The Normatec 3 Legs are among the best compression boots I’ve tested, offering more customisation and clever features than rivals like the Recovapro Air and Therabody RecoveryAir Jetboots. The hoseless design of the Jetboots is more convenient, but if the high price doesn’t bother you the Normatec boots are perfect for power users who will value the high degree of customisation available.
Normatec 3 Legs Review: Price And Availability
Hyperice’s Normatec 3 Legs are available now and cost $799 in the US and £899 in the UK, which is expensive but about par for compression boots of this standard.
The boots don’t come with a carry case, but one is available for an extra $150/£195. For the price, I find it unacceptable that the Normatec 3 Legs don’t come with anything to store them in. Even a drawstring bag would help pack them away after use. The Recovapro Air boots come with a gym bag that has sections for each leg and the console.
Along with leg sleeves, Normatec sells attachments to massage your hips and arms. These can be bought separately or as part of more expensive packages.
Design
The Normatec 3 Legs follow the standard compression boot design, with two leg sleeves connected by hoses to a central console which controls the pressure level, among other things. They also link via Bluetooth to the Hyperice app where you can fine-tune your session in great detail or select one of the preset routines, like post-run or workout recovery.
The small console has a sleek design. Lights indicate the pressure level and time left, and also if you have ZoneBoost activated. This is a key feature on the Normatec 3 Legs – you can set one of five leg areas to get an extra 60-second massage, with the pressure raised by 10 mmHg during this boost period. The five zones relate to the five air chambers on the sleeves so you can apply extra pressure to any muscle you feel needs more attention.
You can adjust the pressure on the 3 Legs boost using the console during a session, with seven levels available. With ZoneBoost activated the pressure level will hit 110 mmHg; it maxes out at 100 mmHg otherwise. This was enough for me, but rivals offer higher specs, with the Recovapro Air compression boots going up to 150 mmHg.
User Experience
It’s hard to get over the lack of carry case, especially since I found the boots quite slow to deflate after use, so the enjoyment of a relaxing massage is undermined by the hassle of trying to stuff quarter-filled boots out of the way.
Fortunately, the experience of actually using the boots is a very pleasant one. Pro users can customise sessions to their heart’s content, but if you’re like me and want a simple but effective experience, the Normatec 3 Legs are very easy to use. Choose your session and kick back, occasionally pressing a button on the console to adjust the pressure or fire up ZoneBoost to blast a particular muscle area.
Battery life is listed at three hours for the console, which is shorter than on the other compression boots I have tested, but still ample to get through a few sessions before charging.
Hip Attachment
I’m a regular runner and the tightest area of my body after runs is usually my glutes, so when using the Normatec 3 Legs I would sometimes rue the lack of pressure around my hips and glutes.
The Normatec Hip Attachment is designed to address this. It is worn around the upper legs and hips and connects to the same console you use for the Normatec 3 Legs. You then select that you’re using the hip attachment on the console and choose the pressure and time you want, then lie back and enjoy the benefits of compression on your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and lower back.
I found it more awkward to use than the compression boots, since you have to lie quite flat with the hip attachment and you can’t really prop a laptop on top of it, making it tricker to use while working, which I did a lot with the boots. I mostly used the hip attachment in the evening while watching TV, and it was a recovery-boosting tool I valued during the latter stages of my marathon training, though you need to use it alongside other things, like regular stretching.
It’s an expensive addition to the Normatec system—the Hip Attachment will cost you $250/£250 by itself (note that it doesn’t come with a console), or you can buy a package with the Normatec 3 Legs and a console for $1049/£1049. If the tightest parts of your body are usually around the hips and glutes, however, it might well be a worthy addition.
Are The Normatec 3 Legs Worth It?
I prefer the simplicity and the hoseless design of the Therabody RecoveryAir Jetboots, but the Normatec 3 Legs are more powerful compression boots with greater customisation options that will better suit those who want to plan out their sessions methodically.
In the UK, the Recovapro Air boots are a cheaper alternative (most of the time they are reduced to around £650-£700 from their £899 RRP), and offer a higher max pressure level. The Normatec 3 Legs are a more sophisticated product and link to a partner app, and the ZoneBoost feature is handy, but the Recovapro boots will do a similarly good job in helping your legs recover after runs and other workouts.
