by Mary Lou |
Last Updated: September 15, 2019 When you buy something using the links on our posts, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Learn more.
If you’re eyeing the latest Ootori massage chair and want to know if it’s a good buy, then you’ve come to the right place. Here’s our comprehensive review of the Ootori Nova N800, which is sometimes called the Ootori SL.
Executive Summary
The Ootori SL is an affordable massage chair with a surprising array of features including zero gravity, body scan, 3D rollers, and lumbar heating. Its build and performance is very solid, like most of the chairs under the Ootori brand.
However, despite being a very capable massage chair, it’s gotten a bad rap – in our opinion because of a misunderstanding of the SL tag. Read all the details in our full review below.
- S-Track Mssage Chair: S type track, accurately fits the human body curve, mainly for the shoulders, back and waist area to provide flexible...
- Full Body Airbag Massage Chair: The 38 air bags offer a compression massage to the Shoulder, Arms, Thighs, Calves, and Feet. In the manual...
- Human Hand-Like Massage: The Massage Chair performs various techniques such as kneading, tapping, Finger-P, shiatsu, and knocking. 3...
Last update on 2023-04-01 at 05:24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API / More info
Product Details
Ootori is currently one of the most popular massage chair brands. It has overtaken former giants of the massage chair industry like Inada and Human Touch due to its affordable price tags.
The company has been in business for 20 years now and entered the massage chair market 6 years ago. Off the bat, they designed and manufactured their own line of massage chairs. Their designers are from Denmark and Japan, while their assembly facility is in Shanghai. Their corporate headquarters are located in Georgia, USA.
If you want to know more about the company, you can watch this video. It’s a lot of promotional fluff but you can see a few seconds of their assembly and warehouse.
Dimensions
- Colors: Brown, Black
- Main Body: 48 x 31 x 46 inches
- Upright: 61.0 x 30.7 x 43.3 inches
- Reclined: 70.9 x 30.7 x 37.4 inches
- Chair Weight: 154 lbs
- Shipping Weight: 214 lbs
- Roller Track Length: 37.4 inches
- Width Across: 33 inches
Note: If you are trying to fit the chair through a doorway, the arms can be removed so that you can fit it through as little as 26 inches of space.
User Specs
- Height Range: Up to 6.25 feet tall
- Max Weight: Up to 400 lbs
Warranty
It’s a standard for Ootori that all their massage chairs come with a 3-year warranty from the date of purchase. Here are the details of this warranty:
- First year – Covers FREE maintenance and repair for any defect in workmanship or materials.
- Second and third year – Covers free shipping of parts to be replaced.
The warranty does NOT cover:
- Maintenance after the first year.
- Products that have been opened, repaired, modified, or dismantled by non-company personnel.
- Products after the warranty or those without a warranty card.
After purchase, it’s imperative you register your chair within 30 days from delivery date. If you forget to do this, they will not honor the warranty.
You can register your warranty here.
One last important detail is that if the chair is working properly but you change your mind anyway about keeping it, you will need to cover the cost of shipping it back. This is pretty standard practice across massage chair companies though because of their bulky size and resulting high shipping fee.
Main Features
- S-Track Roller Massage – The rollers of this N800 are on an S-track. This means that the roller tracks follow the “S” curve of your spine.
- Body Scan Technology – A very important feature in a massage chair, this technology automatically scans your body shape and the location of your spine for a custom-tailored massage experience.
- 3D Massage Rollers – Unlike 2D massage rollers that can only move left and right, 3D massage rollers are also able to move in and out. You can read more about the different types of massage rollers here.
- 30 Airbags – Working together with the massage rollers are 30 airbags positioned strategically across the chair, particularly in the shoulder, arms, buttocks, calves, and feet areas. These bags inflate and deflate with controlled intensity to deliver an air massage.
- Zero Gravity – A technology developed by NASA and adapted to massage chairs, you can recline your chair to a fully flat position. This recline has a host of benefits for your health.
- Foot Rollers – You get both roller massage and airbag massage for your feet. These target acupuncture points to help relieve foot pain.
- LCD Remote – With the remote, you can choose your massage program or style, or choose a localized area to target. You can also control the speed and intensity of the massage rollers. Finally, you can add extras to your massage experience like foot roller massage or heating. There is also a PAUSE function.
- Lumbar Heat – The N800 has heating for your lower back and waist. It radiates heat between 40-50 centigrade.
Promo Video
Have a look at the SL N800.
Pros
Affordable Price
At its current price and with all of the above features, this massage chair is a pretty good deal. Do the math on the doctor and masseuse visits you can save on and this massage chair can be a really wise investment.
Body Scan + 3D Rollers Combo
Because I started off trying and reviewing premium chairs, I initially took these two features for granted. Most of the high end massage chairs have all the core functions, after all, with added bells and whistles.
Later on, I got into reviewing budget chairs and as expected, these only had the most basic of features like vibrating massage, fixed rollers, and definitely no body scan technology. Thus, it’s now a welcome surprise whenever I see a budget chair with these prime features — 3D rollers and body scan.
I particularly like this combo because having these two features in one chair means a massage that is tailored and custom-fit for your particular body type and shape. How it works is that the body scan automatically detects your body measurements and the location of your spine. The chair’s rollers then move its rollers accordingly.
If there are many of you in your home who are likely to use this massage chair, then everybody will be able to get a custom massage whatever their height or build. That’s definitely value for money right there.
Deep Tissue Massage
Being 3D, the massage heads can move side to side and also in and out. For the N800 model, the massage heads can extend up to 8 centimeters. This means it is capable of an intense and deep massage onto your acupuncture pressure points. For people who love deep massage, this is good news.
The foot roller massage is also strong and vigorous.
Target Localized Areas
In addition to the automatic massage programs, you can also set it up so that the rollers target specific areas of your body like your back or shoulders. This targeted massage is especially useful for chronic pain sufferers.
3 Zero Gravity Positions
Here’s another feature that I normally won’t expect from a budget chair — 3 zero gravity positions. Some more expensive chairs don’t even have zero gravity. Ootori, however, ups the bar with 3 levels of zero gravity.
The deepest recline is called Deep Zero Gravity and in this position, your legs are angled higher than your heart. Amongst the many health benefits of this zero gravity position are decompression of your spine and improved blood flow. It is also very relaxing because it makes you feel like you’re floating on a cloud.
Easy Assembly
Unlike some one-piece massage chairs like the Ootori A600, the N800 requires assembly because it comes in two boxes. The good news is that assembly is very minimal and very easy. It’s mostly connecting a few wires, adding the arm seats, and then the padding for the head rest.
You can see exactly how it’s done from this installation video.
Cons
Some Missing Features
The N800 does not have the following features:
- Chiropractic or pelvic stretch
- Wifi speakers
- Rollers in the hip areas
And that’s about it. In my book, they’re not exactly deal-breakers given the chair’s low price tag.
Not For People Who Only Want Gentle Massages
If you like your massages gentle, the N800’s strong massage capability will just be wasted on you. This chair’s massage is so intense, I actually tell people NOT to test it straight out of the box. Others have done so and panicked from the feeling of an arm or a leg being squeezed much too hard for their liking by the airbags.
Instead, adjust the intensity settings first before trying it out.
Point of Confusion
The Nova N800 has an SL track
When a massage chair has rollers traveling across a track, this track can either be an S, L, or an SL track. I will explain very briefly below:
- An S track is in the shape of an “S” because it follows the curve of the spine. It stops at the tailbone and goes right back up.
- The L track was developed later and is in the shape of an “L”. It is longer than the S-track because it extends up to the glutes and hamstrings.
- The SL track is an S-track that extends up to the buttocks. It is basically a slightly extended S-track.
Ootori’s website touts the N800 as a regular S-track on its website, but labels it an SL-track on its Amazon web page.
Here is a promotional graphic for the N800 that shows the track ending at the hip area.
Unfortunately, because of the SL label, some disappointed buyers have apparently purchased the chair thinking it had an L track. With a track that’s only 37.4 inches in length, it definitely isn’t an L-track massage chair.
To give you a comparison, here are some examples of L-track massage chairs and the corresponding lengths of their roller tracks.
- Sinoluck Ootori 810L – 51 inches
- Luraco Legend – 58 inches
- Kahuna Hubot – 52 inch
- Infinity Iyashi – 49 inches
- Ogawa Active Supertrac – 43 inches
With the exception of the Sinoluck Ootori, all the above chairs are several thousands of dollars.
When it comes to choosing S or L-track chairs, it all boils down to whether you needed the extra inches of massage. If your glutes, hamstrings, and piriformis are your problem areas, then you’d do well to choose an L-track. However, if your problem areas are your back, shoulder, and neck areas, then either would be fine.
Conclusion
Overall, the Ootori N800 is a very capable massage chair with features that you would find in more expensive chairs. The only other reason I would recommend another brand is if you want a longer roller track and gentler massages.
For that, I would point you to the Inada brand or the more affordable Real Relax SL with a 57-inch L-track. If you want to stay with the Ootori brand, you can also check out their Sinoluck model with its 51-inch L-track.
- S-Track Mssage Chair: S type track, accurately fits the human body curve, mainly for the shoulders, back and waist area to provide flexible...
- Full Body Airbag Massage Chair: The 38 air bags offer a compression massage to the Shoulder, Arms, Thighs, Calves, and Feet. In the manual...
- Human Hand-Like Massage: The Massage Chair performs various techniques such as kneading, tapping, Finger-P, shiatsu, and knocking. 3...
Last update on 2023-04-01 at 05:24 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API / More info
Author: Mary Lou
In the Before Times, Maru spent vacations traveling and making stops at showrooms to test the latest massage chair models. Nowadays, she’s hunkered down in her small sunlit home dotted with her ever-growing collection of fiddle fig trees, indoor plants, and Himalayan salt lamps. Find her at LinkedIn.