I love both running and indoor cycling, but too much of either can result in legs that feel like lead the next day. After tough session on the bike, even a modest hill can feel like a mountain, which is no use at all – especially when I'm meant to be the one leading the run. That's why I was curious about a new pair of inflatable boots that promise to "make recharging your legs more convenient than ever”. Could they really help me fit in some extra sprints on the bike without lagging behind the next day?
Therabody specializes in massage guns ; in fact, the company was originally called Theragun, and rapidly became synonymous with handheld percussive massagers. However, its latest creation, the RecoveryAir JetBoots, are something very different. They look a little like ski pants, and use air pressure to compress your legs and deliver a massage that, according to Therabody, boosts circulation and lymphatic drainage, relieves muscle fatigue, and alleviates the dreaded DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that plagues runners and cyclists alike.
They cost $899 / £799 (about AU$1,250) direct from Therabody , which is undeniably steep, and about the same as the top-end Garmin Fenix 7 Sapphire Solar. However, if you're a dedicated athlete then it's potentially worthwhile if they can eliminate DOMS and help you get back in the game sooner.
Suited and booted
To put the JetBoots to the test, I headed out to the gym for an on-demand indoor cycling class that never fails to make my legs feel like lead the next day: Les Mills The Trip 15. Unlike most indoor cycling classes, which have one or more instructors facing you, The Trip has you riding through a virtual landscape that looks like something out of Tron. You still have an instructor advising you when to increase the resistance, when to stand, and when to sprint, but you can focus on the CG road.
The Trip number 15 starts out easy enough, but about two thirds of the way through you're presented with a series of 23 jumps, with instructor Khiran encouraging you to crank up the resistance a little with each one. The video finishes with a rather sneaky standing sprint that'll leave your quads begging for mercy. I've learned the hard way that it's not an ideal one to choose the day before a club run.
After a good stretch, a half-hour walk home, a shower and fresh clothes, it was time for the boots. At first I was concerned by the relatively short power cable, but I needn't have worried; although you can use then while they're plugged in, the boots have a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the sole of each foot, so you can use them wirelessly.
They come in three sizes, and tall people needn't worry; I'm 5'10" and the boots were more than long enough to cover me from foot to hip. A chunky zip down the front of each one makes them easy to don and doff, and their medical-grade fabric can be wiped clean if you happen to work up a sweat on a warm day.
Settled on the sofa, I used the control panel on each thigh to start the massage. Feeling the pressure begin at the toe as the overlapping air pockets inside each boot began to inflate, I couldn't help being reminded of the Flowtron boots I had to wear once after an operation, which worked on the same principle.
The JetBoots are much more appealing though; they not only look more better, they're far quieter too. The model I tested is completely self-contained, with the pumps fitted into the sole of each foot, though there's also a more affordable model that retails for $699/£599/AU$799 and has an external pump. The JetBoots are smart too, and automatically adjust the inflation to suit the size of your legs so everyone experiences the same intensity of massage.
Dr Jason Wersland, founder of Therabody, recommends taking the time to run through some mindfulness sessions, and the hum of the pockets inflating becomes quite hypnotic after a while. In fact, it might be useful if they had a timer to stop them after a certain period in case you nod off.
That, plus some meditation tools, might be a feature that arrives with the forthcoming Therabody app, which is due to launch in the coming months.
The verdict
The massaging sensation itself was very pleasant, and I found the mid-level pressure settings particularly relaxing. The real test, however, was how my legs felt the next day.
Sadly, the feeling was much the same as usual. They were definitely heavy, as I'd expect from past experience, and I couldn't perceive a noticeable difference compared to previous occasions when I've simply stretched and then gone about my day as usual. Still, it wouldn't be fair to draw a conclusion from a single experience.
The following week was a particularly tough one with lots of running watches to test, and I spent some quality time after each session relaxing with the Jetboots. The experience was certainly soothing, and something I looked forward to, but it's tough to say whether it had much of an impact on DOMS throughout the week. The difference certainly wasn't stark.
Perhaps if I was training for a marathon or a sportive I might get more benefit from the JetBoots, but personally I'd have a hard time justifying the cost when a good massage gun, stretches, and gentle mobility exercises post-workout are effective by themselves.
HP's CES 2022 lineup shows us impressive gaming PCs at an eye-watering price
If you’re after a new high-end PC setup then HP has you covered with its brand new Omen computers and monitor.
Announced at CES 2022 , the new Omen desktop, laptops, and gaming monitor look sure to deliver a next-level performance - though they'll be sure to hit your wallet hard too.
The new Omen 45L gaming PC - with maxed-out specifications - will offer more power and storage than you’d know what to do with. At an estimated price of $4,500 (around £3,327 / AU$6,214), this PC comes with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 GPU with 24GB GDDR6X memory, an Intel Core i9-12900K series processor, 64 GB of DDR4 RAM , and two 2TB SSDs .
Alternatively, you could start from scratch and make a PC yourself using the Omen 45L ATC case (priced at $1,900, around £1,405 / AU$1,940). Much like the new desktop, this case comes with the new Omen Cryo Chamber cooling system built-in.
This compartment sits above the main tower and houses a 360mm AiO liquid cooler that results in CPU temperatures that are up to 6°C lower than a similar spec’d model at full load.
On top of that, the case features toolless front and side panels and a chassis that supports up to a full ATX motherboard, a triple-slot full-length graphics card, and up to 200mm ATX PSU. It’s also equipped with a Nintendo GameCube -style handle to help you carry it around.
For a truly portable gaming experience, you might instead want to opt for the newly upgraded Omen 16 and 17 Laptops. The Omen 16 and 17 now come with an RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 3080 Ti respectively as well as the latest 12th gen Intel Core Alder Lake processors .
These new components should give the laptops a decent bump in performance however if you already own the most recent Omen 16 or 17 laptop then the upgrade may not be worth the cost of admission. The new Omen 16 is expected to retail for $2,499 (around £1,848 / AU$3,451) and the Omen 17 has an expected RRP of $4,999 (around £3,696 / AU$6,904).
Whether you’re looking to nab one of the new Omen PCs, or if you already have a rig you love, you might want to look for the Omen 27u 4K gaming monitor. This HDMI 2.1 compatible display is perfect for high-end pc users or owners of current-gen consoles: the PS5 and Xbox Series X .
With a 144Hz max framerate, a 1ms refresh rate, and ARGB rear lighting - which works like Philips Ambilight to create an ambient glow around your display - this monitor is sure to help you get the most out of your rig. However, the $1,199 (around £886 / AU$1,656) unfortunately means this monitor might not be suited to every budget.
Horizon Forbidden West's HDR on PS5 is broken right now
Horizon Forbidden West is a sumptuous-looking game on PS5 , but it’s currently plagued by a number of distracting visual issues, including a strange HDR bug that causes brightness to fluctuate whenever you move the camera.
The issue has been analyzed by Vincent Teoh of HDTVTest , who used a Canon reference monitor that includes a real-time video data waveform analysis tool to show what’s going on.
As you can see in the video below, Horizon Forbidden West’s HDR compresses every time the camera moves and then returns to normal once the camera is static. This results in a clear shift in brightness, causing a noticeable flickering effect that some players may find uncomfortable.
The issue occurs in both Resolution and Performance modes and is more noticeable in Horizon Forbidden West’s lower frame rate mode. If this HDR bug is too distracting for you, we’d recommend turning off HDR for now until Guerrilla Games releases a fix.
Unfortunately, Horizon Forbidden West also suffers from more visual problems outside of its HDR mode. As Teoh and many players have pointed out, the game has issues in Performance mode such as aliasing artefacts, shimmering, and noise on foliage, as well as pop-in.
Resolution mode isn’t perfect either, as this mode appears to include some artificial sharpening that makes the game look noisier than it should. There’s also the fact you're confined to playing at 30fps, which some players just can't stomach in 2022.
Analysis: Horizon Forbidden West’s graphics modes aren’t great right now
Guerrilla Games has recently released patch 1.05 which addresses numerous gameplay issues as well as crashes, but the developer notes that the team is looking into “several graphical issues reported by players regarding shimmering, sharpening and screen saturation when moving the camera” as a high priority.
While there’s no denying that Horizon Forbidden West is a gorgeous game, many players have complained about the PS5 game’s visuals. It’s clear that things don’t look quite right compared to other recent Sony releases, which tend to offer pristine image quality even at lower resolutions.
Yes, Horizon Forbidden West uses checkerboard rendering and a resolution of 1800p in Performance mode, but we’ve seen other titles run at a lower resolution and offer better image quality overall. The HDR bug is particularly strange, too, and isn’t something we’re used to seeing from Sony’s first-party developers.
The good news is that Guerrilla Games has been swift at patching the game, which means we could see all of these issues eradicated sooner rather than later. It’s always a shame when a game releases with graphical anomalies, but it’s also important to remember that some players simply won’t have noticed these problems, or don’t see them as a big enough reason to deter from their enjoyment of the game.
For those that do, it might be worth holding off on your playthrough until these graphical bugs are resolved. Horizon Forbidden West is available now exclusively on PS4 , PS4 Pro , and PS5.