The best travel-friendly massage guns for runners
Whether you’re heading to the track after a day at work or marathoning abroad (racecation, anyone?) a mini massage gun is a smart investment.
Not only can these handy devices be incorporated into your running warm-up routine to help loosen up your muscles, they can also aid your recovery after a big run or session by increasing blood flow and calming inflammation. And compared with a standard massage gun or a pair of compression boots, they have the added benefit of being light and portable enough to throw in your gym bag or suitcase.
For more recovery recommendations: The best foam rollers | The best recovery shoes | The best compression socks
What to look for in a mini massage gun
Speed
Massage gun intensity or speed is measured in percussions per minute — or PPM for short. The lowest intensity tends to start at around 1800PPM and increases in intervals, depending on how many settings the gun has (it’s usually around 3-5). You might not think that a mini massage gun can hit the speeds of a larger device, but most of the options on this list go up to 3000PPM. That’s inline with most standard-sized options.
Weight
It sounds obvious, but if you’re buying a massage gun for portability purposes, you want to ensure it’s lightweight. After all, there’s no point getting to the airport and finding out your baggage is over the limit. The majority of the options we’ve selected weigh around 500g or less. The exception is the Hyperice Hypervolt Go, which is 680g but impressed our testers with its power and ease of use.
Attachments
Look for devices that come with a variety (3-5) of head attachments. Different attachment heads are designed to target different muscle groups and can consist of:
Ball — For full-body use, including the glutes, quads, hamstrings, shoulders and calves.
Bullet — For deep tissue and trigger points such as the soles of the feet.
Flat — For full-body use. This tends to be slightly gentler than a ball.
U-shaped — Suitable for the neck and achilles.
Some of the options on this list also include a thermal attachment head. This combines percussion therapy with heat therapy to sooth sore muscles and aid stress release.
Extras
The main benefit of a mini-massage gun is its portability, so a carry case that stores the device, along with its different attachment heads, is a great addition to look for. Often, this is included in the price, but sometimes you’ll need to pay extra.
Most mini-massage guns charge via a USB-C cable, which should be included in the price.
How we select and test the best mini massage guns
Our search for the best miniature massage guns began with thorough research to identify the top and best-reviewed devices on the market. After identifying a number of promising candidates, we tested the guns to measure their most important qualities, including the force and depth of massage, ease of use, noise levels, available attachments, battery life, and affordability.
All of the products on this list have been tested by RW's e-commerce editor Ali Ball and health and fitness e-commerce editor Hattie Parish, who works across RW, Men’s Health and Women’s Health.
How we select and test the best mini massage guns
Our search for the best miniature massage guns began with thorough research to identify the top and best-reviewed devices on the market. After identifying a number of promising candidates, we tested the guns to measure their most important qualities, including the force and depth of massage, ease of use, noise levels, available attachments, battery life and affordability.
Why trust us?
Runner’s World UK has been vetting and reviewing running gear since 1993. Our recommendations are selected based on data and insights gathered by our editors, who put the latest and greatest running shoes, gear and tech through their paces day in and day out. In 2024, the Runner’s World test team is led by e-commerce editor Ali Ball, a 12-time marathoner and ultramarathoner who has over eight years’ experience testing fitness gear and tech.
The best mini massage guns, tested and reviewed
Bob and Brad Q2 Pocket-Sized Massager
The size of a small water bottle, this massage gun from physio experts Bob and Brad is ultra lightweight and comes with a durable travel case to store the device and all its accessories. In the box, you’ll find a whopping five different attachments (we particularly liked ‘the fork’ for relaxing your spine or working on your achilles) and there are five speeds to play around with. According to our expert, it was easy to distinguish between each setting and even the lowest speed packed sufficient power.
Unlike many cheaper models, which tend to catch on your skin and can cause some discomfort, the Q2 made for an extremely smooth massaging experience, with no juddering or jolting reported. It was quiet enough that we could watch telly as we tackled our knots and we appreciated the handy user manual that's jam-packed with clear diagrams showing which attachment to use, where and how long for, depending on your need.
With USB-C charging and a 10-minute auto-off mode to save battery, it has all the bells and whistles you’d expect from larger, pricier designs. The short handle made it awkward to hold at times, but that's a minor niggle. For less than £80, it’s hard to find a product that will compete with this one.
Renpho Mini Thermal Massage Gun
If you're seeking a device that can provide thermal therapeutic relief, the Renpho Mini Massage Gun impressed our editors. Unlike most of the devices we tested, instead of having interchangeable attachment heads, the Renpho has one fixed head with changeable silicone head casings. Without a head casing, you can harness the thermal benefits of the massage gun. Hold the power button down to turn the device on, then double press the device to activate the heat setting (a red light will show on the base to indicate it’s working). For such a small device, we were impressed by the medium-warm heat the gun delivered, which helped to sooth sore muscles, especially around the calves.
If you’re not using the thermal setting, you can choose between a claw, conical, spherical and flat head casing. They’re easy to take on and off, though you perhaps can't distinguish between each one as much as a product with physical head attachments. That said, the Renpho is still a powerful device, with the highest setting delivering an impressive 3000ppm.
Design wise, it’s also perfect for travel, with the gun weighing just 356g. The silicone grip casing makes it one of the easiest and most comfortable devices to hold, especially for people with larger hands.
Finally, it’s available in four different ‘colours’ (beige, mint, neon green and purple) but these are actually silicone ‘colour sleeves’ that you slide onto the gun. The gun itself is grey, no matter which option you go for. We personally found the sleeves a little gimmicky, but some people may like them.
Hyperice Hypervolt Go 2
When a brand boasts the likes of Lebron James, Naomi Osaka and Tiger Woods on its books, it’s safe to assume it knows what it’s doing. Nevertheless, we thought we’d better check for ourselves.
The swanky Hypervolt Go2’s compact design makes it easy to slip into a gym bag and take to the track or gym. But don’t let its modest proportions fool you — this massage gun boasts ample power (we’re talking 10mm amplitude) and is able to move smoothly over skin while soothing muscles after arduous runs. It also looks as good as it feels, and comes with Hyperice app access, which is loaded with guided massage routines.
It is a little light on the attachment front, boasting just two — a large flat head and bullet — but these do a pretty good job at working most muscle groups and knots effectively. A ball or dampener wouldn’t go amiss, though.
The three speeds (2000, 2400 and 2800 ppm) offer a nice range, meaning you can enjoy lighter, get-the-blood-moving massages to full-on power pummels. However, all that power is a little noisy, and at the highest speed this is certainly not quiet. And while it is a mini model, it’s among the largest of the compact options out there, weighing in at 680g — not heavy by any stretch, but worth bearing in mind if you’re going to be carrying it around.
MuscleGun Carbon Go
Weighing just over 500 grams, the Carbon Go is considerably smaller than its predecessor, the MuscleGun Carbon, but it has everything you need in a massage gun. You get four interchangeable massage heads to target different muscle groups, it packs a considerable punch and our expert raved about how well it glided over their muscles. Tick, tick, tick.
Given its tiny size, it’s the perfect travel companion – just whack it in your bag and you’re good to go. The only downside is the short handle, which makes it awkward to tackle hard-to-reach areas, but that’s a small flaw for on otherwise exceptional product.
Hydragun Atom Mini Massage Gun
Hydragun’s mini offering is on the more expensive end of the scale, but they have absolutely rammed it with top-notch features that, we feel, justify the price point.
First up, the power. At 8mm, the amplitude is towards the top end of the spectrum for mini models, and given this is combined with 17.6lbs (8kg) stall force (essentially how much pressure you can apply to the gun before the motor stalls), it packs quite a punch. But that’s not to say portability has been sacrificed. Unlike some compact models, which are only slightly smaller than their big brother counterparts, the Atom is a truly dinky device. It’s lightweight, easy to hold and measures up at just under 15cm in height. Plus it stands up on its own, making for a smaller footprint, and as an added bonus, the brushed aluminium casing feels high-end.
There are three speeds, ranging from 1800 to 3200ppm (again among the higher speeds you can expect from a mini massage gun) and three attachments that differ in firmness as well as shape, for added versatility. The firm, flat head it comes fitted with is ideal for large muscle groups and general use, plus there’s a firm, pointed bullet (goodbye, pressure points) and a softer rubber ball head, which you can use with light pressure on sore spots or with firm pressure on knots, as you would a thumb attachment.
Speaking of pressure — when you apply more than a gentle touch, this does make a bit of a noise. It’s not a din by any stretch, but on higher speeds it emits a high-pitched tone which isn’t the most relaxing. But for the power you get, this is hard to argue with.
The Atom also has a whopping battery life (five hours), comes in a super slick zipped carry case and includes a cleaning cloth, charging cable and several different power adaptors, so you can charge up no matter where you are in the world.
Theragun Mini
Give your muscles some instant relief after an intense interval session with this compact device, which is small enough to slip into your pocket or hook onto your kit bag (it comes with a neat little travel case and hook for easy transportation).
It’s surprisingly powerful for its size and comes with three different heads (a ball, a dampener and the good old thumb) for targeting different muscle groups. There’s just one button to switch it on and off and cycle through the speeds, making it simple to use, and it’s supremely quiet (it scored top marks in our noise tests), so you can enjoy a discreet deep-tissue massage on the go.
New to percussive therapy and not sure where to begin? No problem. You can link the Mini with the extensive Therabody app for a variety of tutorials and guided routines to get the most out of your massager.
Reaching awkward areas like the lower back is tricky, and you can only fit one attachment inside the travel case, so choose wisely before you leave the house. Minor cons aside, this pocket-friendly pal is significantly cheaper than the other Therabody options in our round-up.
HoMedics MYTI
At RW, we’re big fans of HoMedics’ larger and more powerful massage gun, the Pro Physio. But if you’re looking for a miniature version, the MYTI still packs a, well, mighty punch and has the premium luxe finish we’ve come to expect from the wellness brand.
The slim and ergonomic design makes this a doddle to use and, at 390g, it’s light enough that your hand doesn’t start to fatigue. Everything is controlled via one large button on the base of the gun. Hold the button in for a couple of seconds to power it on, before pressing the button again to toggle between the four intensities. The lowest intensity starts you off at a very gentle massage; we preferred the third and fourth intensities for delivering the kind of powerful, DOM-relieving massage we were after.
The device comes with an impressive five attachment heads, including a heated head which reaches 45C within a few seconds. We loved this one for soothing tight hamstrings and to relieve pressure on the lower back, though the classic ball head is great for whole-body purposes.
The gun charges via a USB-C which offers 3-hours of runtime. When you’re not using it, you can pack it away inside the handy portable case — the perfect size for a carrier on bag.
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