We tested the Endurance Relax Leg Recovery System for hacking recovery using compression boots

Recovery boots, or compression boots, are a widely used recovery tool for speeding up muscle recovery after a workout, training session, injury, game, or competition.

Compression therapy is rooted in science and is achieved by using compression boots and other compression sleeves and body garments to provide the benefits of increasing blood flow and circulation, removing waste products and metabolites from exercise, reducing DOMS, and reducing muscular aches and pains.

The Endurance Recovery Boots are one such compression boots that are available online to add to your at-home recovery regimen. These recovery boots, along with the other compression boots in the Recovery Boots Australia line, are an essential recovery tool for athletes, cyclists, runners and sporting teams looking for improving recovery time.

In this Recovery Boots Review, we will touch on the benefits of compression boots, how compression boots works, if compression boots are worth it, and how the Endurance Relax Recovery Boots compare to other popular compression recovery boots like Normatec, Rapid Reboot, Air Relax and Therabody.

Who are Recovery Boots Australia?

Recovery Boots are an Australian owned and operated compression boot online store. Recovery Boots operate in Australia and ship globally providing well made recovery tools for athletes and those serious about optimal recovery methods for high performers in running, swimming, team sports, crossfit, triathletes, cycling, soccer, netball and surfing.

In fact, Recovery Boots Australia roots itself in supporting athletes, sponsoring a number of athletes with their recovery gear to help them perform better and recovery smarter. On their Instagram, Recovery Boots shows their support of professional athletes like UFC Fighter Rob Whitaker, professional runner Lackie Spark, professional Soccer teams like the Matildas and Melbourne FC as well as many other athletes.

The Recovery Boots team are based in Sydney and offer after purchase support for their compression boots and even provide a direct contact number on their website which is rare for customer support.

Buy the Recovery Boots online

Use code RECOVERYGURU for $100 discount at checkout

What Are The Benefits of Compression Recovery Boots?

Before compression boots were used heavily for supporting optimal recovery after a hard workout, they were originally used in a medical setting to help treat circulatory disorders.

So how do compression boots work? As you exert yourself during exercise, your body produces metabolic waste products which are released into the blood, something you’ve probably physically felt as ‘fatigue’ in the muscles when you push yourself to your limits. What compression boots help with primarily is to help remove these waste metabolites out of the muscles faster than the body could naturally do so without any support, by squeezing fresh blood and therefore more oxygen around the body. By increasing blood flow, compression boots compression boots are promoting faster repair of damaged or torn muscle fibres and improving lymphatic drainage.

Post exercise it is important to push blood supply around the body for growth and repair. In short, more blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients being delivered to the muscles, meaning more rapid recovery and faster healing.

When you look at the science of compression therapy, it is clear that using compression boots, like Recovery Boots, can offer the following benefits:

• Decreased Inflammation

• Increased Circulation

• Increased Flexibility

• Increased Pain Threshold 

Endurance Recovery Boots Review 2022

We were lucky enough to have a set of the Endurance Recovery Boots sent out to run through a comprehensive Recovery Boots Review over the space of 6 months. With our primary focus being optimal recovery for humans, when using compression boots, we are testing their efficacy for how they make the legs and body feel following strenuous exercise, how quickly they help you be able to perform again but also how they feel to wear and how they compare to other recovery modalities.

Bottom Line

The Endurance Recovery Boots offer all of the benefits of compression therapy, with intense pressure performance, multiple massage modes and timer settings, very easy setup and compact design, at a fraction of the cost of other compression boots. 

Price: $799AUD

Modes: 3 massage modes

Pressure: 10 pressure settings between 30-200mmHg

Warranty: 2 years

Recovery Boots Setup

The compression boots technology is definitely improving. As far as setup goes, the Endurance Recovery Boots could be considered quite basic technology, with newer compression boot brands offering wireless compression boots.

To set up the Endurance Recovery boots, the main compression unit plugs straight into a standard wall socket in Australia. The leg recovery sleeves have a series of plugs running up the leg seam which is where the hoses plug into to be able to fill the compression boots chambers with air from the compression unit.

The setup instructions provide a pretty easy step-by-step for setting up your recovery boots if you get lost, but we found the Endurance Recovery Boots setup simple enough to get by without the instructions.

Once the unit is plugged into the wall and the hoses are individually plugged into the compression holes along the boots, the compression leads can be plugged into the compressor. The handy thing about the plugs is that they are shaped so that it makes it impossible for you to plug it in incorrectly. If you are using the upper compression sleeves as well as the compression boots, the compressor unit has 2 ports. If you are just using the leg compression system, the kit comes with a blanking plug that blocks off the flow of air to the unused port allowing you to just use the compression boots.

Once the unit and boots are plugged in, the compression boots sleeves can be unzipped, and you simply slide your legs all the way inside the sleeve with your feet sticking out the end. If you have sized your compression boots right, the sleeve should come all the way up to your inner thigh or groin region and cover your entire quad. Zip the boots up before starting the compression.

The compressor unit has simple buttons that allow you to adjust the pressure settings, which we found was ideal at the third level from the maximum.

I found that pressure on these boots was very intense and was surprised, I actually couldn’t bare the maximum pressure even with legs that weren’t sore or tender from training. You can also choose your session length and massage style, as well as isolate certain chambers if you have sections of your leg you want to avoid compressing.

Recovery Boots Price

The Endurance Relax Recovery Boots cost $799 AUD and come in a medium or large size. The price of compression boots can reach upwards of $2000 for some of the most high-tech compression boots, which makes the cost of the Endurance Relax Boots relatively cheap, without sacrificing much functionality or technology.

These recovery boots are considered a base level compression boot so the price is reasonable. Compression boots can be used as an alternative to getting a massage. So, when you compare the price of one single massage at about $120-$150, the price of having a set of compression boots at home to use every day or a few times per week really starts to save you money in the long run compared to having a regular massage done. 

See the Recovery Boots price online

Recovery Boots Warranty

The Endurance Relax Recovery Boots come with a two-year warranty which is above the industry standard manufacturers warranty of one year. This warranty is enough to cover any faults in the compression boots material or compressor unit including wiring and compression leads.

Ideally, we look for a longer warranty period but considering these compression boots offer a competitive price point, the warranty period matches the boots.

Recovery Boots Performance

The Endurance Relax Compression Boots have a decent level of performance for their price.

The compression boots offer three different programmes, ten different pressure settings between 30-200mmHg and allow you to set three different time settings of 10, 20 or 30 minutes. 

In a nutshell, the Endurance Relax compression boots are all you need to get the benefits of compression boot use without spending too much. We found that the simple design of the compression boots makes them easy to setup and the settings make them good value for money.

Massage Settings

The three massage settings or modes on the Endurance Relax boots can be described as the following:

Programme A: (MASSAGE) exerts pressure from the foot towards the heart, alternating chambers

Programme B: (LYMPHATIC DRAINAGE) stimulates flow through pressure from the foot towards the heart, retains pressure until the entire leg chamber has been inflated.

Programme C: (DOUBLE MASSAGE) exerts pressure from the foot towards the heart, two chambers at a time.

Portability

The Endurance Relax Compression boots may be lacking a little bit in portability, being a compression boots system that you have to plug into the wall. Many compression boots now come with a rechargeable battery pack that allows you to go cord free and mean that the compression boots are more portable. Although these compression boots are not portable, the price reflects this as portable compression boots with Lithium battery packs are generally double the price.

Recovery Boots Sizes

When fitting recovery boots, it should be noted that they should be pulled as high as possible to get the right fit and ideal coverage around the muscles, with the feet being the least important or necessary part of the body to compress with the boots.

For the Endurance Recovery Boots there are two sizes, Medium and Large, that allow for different leg length and width requirements.

The smaller size boots, being the Medium (M), are 110 cm long and typically are meant for leg inseam up to 87-88 cm, typically if your height is from 1.55-1.75 m.

The large size boots, being the Large (L), are 125 cm long and are meant for leg inseam larger than 88 cm, typically if your height is 1.76-2.00 m or you simply have long legs.

When fitting compression boots, the sizing is very important because boots that are too large will not allow the inflation or compression to be tight enough around the legs to provide any benefit.

Compression boots that are too small for your legs will not allow the boots to cover enough of the leg and get high enough on the body to fully compression the leg and flush the blood around the body. Both boots too big, and boots too small, will be uncomfortable and reduce the effectiveness of the compression therapy potential that you are aiming for using compression boots.

I am 175cm tall with an athletic build and the medium boots suited me. If you have long legs the Large size is definitely better, as you want full coverage of your legs to get the most out of your compression boots. Too small, and the boots will be too tight around your legs and won’t cover your quads which is the area most people want to massage. Too large, and the compression boots won’t be able to inflate tight enough to get full compression benefits and the boots may compress your feet which is not ideal. 

The sizing options can be summarised below:

Medium:

Length - 110cm

Leg Inseam - 87 to 88cm

Ideal User Height - 1.55 to 1.75cm

Large:

Length - 125cm

Leg Inseam - 90cm

Ideal User Height - 1.76 to 2m

Recovery Boots Options and Models

Recovery Boots Australia has a good range of compression gear available on their website. 

Aside from the Endurance Relax compression boots, they also have Endurance Sport Recovery Boots, Endurance Pro Recovery Boots, Endurance Active Recovery Boots with bonus shorts, Recovery Shorts for hips and glutes, Massage Guns, and a number of other accessories.

The more expensive compression boot models offer a greater number of compression programmes, modes and intensities and also include more compression chambers to give a better quality compression. Some of the higher priced compression boots on their range also come with a remote control so you can adjust the controls without having to adjust the body which can be difficult while the boots are inflated. 

The Endurance Relax Compression boots, which we tested, are the ideal model for those who are new to compression boots and don’t want to spend too much money on compression boots but still experience the benefits of compression boots. Yes, the more expensive boots are higher quality and have more features, so if you have the budget and are a professional athlete, then a model like the Endurance Athlete Pro Compression Boots for legs, hips and glutes is a better option for you.

Recovery Boots FAQ’s

What are the benefits of compression boots?

Compression boots are an effective treatment for muscle pain, inflammation following exercise, faster muscle repair, reducing swelling, removing lactic build up after exercise, and they also provide benefits for those who sit for long periods of time at work, frequent travellers, treating varicose veins and circulation issues in the legs.

How long should you use recovery boots for?

Compression boots are relatively safe to use for session lengths of up to 1 hour. The Endurance Relax Recovery boots allow you to set a session length at 10, 20, or 30 minutes long. 30 minutes is an ideal length of time to use compression boots, as you may find that pressure starts to build up in the feet which can get uncomfortable.

Compression boots vs compression socks

Compression socks do not offer any where close to the same benefits as compression boots. Yes, compression socks offer some benefits for reducing inflammation and swelling, particularly useful for flying with. But, compression boots are an active device that helps to push fresh blood around the body which helps with faster recovery, whereas compression socks and other compression garments are static.

Obviously, compression boots are much more expensive than compression socks, but if you are looking for a tool that actually helps speed up recovery time, reduce DOMS, reduce swelling and inflammation after a hard workout, then compression boots are a much more effective treatment protocol than compression socks or compression tights.

Compression boots vs massage gun

Compression boots are a much more all round treatment than a massage gun. While a massage gun can offer a targeted release for small areas of tight muscles and knots in areas like the glutes, quads, shoulders and even neck and feet, compression boots offer a much closer treatment to a traditional hands on massage.

As far as recovery goes, massage guns are more effective for releasing acute tension in isolated areas of muscles, but compression boots are a more effective overall recovery method as they actually help to push fresh blood around the body and remove waste products which massage guns can not do as well. In term of price comparison, most massage guns are about half to one quarter of the price of compression boots so massage guns are more budget option for recovery.

If you have the budget, using both massage guns to release tight muscles and then using compression boots after to flush out the legs and increase blood flow is a very effective way to recover from exercise.

Final Word on Recovery Boots

We found the Endurance Relax Recovery boots to be very good value for money in terms of getting the benefits of compression boots for a decent price.

Compression boots provide an obvious advantage for athletes looking to recover fast from training and be ready to perform. If you are a high level athlete or someone who is preparing for an upcoming race, run, triathlon, team game, marathon or ironman and want to perform better, having a set of recovery boots that you can use for 20-30 minutes at home a few times a week is an smart way to recover.

The Recovery Boots Australia stack up pretty well against its big competitors in Normatec, Rapid Reboot, Air Relax, Therabody and other big players in the recovery space. The Endurance Relax boots are a lower cost option for compression therapy at home and we encourage you to look closely at compression boot reviews to see which compression boots are right for you.