Real Relax 04 Massage Chair Review

by Mary Lou | Last Updated: April 25, 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.

Executive Summary

The Real Relax Favor 04 is a budget massage chair. It offers a combination of roller/airbag/vibration massage for different parts of the body. It even has some surprising extra features that add value for money.

However, it has a couple more negative points than the older model Favor 03. Read on to find out what they are.

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Company Background

Real Relax is a fairly new brand in the massage chair niche. They launched their first massage chair — the Favor 01 — in 2015. With a very attractive cheap price point, it earned good reviews.

It’s been several years since then and the first Favor has had newer iterations. They have also branched out into other massage chair lines.

Real Relax Specifications

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Dimensions

User Specs

Warranty

Real Relax promises a three year warranty on their products. It is supposed to handle maintenance, repairs and materials in the first year. In the next two years, the warranty states that it will pay for shipping of parts to be replaced.

Read more about their warranty fulfillment below.

Main Features

Here are the main features of the Real Relax Favor 04

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Pros

3 Zero Gravity Positions

I just came off reviewing the Ootori N500 and it’s also a budget chair with 3 zero gravity positions. It’s giving me major flashback and deja vu feels.

It’s really heartening to see zero gravity on affordable chairs such as these because this feature is one of the things we probably can’t do without if we’re buying a (new) massage chair.

Zero gravity has a lot of health benefits. As somebody who has suffered from chronic neck and back pain, I understand more than anybody how getting pressure off your spine and back even temporarily can be such a relief.  For the duration, you get to enjoy a weightless sensation.

This flat-on-your-back position is also good for your circulation. If you’ve ever done yoga, you know that the end position is almost always the starfish position and you can practically feel the blood pulsing through your body after a good workout (and in this case, a good massage session).

2 Areas For Heat

Another feature we tend to favor (pun intended) is heat. Heat therapy is awesome for athletes or just normal people who do a lot of sport. It’s also good for seniors who have aching muscles and stiff joints. And finally, who doesn’t like heat during the cold winter months?

What’s surprising about this model is that it has heating for both the feet and the waist. Normally, other models only have one — the lumbar area. This makes it ideal for people with lower back pain AND achy feet.

Comes with Wheels

This is not mind-blowing but given how heavy these massage chairs can get, designing wheels into them is a big help. It definitely makes delivery and furniture-moving much easier.

Affordable Price

With a price tag of less than a thousand dollars, this is a pretty affordable chair. Massage chair recliners usually retail for somewhere around $500 and you usually just get very basic features like vibration massage. By shelling out a couple hundred more, you get a full massage chair with core features.

Can Be Reclined Without the Massage

I find it very interesting that people are enjoying the recline position so much on this chair that they are lying down on it even with the massage features turned off. Essentially, they’re using it as a recliner and that’s good news because usually, massage chairs are too uncomfortable to sit on when you’re not actively getting a massage.

Real Reviews

Nowadays, a lot of online sellers cheat by posting positive reviews and asking verified purchasers to take down negative reviews in exchange for something. The end result is that an unwary customer gets a distorted view of the overall feedback on a particular product.

Thankfully, Real Relax appears to leave their reviews alone so you can see what people really think and what people are really experiencing with their purchases. Which leads us to the next part.

Cons

Mixed Reviews

This chair is receiving mixed reviews. Most buyers are enormously satisfied with their purchase. They are happy that they didn’t have to shell out thousands of dollars for a great massage experience. So far, so good.

However, a fraction have had problems. The most common complaints are:

Remember that unhappy customers will always be the most vocal.

Comes In Three Boxes

The massage chairs I’ve been reviewing of late have been coming in three separate boxes with the delivery dates sometimes being different for each. Overall, this shouldn’t be a problem if the assembly is easy as it is with other brands and models.

However, this isn’t the case for the Real Favor 04 which is why I will leave this installation video here.

Favor04 RealRelax Massagechair- How to install instruction
Roller Back Massage Can Be Strong

Just to put this into perspective, intensity is a very subjective matter. What some people might find strong, others will find weak. It’s all a matter of preference.

Having said that, some people find the roller massage on this chair too strong for their liking. As a quick fix, they add a thin foam or pillow to the back rest so there’s an added layer between their body and the rollers.

Please note also that the rollers are fixed and are not on a track. When rollers are on a track, they can go up and down (and even go backward and forward) for a more dynamic massage. You’ll find roller tracks on more expensive massage chairs.

Not For Very Short Or Tall People

For the price, I really can’t fault the Favor 04 for not being designed to cater to different body types so I am writing this down more as an FYI to potential buyers. If you are shorter than 5’4″ and taller than 6″, be aware that this model will not be ideally suited to you.

The neck and feet air bags and rollers will not hit the correct areas in your body so you won’t get the full massage experience.

Conclusion

The Real Relax Favor 04 is a good model to consider if you are looking for a massage chair that’s under a thousand bucks. It has the basic features that most massage chairs have and even comes with three recline levels and two heated areas. Take note though that it doesn’t have body scan and roller tracks, but these are features that you’d find on expensive chairs.

MOST buyers have a positive experience. However, some have had to grapple with a chair that totally or partially does not work and an unresponsive customer support team.

Overall, I’d say that the makers of Real Relax Favor 04 have an area to improve and that’s to make their quality assurance better so that they can bring the number of customer complaints down.

In the meantime, you can also consider the Ootori brand and the Real Relax 03 which has been faring better in terms of durability.

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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.