When it comes to travel essentials, you might not think a massage gun makes the cut. I mean, it definitely makes the ‘nice to have’ list, but is it up there with your passport, phone, and wallet?

Fact: Travel causes muscle pain. If you’ve ever explored a temple complex for 9 + hours, or squished your limbs into an economy seat for the long haul, I’m sure I don’t have to elaborate!

Fact: Massage guns facilitate recovery.

And wouldn’t it be great to treat every single muscle group for immediate pain relief while traveling, instead of having to ‘walk it off’ the next day?

The Q2 mini is a pocket-sized portable massage gun with an amazing balance between power and size, breaking up knots and relaxing tight muscles.

Compact, lightweight and powerful. For under $100.

TLDR: The Bob & Brad Q2 Mini Massage Gun is the best mini massage gun you can travel with, and yes, it’s essential status is right up there with your passport (in my opinion, of course!).

Best Mini Massage Gun You Can Travel With For Under $100

Quick Overview of Q2 Features

• Speed up to 3000 RPM
• Vibration amplitude 7mm
• 5 Speeds, 5 Attachments
• 4 Hour Battery Life & USB-C Charging
• Ultra Quiet Technology
• Ergonomic Design
• Size of a bottled water (5.7”L x 3.4”W x 1.8”H)
• Weighs 0.95lb
• Travel Case Included
• 4,352 5 star reviews on Amazon
• Super easy to use

Who are Bob & Brad?

Bob Schrupp and Brad Heineck are the most famous physical therapists on the Internet (in their opinion, of course), though with 4.27M Youtube subscribers, you’ve probably seen some of their videos.

They offer great advice, tips, and information on how to stay healthy, fit, and pain-free, and together they have over 60 years of experience and knowledge as physical therapists and fitness experts.

As part of their mission to help the world get fit and stay healthy, pain-free, they also launched an excellent product range, and from their range of massage guns, the Q2 is so mini you can actually travel with it.

They have sleek, simple, affordable products, which they build first and foremost with quality in mind. And once you’ve traveled with their mini massage guns, you’ll understand why it is indeed an essential!

Because even when you’re on a non active vacation, simply walking around a cobblestoned city still leaves me with sore muscles at the end of the day, in desperate need of pain relief and a deep tissue treatment!

Well, the Q2 helps to accelerate tight muscle tissue responsiveness by increasing hydration, range of motion and function to tight muscles.

Should You Buy a Massage Gun?

Massage guns are a natural approach to improving your physical well-being.

Percussive massage devices work by applying force to your body’s soft tissues. A hammer-like motion sends rapid pulses of pressure into your muscles, increasing blood flow which allows you to recover from soreness or fatigue. 

When you’re traveling, these are a great way to quickly recover aching muscles after long active days, target back pain if you’ve been sitting in transit for long hours, and improve your sleep quality for making the most of each day.

Even if You’re a Newb?

But if you’re an average traveler and have no idea about physical therapy, is it worth buying one if you don’t know anything about targeting muscle pain? (don’t worry, me either!).

Using the Q2 mini massage gun is so simple and intuitive that you really don’t need the instruction manual; you plug in the charger, clip in your chosen massage head, and then hit the on button, more than once if you want to change the speed.

However, true to their mission of education, after it tells you where the on button is, it then has a fantastic visual guide as to how to use the gun for different muscle groups.

Whether you’re targeting your chest, abs, upper back, shoulders, triceps, upper traps (we’re now getting into muscle groups I didn’t know existed), hands, shins, glutes, claves, or feet, it shows you a visual guide for use, and tells you which attachment, protocol, and how long to use will get you the best outcome.

Here are some examples of my use:

Q2 Build & Performance

Despite being so small, the Q2 is an incredibly solid, quality product. And even though it’s on the more affordable end of the market, and is one of the smallest, it has an incredibly strong performance.

Ultimately, Bob & Brad have a brand to protect, so they don’t just slap their name on any old mass market product.

In terms of use, there’s a soft rubber casing around the hold grip, which makes it very comfortable vs the hard plastic or metal other brands tend to use. It offers a great natural grip, and because it’s so light it’s easy to hold without your arm getting tired.

It’s been designed so that you can hold it nicely to apply a really even pressure, and is built so that you can push it hard into your muscles without the gun stalling (as other similar guns usually do).

Stall force is around 32 lb, which means it will stop when that much pressure is applied. This is an impressive stall force for a gun so small, and it restarts on its own.

With a 3,000 RPM (how fast the head is traveling), this is surprisingly powerful for it’s size; just under the power of a full size massage gun. And even at full speed, it’s also incredibly quiet (you won’t distrub anybody)!

Easy to Use

There’s zero learning curve to actually using the massage gun; attachments very simply click into place, and if the battery is charged, holding down the on button turns the gun on.

You can then very easily move through the 5 speed cycles with the same power button, with an LED light display on the main body which shows you which speed cycle you’re using it on.

5 Speeds

There are 5 adjustable speed options which range from 1800 – 3000. To be perfectly honest, the lowest setting of 1800 RPM is already quite powerful, and I couldn’t imagine ever using it at its strongest.

Each speed (1800, 2100, 2400, 2700, 3000) delivers greater therapeutic benefits for the body.

5 Attachments

The wide range of attachments allow you to target lots of differet muscle groups, and it gives you great pain relief after a long day traveling. It comes with a:

• Ball Head, offering medium pressure intensity to target larger muscle groups like hamstrings, glutes, and quadriceps.
• Bullet Head for high intensity deep tissue impact. It could target areas in joints, palms, and soles.
• Fork Head for medium intensity on areas like your neck, spine, and Achilles tendon.
• Flat Head, which is wide and circular, and a good general attachment that can be used on all parts of your body.
• Air Cushion Head as a gentle attachment with air in the middle, for sensitive muscle groups.

All fit snugly within the small travel case so you can easily travel with the whole kit.

 Battery Life

Charging the Q2 is incredibly simple, as you can plug the USB C cable to any phone device or a wall socket attachment and let it charge. The battery lasts for 4 hours, and takes about 3 hours to charge to full capacity.

Battery life does depend on things like the speed setting you’re using it on and how much force you’re using against it. The battery is inbult (so not removable).

There’s an automatic shutoff after 10 minutes, which means if you’re switching body parts you just have to turn it back on again. But don’t worry, it’s a safety feature, and not your battery dying all the time!

The charging cable comes in the box, though you’ll need to attach it to your own USB port or charging block. It’s a nice long cable, which fits inside the travel case in its own mesh compartment.

Compact & Easy to Travel With

The Q2 is one of the most compact massage guns you can travel with, it’s incredibly portable, and comes with a great travel case for the main gun, and all its attachments.

The carry case is hard shell and durable, sleek, and sqaure to fit perfectly in most spaces. It also comes with a handy wrist strap if you’re hand carrying, or want to strap it to the outside of a backpack (though there’s no other handle).

The massage gun itself is the size of a bottled water (5.7”L x 3.4”W x 1.8”H). And weighing in at 0.95lb, you can tuck it into your carry-on, purse, or backpack really easily without problem.

The design is beautiful, clean and sleek; the gun and all its attachments are a clean black, which means you can move around with it and even use in public spaces while maintaining as much subtly as possible; it’s not a flashy color which is attention grabbing.

Price

Currently on Amazon for $69.49, this is one of the most affordable products on the market, which is incredible value considering the quality hasn’t been compromised.

Most other mini massage guns come in well over $100, but Bob & Brad’s mission of bringing affordable pain free solutions is first and foremost, so they’re not interested in gouging on the price.

As far as mini massage guns go, the Q2 is a top product at a fantastic price.

Where to Buy

Bob & Brad’s website is bobandbrad.com.

You can buy the Q2 mini massage gun here for under $100.

But don’t just take my word for it – if you’ve got the time, you can read through Amazon’s 4,352 5 star reviews!

Megan is an Australian Journalist and award-winning travel writer who has been blogging since 2007. Her husband Mike is the American naturalist and wildlife photographer behind Waking Up Wild; an online magazine dedicated to opening your eyes to the wonders of the wild & natural world.

Having visited 100+ countries across all seven continents, Megan’s travels focus on cultural immersion, authentic discovery and incredible journeys. She has a strong passion for ecotourism, and aims to promote responsible travel experiences.