Beurer FM90 Foot Massager review: luxurious massage for your whole foot

Beurer is one of the leading health and wellness brands, with a range of products including everything from medical monitors to massage chairs. The Beurer FM90 Foot Massager shares some ideas with those chairs, and like other Beurer products the emphasis here is on features rather than price: the FM90 is more expensive than some rivals, but it offers a lot for the money. If you don't want or need the air compression there is a more affordable shiatsu model, the FM60.

Is the Beurer FM90 good enough to sit amongst today's best foot massagers? We put one to the test to find out. Read on for our full Beurer FM90 Foot Massager review. 

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Beurer FM90 Foot Massager review: design and features 

The Beurer FM90 Foot Massager looks and sounds rather odd: its shiny black half-dome looks like a space alien's crash helmet and if you use its air compression the inflation and deflation sounds are rather distracting. You'll definitely need to turn the TV up if you want to watch something while you relax. But you'll forgive anything when you experience the massage here: with multiple options, multiple intensity levels, comfortable cushioning and optional heat it's a wonderful device that proved so popular we had to keep retrieving it from our children, who kept sneaking it out of the living room when we weren't looking.

The Beurer FM90 Foot Massager is quite large and quite heavy. It consists of two lined slots for you to stick your feet into – it's designed for feet up to UK size 11 – with a control strip in the middle. This uses coloured lights to show you what you've selected: the lowest button picks one of three massage programmes, the second sets the intensity level of the air compression massage and the final button turns the heat on or off. 

Beurer FM90 Foot Massager review: massage options

Like the Beurer MG320 Shiatsu Air Compression massage seat cover we also tested out, this offers both mechanical massage and gentler air pressure massage. The three massage programmes here are massage only, massage with air pressure, and air pressure only. You can have heat on any of those settings, and while that's just an on or off setting we didn't want it to be any warmer or cooler: it worked fine through even fairly thick socks (and we'd recommend keeping your socks or tights on with this one as those enclosed areas for your feet aren't going to be easy to clean).

The standard massage delivers shiatsu-style kneading of your foot, and it's particularly good when you have the heat option enabled. But the real star here is the air compression, which inflates and deflates to give you what feels very much like a real foot massage: it grips around your foot and grabs your heel, and while it takes a bit of getting used to it'll quickly become your favourite programme. It's also the noisiest, responsible for the Darth Vader-esque breathing sounds as the air pockets inflate and deflate, but while it's a bit annoying when you're trying to watch TV – especially if it isn't your feet that are getting the massage – it's quite soothing when you hear it in isolation.

If you'll be sharing your FM90 with others or just don't necessarily want a really intense massage every time, the multiple options and intensity levels are ideal: you can range from a relatively gentle massage to some serious squeezing, so it's easy to find the intensity level and massage combination that's best for you.

Beurer FM90 Foot Massager review: verdict

The Beurer FM90 is not the cheapest foot massager, and it isn't the quietest either. But it may well be one of the best, because in addition to shiatsu massage and heat it also has that incredible air compression, which is a great alternative or addition to the standard shiatsu massage. With variable intensity and a choice of programmes – shiatsu, shiatsu with air, air only – and optional heat it's a luxurious option for your lower extremities and a good option for sharing with other family members. It's more expensive than some rivals but it offers much more flexibility and it's particularly good for people who find the most intense shiatsu massages a little too strong.