes and hamstrings!
    • 4 Inches From The Wall!—I also like that Titan have designed the chair so that it only requires 4 inches clearance from backrest to the wall. Definitely useful for folks living in tight spaces with little room.
    • The Pricing Doesn’t Quite Add Up—Whichever way I look at it from whichever angle, the pricing doesn’t make sense to me. The Luca V is your basic 2D L-Track chair, and yet it costs around $3K? I’m failing to see why…..
    • 4 Auto Modes—My least favourite thing about the Luca V is that it comes with only 4 auto modes. This pales in comparison to what other massage chairs offer. You’ll see this in the comparison section!
    • User Flexibility Could Be Better—My disappointment with user flexibility is that the chair is a little lacking when it comes to accommodating a variety of heights. It’s not terribly bad at 5’0-6’0 ft., but it could be better.

 

Should You Buy The Titan Luca V Massage Chair?

Well well well…..moment of truth! I gotta say my favourite part about reviewing massage chairs is when I get to compare and contrast one chair to another. Ladies/Gents, this is the most important part because this tells us how one chair stacks against another.

Every manufacturer/brand claims that their chair is the best, so this is in many ways the litmus test!

The Luca V is a 2D L-Track chair so it only makes sense to compare it to other 2D L-Track chairs. That being said, we will compare the Luca V to the Osaki OS Champ. For those of you who don’t know Titan and Osaki are part of the same umbrella/company, which is why you’ll notice a lot of similarities between Titan/Osaki chairs.

Osaki OS Champ
Osaki OS Champ ComparisonIf you’re looking for a budget 2D L-Track massage chair, the OS Champ is truly a champion! As you’ll see, the OS Champ can go toe to toe with the Luca V, while retailing for about half its price!
  • Osaki OS Champ
  • 5’0 – 6’0 ft & 260 lbs.

    User Height/Weight
  • $

    Price
  • 49″ L-Track

    Roller Track
  • 18

    Airbags
  • 5

    Auto Modes
  • Yes-9'' Required

    Space Saving Recline
  • Titan Luca V
  • 5’0 – 6’0 ft & 285 lbs.

    User Height/Weight
  • $$$

    Price
  • 50″ L-Track

    Roller Track
  • 16

    Airbags
  • 4

    Auto Modes
  • Yes-4'' Required

    Space Saving Recline

As the saying goes “the proof is in the pudding”! Of course the biggest difference between both chairs is price, and it’s a significant difference at that too. Other differences include:

    • The Champ has 5 auto modes; the Luca V has 4.
    • Luca V requires 4 inches of clearance, whereas the Champ requires 9.

If you fit the 5’0-6’0 ft. flexibility range, I strongly suggest the Osaki OS Champ over the Luca V. The above comparison table backs up my recommendation.

But what about if you’re over 6 feet, or under 5 feet? If you’re an inch or two over, it probably won’t make too much of a difference on either of these chairs. But if you’re well over 6 feet, you’re best bet is to consider something else.

The Apex Pro Ultra is a great option for taller individuals who are in the market for a 2D L-Track chair. Similarly, Infinity’s Altera is a good choice for individuals shorter than 5 feet.

And that brings us to the end of this review post. If you have any burning questions about this or any other chair, please drop a comment below and I’ll be sure to get back to you. Lastly, if you enjoyed reading and got some value out of this post, please consider sharing on the social channels. Be safe and well wherever you are!

Titan Luca V images were used with permission from Osaki Massage Chair

About Eve

Just an average bloke intrigued by massage and its incredible benefits. Oh, did I mention I also own a massage chair? More on that in the blog posts!

6 thoughts on “Titan Luca V Massage Chair Review

    1. Hi Maria, thanks so much for checking out my blog and leaving a comment. Apologies for the late response. I have not done a review on the Titan TP Corona yet. Is this something you’d like me to check out in the near future? Let me know as I don’t mind writing a review on it!

      Eve

    1. Awesome Charles! If you ask me, that’s a smashing deal for a brand new chair. If you have any other questions, do feel free to get in touch!

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