In my continuing efforts to obtain Paul Mescal-at the level of the thighs, I touched the squatter pretty hard rack. The result? Well, a moderate improvement in leg thickness and a lot of pain. Combine that with two to three days of running per week and you’ll find me limping almost everywhere. I’m focusing a lot on recovery these days (i.e. making good use of my massage gun), but I was seeing a lot of at-home compression boots on my Instagram explore page, where athletes dress up as Michelin men and suddenly feel looser, more relaxed, and ready for another leg day.

Therabody, the brand behind the popular Theragun line of massagers, sells a few of these compression boots, dubbed the RecoveryAir line, with one of its newest offerings being the travel-ready shoe. JetBoots Prime. I wanted to see if it was worth spending $500 on something you could only get if you were a professional athlete or regular PT customer. I used the Therabody RecoveryAir JetBoots Prime for two weeks to see how it affected my athletic performance and how it helped with my post-training recovery and general well-being of the legs.

What are compression boots used for?

You know those devices they use at the doctor’s to take your blood pressure? Imagine that, but super sized for your legs. Compression boots use air to squeeze your feet and legs, which has been proven to help increase blood flow and circulation. The result is reduced muscle soreness and shortened recovery time, which is part of the reason why compression therapy has been implemented in the post-match recovery of professional athletes. They’re also great for warming up before a workout, so you can get blood circulating throughout your body to reduce the risk of injury. (No, they won’t replace a good old stretch, but they might just help you get a PR if you rush before a race.)

The JetBoots Prime, deflated.

Tyler Chin

Prime JetBoots, pumped up.

Tyler Chin

These boots were Not Designed to walk

Both legs of Therabody JetBoots Primed are connected and cannot be detached for use independently of each other. The easiest way to put on is to sit down and put on like pants. Once in, you’re there. There’s no way to walk around either when inflated or deflated, but if you want to break free, just unzip and get out.

Fully inflated, I feel like the Michelin Man.

Tyler Chin

Feel the pressure

The Jetboots Prime has pressure ranges from 25 mmHg to 100 mmHg. Beginners may want to start with the lowest pressure so they can understand what it feels like before increasing it to maximum. The brand recommends using a lower pressure for pre-workout activities, just to get your circulation going again, while reserving the higher pressures for post-activity recovery or daily circulation improvement. The 25 mmHg setting was nice, but I really thought I could handle more, with 100 mmHg being the most satisfying pressure level to use, whether before or after an activity. You can also set time intervals between 10 minutes and an hour, with the option to bypass preset timers for “continuous” use, although you can always just set it to continuous and press pause to end it. your session when you are ready. . It would have been nice if the control panel had a countdown timer so you knew how much time you had left, but if you’re timing your session on a podcast you’re listening to or a show you’re watching, then you could use it to time your usage.