Which couch?

oakworks is the best of the 3 brands you mentioned.

Master I wouldn't bother with, generally they are cheap tables disguised with good branding IMO.

Are they secondhand or new?

I think one of the main things to consider is the weight of the couch. Some are labeled as light weight but when you look at the actual weight it realy is not light.

I've got an Earthlite Luna mine was from IPM but they don't stock them any more.

Oakworks is also a good brand.

The company I do a lot of my massage training with use Masterlight couches and they are ok. I believe you can buy them at Costco.

If you can get to a stockist like massage table store you cann check out the various couches they sell.

CamExpo is on in Londdon next week and there will be massage suppliers there.

Hiya

Thanks for replying to my message

Yes the beds were second hand, I *think* after some consideration that I am going to buy brand new now, so I have a budget of about £200-£250 including VAT and delivery. I have looked at the massage warehouse web site, thehy seem reasonable beds, they have the portalite beds there, do you know if they are any good please?

Thanks for your time 🙂

I have the portalite aluminium myself and love it to bits!

Have it over 2 years now, i use it about 3-4 times a day and still as good as new. In the clinic I work in, two other therapists have portalite tables and they say good things also. one also has an oakworks and says good things about that also.

Hiya

Thanks for replying, I have finally made my choice (I think) and I will order the Affinity deluxe tomorrow, hopefully in purple, cos thats my favourite colour, if not then it will be biscuit!!

Hopefully it will be so lovely I will have loads of customers because my bed it so comfortable, fingers crossed anyway!!:)

affinity couch

you should look at as they have the best prices for the affinity couches.:)

Hiya thanks for that, I phoned the massage warehouse yesterday and ordered a portalite, deluxe

They were so helpful and gave me a great deal, bed comes tomorrow

Woohoo

Tahnks for all your help everyone

Hi, I'm looking for couch recommendations too!

I am slightly confused about arm slings - at college the couches have enough room above the breathing hole for clients to rest their arms above their heads when having back massage, but a lot of couches I've seen have head rests that stick out from the end of the couch and have 'arm slings' to support the arms below the headrest - I take it this is comfortable for clients and a good position for massage? Just checking as I've never used a couch with arm slings before!

The only recommendation I can go on is the ones of my step dad and my husband who have both been on my couch which has an arm sling, and they both said it was really comfy!

We dont have arm slings at college but my therapist had a couch with an arm rest on it and I thought it was really comfy!

Thanks for the feedback! Now trying to decide between the Portalite Delux and the Portalite Oval... the delux has had some great feedback on here, I think I would prefer it, but it's a tad more expensive, I wondered if anyone has used the Oval and could let me know their thoughts? Is the oval shape a disadvantage at all i.e. would it support the shoulders less? It looks pretty much the same to the Portalite Advantage to me except it is oval and has slightly bigger dimensions (is a bit wider and longer).

Just a thought about armslings....as a client I find it really uncomfortable to rest my arms above my head for any length of time. I would much prefer to have armslings, though I have to say I've never encountered them.

xxx

I have an Earthlite massage table complete with arms slings and breathing hole, I got mine brand new from a company on ebay for £70, if I find out the paperwork I will pass on the company name to you.

I've just taken the plunge and ordered myself an Xpert Ultralite from Tao of Books. It's kind of a mid-range couch but I'm happy with what you get for the price and know a couple of people on here have got one and liked it a lot. Yay!

Just a quick update, I ordered this couch on Wednesday and they tried to deliver it this morning! Very impressed with the speedy delivery, however I wasn't in to sign for it so will have to organise redelivery or collect from the depot. Why o why do delivery firms seem to operate mon - fri 9am - 5pm when most people are at work!? Kind of wish I'd told them to leave it in the garden shed for me, I'm feeling all impatient now!

Just another quick update - got the couch and it is lovely, everything I need at the moment, I feel it was great value for the money I paid and am very happy! I can now happily recommend Tao of Books to anyone interested in buying a couch. Good couches and good delivery service. They do a 2 year quick-swap warranty too.

This info is a bit late for you now Gabrielle but it might be useful for others. I use a table with an extended face cradle. These are far more comfortable for the client than the face hole actually in the table and can be adjusted to accomodate various head/neck alignments. I have my clients have their arms on the bed along the side of them. For ladies with a bigger chest I place folded towels under each shoulder to ease the pressure on the chest. As far as couches go - I think the important thig is that it be hight adjustable and at least 28 inches wide.

Hi Trevor

My couch does have an adjustable face cradle, so that's good! It's definitely more comfortable than a face hole, but I find that you have to lie in it just right to remain comfortable for a long time during massage (I might need to tweak the position of the face cushion on the cradle I think). Gave boyfriend a full body massage last night, still happy with the performance of the couch. Very easy to adjust the height too, which is good because I'm quite tall!