18″ Tiger Tail Rolling Muscle Massager

August 27, 2010 | By In Health Tips |

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5 Comments so far

  1. Mt Biker on August 27th, 2010

    I know that the 18″ Tiger Tail is shown here, but I wanted to let everyone know my thoughts on a very similar product by the same company – the 22″ Tiger Tail. My 22″ Tiger Tail is so not worth the $30 I paid for it. I could’ve made this at age 10. How do I know? I know because it fell apart on me on the first day – not because it broke, but just because of poor construction and assembly.

    When I was gently moving the roller around in the middle to examine it, I noticed that the edge of it (barely protruding from the black foam) had some familiar looking markings; it looked like a PVC pipe that had been sawed and not sanded down to be smooth. The handle accidentally popped off and went tumbling across the floor, and that’s when I realized how cheap and overpriced this product is.

    Why did it look like PVC pipe? Because it actually is! The handles are simply pushed onto a 1/2″ diam. PVC pipe (mine actually still had the crude markings, size, company, etc. that you see on PVC pipe you obtain from hardware stores). They could at least secure the handles on there! The black foam is fitted onto another PVC pipe (I think it’s 3/4″ diam) and slid over the longer 1/2″ pipe. The inside of the 3/4″ pipe and the outside of the 1/2″ pipe are “lubricated” with a light grease – I’d say something a little lighter than petroleum jelly (Vaseline). Throw together some PVC pipe + foam + handles + cheap grease, and Voila, you have yourself a Tiger Tail.

    You can get it to work and do the job, but probably not as well as you should for the price. Here are my complaints. 1.) Sand/polish ends – They could at least polish the ends of the PVC pipe that were cut. 2.) Secure handles – How hard is it to secure to handles that slide onto a PVC pipe? Using glue or an adhesive is not rocket science. 3.) Make rolling smooth – One big thing is the lack of polishing between the pipes. They should make surfaces between the 2 pipes (the ones that actually rub together as you roll the TT over your muscles) smooth so that the rolling feels frictionless. When you press harder to get deeper into the muscles, you feel that the PVC pipes against each other are not smooth. Maybe they should just use better materials. 4.) Grease? Come on now. That will attract dirt in the long run or eventually dry up and your TT will be even less smooth when rolling.

    Bottom line: Cheap parts, cheap construction, way over-priced. The Stick is much better quality (just hope you don’t get one with foul-smelling rubber handles like my Sprinter Stick has).
    Rating: 1 / 5

  2. Michelle on August 27th, 2010

    I love my Tiger Tail! Every morning, after my run I stretch then roll out my calves and quads with the Tigertail. I also take it with me to every ultra and marathon I run. It has helped me roll out a knot in my quads and has been invaluable in working the kinks out of the sartorius muscle that tenses up on me during marathons. I use the TT after the race, off and on for an hour or two and everything is fine the next day. The neoprene center is soft and comfortable against my skin, and I believe it allows me to go deeper than I could with a hard plastic center. I believe that the Tiger Tail is an essential tool in my running toolbox.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  3. yogi-ulti-hiker on August 28th, 2010

    this product is a must for anyone with IT band issues. I would not be able to play ultimate or make long hikes without it!
    Rating: 4 / 5

  4. Steph on August 28th, 2010

    I own both, a Stiff Stick ( $ 48.-)and a Tiger Tail ( $ 25.-).

    The Stick products come in a variety of sizes and stiffness’. This makes The Stick not only affordable at many different price points but also user friendly as they are produced for an individuals needs. I have a tiger tail, $25.00 and I bought the Stiff Stick as well even though initial cost was higher, for I heard many good things about the Stick from my fellow runners. The Stick provided a 90 day return policy vs. the tiger tail, where, at the time didn’t have a return policy. I wasn’t even aware the tiger tail existed until I came across it at an expo. I was not able to find anyone who had used it in order to get additional information but thought I would give it a go anyway.

    The Tiger Tail performs ok at first, feels ok on the muscles, goes medium deep.

    The Stiff Stick allows me to dig in much deeper, loosens up my muscles much better than the Tiger Tail … I love how the Stiff Stick feels and if I compare the Tiger Tail with The Stiff Stick, I’d give the Tiger Tail ‘a poor’ and the Stiff Stick an excellent. The Stick has much better quality products than the Tiger Tail, and I doubt the Tiger Tail lasts very long, whereas I have used the Stick daily ( before and after my exercise routine), and it works as well as day 1.

    I personally can highly recommend The Stiff Stick over the Tiger Tail and find the headline very misleading that the Tiger Tail is better than the Stick, based on my experience.
    Rating: 1 / 5

  5. Dr. Jeff Hill, DPT, MA, CSCS on August 28th, 2010

    I was recently introduced to the Tiger Tail Rolling Massager and was

    very impressed with the design, quality and performance. As a doctor of

    physical therapy, I am always looking for home products for my patients

    that are easy to use and that supplement the treatment I give in the

    clinic. The Tiger Tail is a perfect tool for self soft tissue

    mobilization. I highly recommend the Tiger Tail to my patients as an

    adjunct to therapy. –Dr. Jeff Hill, DPT, MA, CSCS
    Rating: 5 / 5

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