Gear-obsessed editors choose every product we review. We may earn commission if you buy from a link. How we test gear.

By eliminating hoses, Therabody’s RecoveryAir JetBoots are easier to use.

If you follow elite runners on Instagram, you’ve likely seen the inflatable compression leg sleeves that many athletes slip into following hard races and workouts. Initially a device used in medical settings, these compression boots can now be found at gyms and used by physical therapists. And, because there are many options at more reasonable prices, you might even add a pair to your own home recovery tool kit.

One new pair of boots, the Therabody RecoveryAir JetBoots, has taken aim at making it easier to use, more portable, and, thus, the first choice of runners like you and me. With pumps integrated into each boot, the whole process is less cumbersome, so you’re more likely to actually use the things.

You likely know Therabody for its first product, Theragun, one of the original percussion massage guns. That first one was as loud as a jackhammer and packed a sturdy wallop to your muscles. Subsequent updates were much quieter, however, and now the company offers a number of models including a bean-shaped portable massager for just $199.

Therabody has expanded its offerings beyond massage guns and is in a two-horse race with Hyperice to become the top recovery company. In 2020, Hyperice acquired Normatec, which was the pioneer of compression boots among runners. Later in the year, Therabody acquired Recovery Pump which specialized in pneumatic compression, i.e. inflatable boots. There are other companies offering similar devices, including Rapid Reboot, Air Relax, SLS3, Flyte, and The Speed Hound. All of them function similarly—an external compressor pushes air into the leg sleeves starting at the foot and moving up the leg, inflating and deflating repeatedly to enhance blood flow and circulation.

Unlike the RecoveryAir Prime ($699) and RecoveryAir Pro ($1299) that Therabody launched at the same time, the RecoveryAir JetBoots don’t have an external compressor that connects to the leg sleeves with hoses. Instead, a pump is built into the foot of each boot, with a control panel on the thigh. In reality, this makes it so much more convenient to use just because there are fewer components to connect.

Therabody also draws a distinction in how its boots compress, measuring the pressure in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg), which is how blood pressure is measured. The four zones of the boot fill up to slightly different pressures, with the foot being the highest. Other systems, by comparison, use 1 to 10 scales.

Therabody has also focused on the full cycle—fill and flush. On a call to introduce the product, founder Dr. Jason Wersland said, “It’s not about squeeze, but about how frequently it flushes—let the limb go back to its normal size.”

In my testing, I found it took 63 seconds to inflate when the pumps were set to 50 percent pressure, and deflated in 16 seconds. That cycle repeats for whatever time you’ve set on the interface. When selecting a stronger squeeze at the highest level, it took 94 seconds to fill—from foot to hip—but still deflated in just 16 seconds.

Because they don’t have an external compressor and hoses, the JetBoots are far easier and more convenient to use. I find I reach for them more than I ever did Normatec’s boots at the end of a day simply because I can zip them on and start using them. They also store away a bit easier—I just roll them up, starting at the foot, and tuck them into the dust bag. That’s all great, because if there’s any barrier to recovery, even a small hurdle, I’m less likely to even do it at all.

Another benefit of being hoseless is that you can more comfortably balance a laptop or read a book while you’re sitting in for your recovery session. But, it’s still not perfect: The small control panel on the thigh of each boot is positioned to the left, so the one on your right leg gets in the way. I have to jockey my laptop at a slight angle. It’s not a dealbreaker, but a little annoying. Much of this review, in fact, was typed out on a 13-inch Macbook while wearing the boots.

Compression is where things take a little turn. I can’t measure mm Hg here at Runner’s World headquarters, so will take Therabody at their word on the strength and gradation of the squeeze. In any case, just like the Normatec, they inflate first at your ankles, then work their way up to help move your blood back toward your core. But, unlike the Normatec, which has seven different intensity levels, the JetBoots have only four. This means there are larger jumps in the amount of pressure, so you may find one too gentle but the next level up to be too intense. In either set, I usually just crank the intensity to the max and let it do its thing for 20 minutes or so. That’s going to be too strong for a lot of people, so start low and increase pressure to find what works best for you.

Another quirk of the JetBoots is that the timer doesn’t actually count down or show you time remaining. The only options you have are increments of 20 minutes and the display will change to show what 20-minute interval you’re in. Then again, if you know you want a 40-minute session, you can easily look at your watch or just chill out through a sitcom and know that you’re almost done.

In a word: no. Therabody’s marketing for JetBoots touts their portability. In reality, you’re not lugging these around any more easily than Normatecs or any other similar device—they’re still bulky and heavy. An old pair of Normatec boots I still use (pre-Hyperice acquisition) weighs 8.2 pounds, including the external pump and hoses, but without the hardshell carrying case. The JetBoots, by comparison, weigh 9.3 pounds and come in a thin, stretchy dust bag.

Size is the larger issue: I tried jamming the JetBoots into a carry-on suitcase, but they took up more than half of the space leaving me just enough room to cram in a pair of size 12 running shoes. So, no, I’m not traveling with the JetBoots nor Normatecs anytime soon. You could, if you’re determined.

Honestly, I love compression boots. And I hate foam rolling. After hard runs up and down mountains, when my legs really ache, I’ll slip them on and I swear that I feel better recovery with these than if I had foam rolled or done nothing at all. (An aside: a biomechanics lab we’ve worked with said they always prescribe elderly patients to foam roll, if only because it forces them to get down on the ground, move their body weight around, and then have to work to get back up off the ground. Kind of genius, really.)

But they come at a cost. This pair is just shy of a grand, other systems can cost even more. For that, you could buy six or seven pairs of shoes—enough to get through a year or two of training. And a simple barrel of foam can be had for less than $30. But, for runners in serious training—whether running high mileage or doing a lot of speedwork—the benefit quickly becomes apparent because all you have to do is sit down and relax.