I purchased the Sunbeam Xpressheat Heating Pad (in Burgundy) to replace a thought-to-be lost, but tried and true, smaller Sunbeam heating pad that my family had, I believe 15 years. The original saw us through muscle aches, ear aches, recoveries from surgery, etc. We knew we had to get another Sunbeam, given the “lost” one lasted so long. We purchased the Xpressheat, only to find the original heating pad (a Z-1228-001, with removable cover) after opening and using the new one. C’est la vie. Who can’t use two heating pads in a family of four with a wife who is seemingly continually cold? The following review (which, in some sections will compare my old Sunbeam to my new) offers our experiences with the Xpressheat after a week of owning it. Pros: ***Cord: Long, 9’. Made of a seemingly-durable rubbery plastic, providing more than enough length to reach from a wall to a reasonably-placed couch, bed, etc. 3’ longer than my old Sunbeam’s cord ***Controller, Offers more customized heating experience compared to the old pad -- 6 levels of heat, auto-off after 2 hours (my old pad doesn’t have this)… or remain on. LCD, in large, easy-to-read numbers, shows selected heat level. Buttons are well executed, with tactile click when pressed. Offers built-in heat meter -- an LED that starts dim and grows brighter as the pad reaches full heat. Pad has lighting indicating the selected mode (i.e., 2-Hour Auto-Off/Stay On). ***Pad: Xpressheat is twice as large as my old pad, providing more heating area on your back, or as a wrap around legs, etc. Heats much faster than the old pad (almost immediately, compared to five minutes to reach full heat on the old pad). Shell offers two surfaces: soft plush side, which gives you a more diffused, radiating-heat experience, and a side similar to typical heating pads, which provides a direct-heat experience. With the material used, hand-washing should be a snap -- a big pro when your pad is being used with someone who is sick. Instructions note the pad is machine washable (while a pro, I’m not entirely sure I’ll take that route). Supports, damp-heat therapy (i.e., spritz, don’t douse or soak, the pad with water) -- nice compared to some pads that use a cheap foam insert for damp heat. Damp-heat therapy is great on dry skin with aching muscles underneath. ***General: Cord disconnects from the pad. You won’t have to worry about kinking the cord when storing it (which is a worry with my old pad). Sunbeam offers a five-year warranty, per the instructions included with the pad. Cons: ***Controller: Compared to my older pad, controller housing is a lighter-duty plastic. This worries me a little… especially with other reviewers showing pics of their controllers having melted. Still, this was the highest rated pad in its class. With the five-year warranty, I figured I’d give it a shot. ***Pad: Product page specs measure in at 12”x24”. Pad truly measures in at 11.5”x23.5”. That’s a combined full inch of heated goodness lost. Why? Pad heating elements seem substantially thinner than my old pad. Maybe the Xpressheat’s are simply more efficient; but, I see thinner as something that can break or stop working easier. Time will tell. ***Washing: Usually you need heating pads when you’re sick or aching. If sick, you want to be able to wash your pad after use (or if a little one vomits on it, which happened a few times with our old pad). With the old pad, we can simply remove and machine wash the pillow cases my wife custom makes and puts on it. Also, using a mild bleach solution, we can clean the plastic shell. With the Xpressheat, cleaning seems like it will be more complicated. If not hand-washing, I’m slightly confused by what the instructions tell you to do to machine wash the pad. The safety instructions portion of the insert tell you not to “bunch,... or crush pad-avoid sharp folds.” Makes sense. You don’t want to damage the elements. The washing Instructions inform you how to machine wash the pad. Still, the whole submerge and machine wash electrical components thing seems like a bad idea to me. Beyond that, washing machines have tendencies to bunch, crush, and fold things sharply during washing cycles. I think I’ll stick to hand washing, which will make cleaning the pad a little more difficult but will likely ensure longevity. General Comments (Neither pro or con, just-is): The controller, like the one on my older pad, does get warm. It didn’t get too hot to hold, but it did get warm. I’d expect this, given it’s handling an electrical load and has lighting built into it. Time will tell how well it performs and holds up. So far, so good; but, I will definitely use the auto-off when using the pad at night, in case I fall asleep with it on. Recommended Purchase?: So far, yes. I think it’s a four-star experience. It loses one star for the lighter-duty controller housing and the thinner heating elements. But, it’s easily a four-star in that the Xpressheat gets just as hot as my old pad, and much, much faster to boot. Also, I love the larger heating area and the customizable heating experience the Xpressheat provides, compared to my old pad, which only offers mildly hot, hotter, and “are you kidding me!?” settings. While I have certain reservations about how easy it will be to clean the Xpressheat’s plush pad, it is truly very soft compared to our old pad. So far, it’s become the go-to heating pad in our household. Give it a shot. You likely find it’ll become your go-to also. If I have a reason to change my review, for better or worse, I’ll do so ASAP. ‘Til then, happy heating.
