The Hyperice Normatec 2.0 Legs use ‘dynamic air compression’ in order to help reduce muscle soreness and lower blood lactate levels.
The patented pulse massage pattern has three functions: pulse, distal release and a gradient system, which means that the compression works its way up the leg gradually in a hold and release pattern to mimic the natural mechanism of the muscles pumping blood towards the heart. This aims to help get rid of waste products and increase the oxygen flow to the recovering muscles and extremities.
Set-up proved easy enough. Just zip yourself into the boots and connect the control unit to the hose attachment, which then slots into the hose socket on both legs. The boots have a rechargeable 1.5kg control unit, which means they’re relatively portable and can be used wirelessly.
Hyperice’s claimed two-hour battery life is pretty accurate; we found it translated to about five episodes of Friends before needing extra juice! Each leg is made up of five overlapping chambers that fill up with air and expand to compress the muscles. Leg sizes include short (>160cm), standard (163cm-191cm) and tall (<191cm), though we’d recommend sizing down as our 163cm height settled into a strange no man’s land between standard and short.
Once you’ve downloaded the free Hyperice app you can choose from seven pre-made sessions for the Normatecs, which instantly load onto the control unit via Bluetooth from a smart phone. Sessions include the likes of a short 15min ‘pre-workout warm-up’ to longer 45min ‘post-run recovery’ sessions, and there’s even a 25min ‘improve your sleep’ option.
There’s also a custom mode, where you can choose to either settle into a continuous compression cycle or set any duration from 10mins to 2:55hrs (though you’ll need to recharge before then).
Compression level ranges from one to seven, with a zone boost feature for isolated bursts. Our recovery saw us reaching for max compression each time to see any obvious reduction in soreness. But after a couple weeks of using the Normatecs after every run, our legs admittedly felt fresher for longer, especially during those long or hard run sessions.
Although you can set the length of your own sessions, the device doesn’t seem to stick to them or the allotted time in pre-made sessions, instead continuing of its own accord until the cycle is finished. This seems a bizarre design flaw which could be easily solved by only offering session times within the cycle intervals. Packing the bulky boots away can also be a struggle, so it’d be great to see a carry case included in future.
A Pro version (£1,199) is also available, with has an updated touchscreen device, 10 intensity levels and three modes.
Hyperice Normatec 2.0 Legs verdict
Great additional recovery aid for athletes with deep pockets.
Score: 85%
Also consider...
Therabody RecoveryAir Prime
Therabody and Hyperice are known as two of the biggest producers of recovery kit and have been going head to head with massage guns for years. More recently, they've also started going head to head when it comes to compression boots.
We recently reviewed the Therabody RecoveryAir Pro boots, which cost £1,129, but if you want to spend a little less than this and the £899.99 that the Normatecs can be had for, you may want to consider Therabody's RecoveryAir Prime.
They're available for just under £600 and are said to offer 180mins of battery life, four different time intervals for the compression (20mins, 40mins, 60mins and continuous) and an adjustable pressure range.
There's a simple remote that you can use to operate the boots, while the seamless interior is said to be easy to clean.
