Testimonial for Using a Quality Ice Wrap Made for Knees

Below is a great testimonial to using quality, body specific knee ice wraps instead of a bag of frozen peas, a zip lock of ice cubes, an all around ice wrap or even a cheap body part specific ice wrap. When you consider how much longer a quality wrap will last, how much better it will work and the fact that you will most likely use it more often because of how convenient and well it works you will soon find it was money well spent.

Review: Activewrap, the Mack Daddy of Wraps

Because when when you’re a runner, sometimes you need a little ice.

But hey, a wrap’s a wrap and ice is ice right? Who needs a fancy schmancy wrap when you’ve got frozen peas anxiously awaiting you in the freezer?

Not so fast there. Well…ok, maybe in a pinch a random bag of ice (or your favorite frozen vegetable) will do. But come on now, we’re running moms here. Do we really have time to sit around and ice? Me…not so much.

I bought a real actual (cheapo) ice wrap for my knees (sensitive little buggers) last year in training for my marathon. Bought it from Meijer for around $12-15 (best I can remember). But you know what they say, “you get what you pay for,” and that I did. I could never seem to get that wrap just exactly the way I wanted it and if by chance I did happen to get it just right, it would slide right down within taking a few steps. And really, if I’ve got to just sit down while I wear it, I might as well just use that bag of peas after all. On top of all that, it’s pretty much completely falling apart now. Awesome.

So when Ashley from ActiveWrap contacted me to see if I’d like to give one of their wraps a try, oh yeah. I was all about having a little upgrade. Wait. Scratch that. When you go from a clunker to a Cadillac, “little upgrade” isn’t an entirely accurate description. I moved waaaaaay up.

These wraps are heavy duty baby. The minute I opened the package and took a look at the knee wrap, I could just tell it was really solidly made, which is probably why they feel totally comfortable putting a warranty on their wraps.

There are three parts to these wraps: the hot/cold pack (you can freeze or microwave it for cold OR heat therapy whichever you desire), the bag you slip the pack in, and the outer wrap that you attach the bag to via some serious velcro then wrap around your knee. 

Besides the fact that I think this sucker is going to last a REALLY long time despite the ridiculous number of times I may be using it, here’s what I LOVE about these wraps:

1.) You can wrap them really tight around your leg so it doesn’t move if you walk around, but it’s not so tight that it’s uncomfortable.

2.) The cold part of the cold pack doesn’t get bunched up in any one particular area. It stays spread out all across the area you are icing.

3.) You get two cold/heat packs. With my other wrap, there was only one. I’d always forget to put mine in the freezer when I was done using it. Then the next time I needed it, I’d pretty much be screwed. While really you can ice anytime, it’s not nearly as effective as icing immediately after you finish running. So having to wait an hour or so for my cold pack to freeze up kind of seemed like a waste. I’d just use something else. But with ActiveWrap, I’ve always got a cold pack ready to go.

4.) They are REALLY REALLY cold. And yeah, I know cold is cold, BUT if you happen to be wearing running tights,  you can just strap that puppy right over top of your clothes and let me tell you, it is PLENTY cold. You can ice right through a pair of blue jeans if you have to. (I know this because I did. See the picture)

5.) You can adjust the position of the hot/cold pack within the wrap because of the various locations of velcro so you can get it right where you need it.

So all and all, this wrap gets two thumbs up for me and I am super excited to have it for my next marathon. Unfortunately, I only received one so I don’t have another one to giveaway. I could give away mine. But really, who’d want a wrap I’ve worn it on my sweaty smelly knee a fee times? (ahem…ok. Maybe it’s also completely washable and I just REALLY REALLY want to keep it. Can you blame me? My other one is falling apart for crying out loud!)

BUT I hear you can possibly score yourself a little discount if you follow along on Twitter or you like ActivWrap on Facebook. So you might want to check that out. Also take a peek at their website if you get a chance. You’ll find more detailed information on all their wraps for just about any body part that might cause you some grief for being an athlete and far better pictures than I was able to take with my silly little camera phone.

Big thanks to Ashley & the good people at ActiveWrap for giving me the chance to try out such a sweet product for runners. And especially thanks for all their patience, waiting around for me to write this review. I got the wrap in the mail just prior to the plague hitting and here a month later, I’m finally getting around to writing the review and letting you all know what I thought.  I’m sure they were starting to wonder if I just took their wrap and ran. Literally. If Ashley is representative of what their customer service is like, you all should go buy a wrap just to chat with them. So friendly, polite, and did I mention patient yet? Just an all around good company. Seriously, go check them out when you can.



P.S. So maybe no ActiveWrap giveaway, but there’s still a few hours to get in on that No Snow Snuggler giveaway for your little ones. Speak now or forever hold your peace (and toddler with frozen popsicle fingers as you carry them into the house sobbing because MOM, they want to play in the snow gosh darn it and for more than a few minutes! Details on that one here. And don’t forget the newly announced CaptivCrochet Giveaway for the grownups too!

P.P.S No my foot is not a freaky shade of glowing white. Nor is  that a digitally imposed foot. That’s just the flash people making it look all bizzarro. The flash.