I Have This Electric Heatpad from Amazon in Every Room - I Love the Heat and Timer Settings

It’s affordable, easy to use, heats up quickly and so soothing for my aching joints

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I’ve tried half a dozen electric heatpads, and this one from Amazon, has the best settings for heat intensity and timers, and it also outlasts many afforadable heatpads. Photo: Living In Pain

Our Rating: ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ for Heat, Versatility and Durability

I use a heatpad daily, all year round (even when the weather is warm) on my painful lower abdomen, back, shoulders, and whichever joint or body part is giving me hell. I have tried half a dozen different types, and this one from Amazon is my favourite for its multiple heat settings, timer options, auto-shut off and long lead.

It helps me take the edge off the pain I suffer as a result of severe endometriosis, a painful inflammatory condition that causes internal sticky adhesions and organ damage. I also am unlucky enough to have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that leave my joints prone to dislocations, and soft tissue damage easily alongside rheumatoid arthritis (what a gene pool, eh?)

✦ What It Is

• The Letitwell heatpad from Amazon is an affordable mid-range option that works in place of a classic hot water bottle, providing soothing, medication-free comfort for aches and pains that respond to, or feel soothed by heat. Using a heat pad can ease aching muscles, joints, help reduce inflammation (though applying cold may prove more useful in the initial hours after an injury) and has become a non-negotiable tool for me as I continue Living In Pain.

✦ Why We Love It

• Heat intensity: This has six heat intensities, which I really like, as after decades of heatpad use, I have a high tolerance and love the hottest settings, most of the time. On days when my tolerance is lower, I enjoy settings four and five on my lower body, and two and three on my shoulders or upper back.

• Timer settings: Some heatpads can only stay on for 90 minutes at a time. This goes up to 120, which is far better as it’s quite easy not to notice it switching off after 90 minutes and only be alerted when your pain starts rising again. However, this has multiple intervals to suit your preference, and warms up to your set heat inside five minutes.

• Quality: I’ve had dozens of affordable heatpads, and usually, due to the constant use on my end, they need replacing about every 12 months or so when the lead stops staying connected to the heatpad, the material rips, or it will no longer turn on. This model usually lasts much longer, up to three years in my experience, and I keep one in my bedroom, another in my home office and a third on my sofa in the living room. Wherever I am, my heatpad is draped on me for pain relief, and it comes with me on every hotel stay, sleepover and holiday abroad (don’t forget your EU travel adapter, available on Amazon).

• Long lead: It has a long lead (over two meters at 213cm), sturdy construction, and yet feels sumpiously soft to the touch, which, when you’re experiencing heightened pain or sensory overload, is soothing in and of itself. It has no off-gassing from VOCs - Volatile Organic Compounds - which is that funny smell some products have when you unpack them.

✦ Best to Know

• Cost: I’ve bought heatpads in the range of £13-45, and the ones on the lower end break easily, don’t last as long and usually don’t have as many setting options for heat or run time. The ones that are £45 are, in my opinion, overpriced. This mid-range pick that’s just shy of £25 is the sweet spot for me, combining affordability and longevity.

• Size matters: This one is 12/24 inches and just the right size (hello, Goldilocks!). For context, I am a size 16, and if I am sitting down, this covers my lap, wrapping around my thighs, with length to spare. If you go larger, the price will go up, and for extra heatpad dimensions, that upper end of my price range is worth it.

• Careful of necks: It’s generally not advised to use heat pads on the back or side of your neck. If that is exactly where you’re looking for relief, you might be better served by a bead-filled microwaveable heat pack which provides soothing heat relief at much lower temperatures, cools quicker, and stays on your shoulders rather than sliding off like these smooth and soft heatpads usually do.

✦ Who It’s Best For

• Those who need to soothe chronically achy joints, muscles or other soft tissues daily.

• Those who feel acutely sore after movement or exercise.

• Those who feel cold all the time. Making yourself warm is cheaper than making your house hotter and running up an excessive energy bill.

• Those who feel pain when their body or skin gets too cool.

✦ Where to Buy

👉 Shop at Amazon, direct.