Polar Active Ice 3.0 | 9 QT Cold Therapy Ice Machine | Programmable Timer | Full Circumference Knee Pad | Cryotherapy Pain Relief System | Ace Bandage Style Compression

Why did you pick this product vs others?: I chose the Polar Active Ice 3.0 because it offered a programmable timer and a knee pad with full coverage. Other systems I looked at didn’t seem as user-friendly or as well-reviewed for long sessions. I wanted something reliable for both post-gym recovery and joint pain management. This cryotherapy system has been a fantastic investment for managing post-workout soreness and joint pain. The setup was straightforward, and I really appreciate the programmable timer feature—it lets me set the perfect session length without worrying about overdoing it. The knee pad provides full coverage and stays secure, delivering consistent cold therapy exactly where I need it. The ice stays cold for hours, and the system is surprisingly quiet during operation. It’s well-built, with quality materials that feel like they’ll hold up for the long run. The only downside for us was that the wrap was too small to fully go around the knee/thigh area. This isn’t the fault of the company—just something to keep in mind if you need it for larger areas.

Buckle up! There's a lot to say. I'm comparing the Polar Care Active Ice machine to four other units I've used. I've had knee problems for over 20 years. My first knee surgery was in 2003 and they provided me with my first cryo cuff machine. Back at that time it was not electric, it was gravity driven, so it had to be elevated much higher than your knee. It provided ice cold water, And I thought the machin was a fantastic bonus! Fast forward to about 2012. I purchased a Breg Kodiak polar Care unit. I was confident that they're really good units and so I put it aside until I needed it. When I needed it, it worked ONE time, and then the pump died. It was terribly disappointing. I spent all that money, was out of the return window, and had a dead unit I couldn't use. Fast forward again to almost 4 months ago, when I had another knee surgery. My insurance would pay for a cryo machine, so I was psyched. The equipment company my doctor's office uses provided me with some crappy noisy unit that provided cool water, but not cold enough water. The indicator light on that machine died after the first week. I requested another machine and they brought me an Ossur Unit this time. The Ossur does the job, But again, the water isn't very cold. The other issue I have with the Ossur unit, is that the knee pad was too small. It basically laid on top of my knee and went down the sides a little bit. Ossur does not have a wraparound or a larger version of the knee pad than what I had. And NOW, to the pièce de résistance: The Polar Care Active Ice! Y'ALL! This machine makes me want to do a happy dance! Here's my take--in no particular order. 1) The 9 qt unit looks like a small cooler you'd take on an outing. It's larger than a personal cooler, to be sure. But it's def not a monster! 2) It's only about 5.5 lbs when it's empty. The tubing is actually fairly weighty, as is the wrap I purchased. And the tubing is fairly long, which is a welcome convenience. 3) Upon purchasing this Polar Care Unit, you can choose from a bunch of different wraps. I chose the large rectangular wraparound for my knee, so that I could get 360° coverage. I HIGHLY recommend doing that. I mean, WTH is the point of a pad that you just put on the front of your knee? The wraparound was the way to go for me! 4) Not only can you use frozen water bottles inside the unit, but the Polar Care folks even have a video showing you how to do it. It is SUPER convenient to be able to reuse the water bottles and not have to worry about ice cubes!! NOW, to the REALLY great stuff! 5) There is a wired remote control! This little gem is of huge significance to me. The remote gives you the ability to set the timer in 10 minute increments up to 990 minutes. The timer cycles the unit both on AND off. The most recent studies show that cryotherapy is most beneficial at increments of 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. So that's how I set my machine. That means I could go to sleep and it just keeps cycling, I don't have to do anything. I don't even have to think about it! You can imagine what a tremendous bonus that is for post-op pain when you're in a drug induced stupor! Additionally, You can adjust the coldness of the water from numbers 1 to 4. I have no idea what the temperatures are, but 4 is the coldest. Just be sure NOT to place the wrap directly on your skin. You need a barrier to protect your skin. I use it with pajama pants or lounge pants. I feel like my jeans are too thick. 6) And speaking of water temps, this machine gets COLD, and I mean COLD!!! FINALLY! A cryo machine that actually provides really cold water. As mentioned, the water temp is adjustable. So YOU don't have to have the freezing cold water, and that's another HUGE bonus! 7) This unit is fairly quiet. The little humming that it does is not annoying to me at all, whereas the others grated my nerves. But I suppose that's different for everybody. Some reviewers have mentioned hearing the water trickle inside the unit. I hear that occasionally but it's really a non-issue for me. This Polar Care Active Ice Machine is, hands down, the all around BEST of the 5 cryo units I've used. If you haven't guessed by now, I HIGHLY recommend it.

Used this product after a TKR surgery. It worked well and as advertised. Easy set up and use. We used frozen water bottles and rotated them as needed. Depending on the water flow/temperature setting it kept cold for 6-10 hours. We found it best to keep cooler even with or above the pad on a stool. We did not have any issues with use or quality. It would be difficult for patient to set up and strap on in the first several days after surgery but after 3-4 days, when you start recovery you should be able to manage moving it around and replacing frozen bottles. We loved it and it definitely is a huge improvement over frozen ice packs. Obviously costs a lot more, but well worth it.

Post TKR and pain relief best to worst; 1. Narcotics AND this Polar Active Cold Therapy System 2. Polar Active Cold Therapy System 3. NDAIDs and Polar Active Cold Therapy System 4. Acetaminophen and Polar Active Cold Therapy System One of the strongest pain sensations post-op is burning. This system is perfect for that as well as helping to decrease swelling. It feels great. It’s very simple to set up and use, and it’s quiet. Highly recommend using frozen water bottlers (remove some water first). It can hold 6 half liter bottles or 10-12 8oz bottles. Once you fill the cooler with water and frozen water bottles, the pump will circulate ice cold water for about 5-6 hours. Highly recommend having two sets of frozen water bottles so you can switch out with minimal down time. It will then automatically circulate cold water for the set time and then stop circulation for the set time. The timer will reset every time the unit is unplugged, but it’s super simple to change. Usual directions are 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off. I purchased the rectangular full coverage knee pad. The Velcro straps are wide and strong, and very secure. Keep in mind that if it fits well before surgery, it may have a small gap post op from the swelling. Not sure about durability as I’ve only been using it for 3 days. The information included about the company looks like they stand behind their product and that you could get replacement parts if needed. If you begin to hear water trickling you need to check the water level and add some. Very happy with purchase. By using the frozen water bottles, you won't use up all your ice. and it makes it super simple to refill. You don't have to carry the cooler and pad to the ice. Just bring the frozen bottles to the cooler.

If this had been the first icing unit I bought instead of the third, I wouldn’t have wasted my money and time with the others. This is a quiet workhorse that reliably provides a strong flow of chilled water and greatly reduces my pain from hip replacement surgery, which affects a large area of the upper leg with swelling and pain. I chose the large pad, which covers most of my hip and thigh and does a fantastic job of treating both simultaneously. The included timer unit is simple to program and takes care of the on / off cycling my doctor advised to avoid over icing. Based on a disaster with a different brand unit, I wanted to make sure spare parts were available, the pump was easy to access for cleaning, and the unit was easy to maintain. So before ordering the unit I called the Polar Products Company and was impressed with the person's patience while answering my questions. In my opinion Customer Service is as important as the quality of the product, and my experience with their Customer Service was excellent. There's a 6 month warranty on the unit and the company offers a range of replacement parts, so you don’t have to buy a whole new unit if something should wear out. As you can see in the photo the pump is easily accessible. Heck they even included two spare O rings for the male couplings with the unit. Not many companies bother with stuff like that anymore. I’ve been using the frozen 16.9 oz water bottles instead of ice and they lasted for most of the day, reducing greatly the number of times needed to change out the ice. I placed the unit on the night stand next to the bed and my recliner, just a couple of feet from my head. It runs quiet enough that I don't need to blast the TV volume, and I find the faint sound of the pump and water tend to send me off to dreamland, which is fine by me. All in all I couldn’t be more pleased with the quality of this purchase, and the fact that it is made in the USA is an added bonus. I’m happy to support my fellow Americans producing a superior product and offering great customer support.

This ice machine works very well…especially since it has a timer which makes it very easy to control 20 mins. on and 20 mins. off. With water and about 3 ice paks, you get about 4 hours of cooling. The loss of 1 star is due to its design….specifically you have to completely remove the cooling pad if you have to get up during your ice treatment. Otherwise, you are dragging these water tubes behind you, and then you need to re-apply the pad and the liner.

I purchased this item as when prepping for knee surgery I learned that the biggest mistake was not getting an ice machine. I get it! The machine is a true life saver. It wraps easily around my not-so-narrow leg and the two secure straps are Velcro on both ends so maximum adjustability. I just pop a couple of frozen water bottles in and they last a few hours in the water, then repeat. Oh and the cord is really long which means I can stretch it to the couch or bed with ease. My favorite features is not only can I schedule the amount of time it runs on but I can schedule for how long between icings. This way when I got to bed it can turn on for 30 minutes and then in 3 hrs turn back on again—I get three icings in from when I got to bed and get up. Worth the money especially if you value quality, ease of use, and convenience.

I purchased this after being sent home from the hospital after knee surgery. I was in agony and my entire leg from the knee to the toes became horridly edematous. Looking for more constant pain relief than what pills were providing, I searched for an ice water circulating machine. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost was reasonable and ordered this after comparing various ones. I especially appreciate being able to adjust the level of coldness with a remote as well as the remote giving me control over how long the ice water circulates as well as the length of pauses between active circulation. Immobility makes the remote priceless. The pain relief I got was instantaneous AND complete! It gave me the break from constant excruciating pain immediately. The swelling in my leg also began to slowly subside. I used it lying down with my leg elevated on a foam wedge. I also used it sitting in my recliner. At our age of 69 years, we found it super easy to set up and get running. I used it for several weeks and and very happy that I bought this. This is a relatively small size and doesn't weight a lot empty - weighs a bit with ice and water but that can be added once it is in the place you are going to be using it. It is easily portable - just needs an electrical outlet within about 5 feet. I highly recommend purchasing this if you are planning to have any type of orthopedic surgery (although I suspect it would be useful for other types of surgery also.) I also recommend this for chronic pain or injuries. My only suggestion is that if you are the least bit a "larger" person (I weigh 200 lbs. at 5'3") that you get the large "blanket" rather than the knee wrap as with the swelling after surgery I could barely get the edges of the knee wrap to meet to velcro. I certainly wish I had gotten the larger "blanket", but made do until the swelling receded quite a bit and the wrap fit my leg better. Even so, it was an incredible relief. One of the best purchases ever. After reading several questions and reviews I have to add the following: The remote has been improved - you can control the temperature with the new improved programable timer and temperature control remote. You have 4 choices of temperature control. Works fantastic! Direct from their website: "The combination programmable timer & temperature flow control (#DFT) is a direct replacement for the programmable timer (#DTP), which has been discontinued. In addition to custom cold therapy "on" and "off" cycles, this combination remote allows you to adjust the flow of the water through the system, which will in-turn make the water temperature less cold."