Far Infrared HandStrap: Mysteries of the Unknown

by Eric Caoili { Jul 7th 2007 at 7:00PM }

This exotic wrist strap claims to make use of bio-ceramics, a composite of lead-free minerals, to douse your arm with far infrared rays and help with blood circulation. Though "far infrared rays" might sound sinister if you're not familiar with them and their uses, they are supposedly quite healthy.

You can't see far infrared rays in the sun's light, but you can feel their warmth absorbed into your skin. In addition to their blood circulation benefits, these miracle beams are also said to naturally reduce inflammation, decrease pain, and revitalize skin cells. All that for only 780 yen (approximately $6.33)!

Tags: ceramics, far infrared, FarInfrared, handstrap, health, healthy, infrared, ir, nintendo, nintendo wii, NintendoWii, strap, wii, wrist strap, WristStrap

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Crazylink @ Jul 7th 2007 7:27PM

Any chance of these messing with the sensor bar?

Imadogg99 @ Jul 7th 2007 7:35PM

Omiigod! Must get!!!

Chris @ Jul 7th 2007 8:12PM

damn hippies

Cosmos @ Jul 7th 2007 8:38PM

This will go great with my Q-ray Ionized Bracelet!/sarcasm

Spex @ Jul 7th 2007 8:40PM

You can't "mess with the sensor bar" becuase the sensor bar does nothing but emit light. But if you're asking if this will affect pointing, no. I don't think it will because the strap is never in front of the Wii Remote anyway.

steve @ Jul 7th 2007 8:58PM

I hear this is good for losing weight too. Quite innovative I must say.

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Joop @ Jul 7th 2007 9:00PM

So Alex Chiu is making Wii accessories now? Awesome.

Shadow31 @ Jul 7th 2007 10:22PM

...well, um, at least it looks cooler than the normal strap... question is, is it only available online? Wouldn't even consider it if I have to ship it from Japan...

Michael K. @ Jul 7th 2007 10:38PM

"or a big fat placebo, its all the same crap"

-Futurama

Jamesology @ Jul 8th 2007 2:51AM

okay, seriously I just bought a Wii and bought all of these useless accessories and I'm already bored of it. Seriously bored of it. Other than these stupid accessories what else is there to buy for the Wii to make it more interesting? When is Mario Revolution coming out?

O yeah I bought pretty much all the games that's worth while. Except Zelda, I'm not a Zelda person.

dukemeiser @ Jul 8th 2007 9:54AM

This is junk pseudoscience. I can't believe a gaming site is posting this kind of garbage and promoting misinformation! You might as well hold a light bulb to your wrist, since it also emits far infrared. NEARLY EVERYTHING EMITS (OR REFLECTS) FAR INFRARED LIGHT!

Lance Cardigan @ Jul 8th 2007 11:54AM

This technology has been around for a long time. Golfers have been using them for ages to help with their wrists. The catch with this incarnation is you have to wear a far infared peice for quite some time for it to have a lasting and noticeable effect. So if you play Wii all day every day then this thing will help. And if that is the case, you will need it cos your wrists prolly hurt like hell if you play that much wii.

Lance Cardigan @ Jul 8th 2007 12:13PM

btw jamesology, while the applications of FIR technology are vast, it is by no means a "pseudoscience". The basic principals behind any device even claiming to use FIR as therapy have been patented since 1965 and were created in a scientific lab by respected researchers in japan.
Furthermore, you are correct in stating that nearly everything emits/reflects fir. It is easy to think of the many forms of infrared we enjoy almost daily; i.e. sunlight, massage, and even holding lightbulbs up to our wrists.
It should also be noted that i dont use or really endorse the use of FIR therapy, i just wanted to counterpoint the claim that it is bullshit. It is based on science.

James @ Jul 8th 2007 2:01PM

The big problem with articles covering obviously shite products like this is that you honestly can't satire them, so it's hard to know when people are kidding.

James @ Jul 8th 2007 2:15PM

Oh Lord, looks like the guy right above me (Lance Cardigan) isn't kidding. Oh, it's been *patented* since 1965? Guess how many *patents* there are for machines that use uranium to "energize" water or "cure" back pain with magnets? Tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands or even millions. A patent means "I thought of this first", not "This does what I claim it does". Proudly proclaiming the patent number of your hokum device is usually the first sign that it's a scam.

Japanese scientists study "FIR"? Guess what, these are the same guys that *study* eating shark penis to prolong erections -- hint: it doesn't really work.

Far Infrared is simply light at a lower frequency than the eye can detect, and like all light, when it strikes an object, the object heats up. Incandescent light bulbs generate tons of FIR (c.f. Easy Bake ovens), but the same effect can be achieved with a 10-cent strip of nichrome across a battery: shit gets hot. Yes, heat has therapeutic properties, as we've known basically since the first caveman discovered that bathing in a hot spring felt pretty good. But to pretend that it's "new technology" and deserves "scientific study" -- or that a wrist strap that obviously has no power source and thus *cannot possibly* emit heat or light (visible or otherwise) is misguided at best, or damnable lies at worst.

Unless the "bioceramics" are actually radioactive? Yeah, I gotta get me one of those...

Liam @ Jul 8th 2007 4:39PM

wait a minute, you guys are talking like this shit makes sense. It's a poor choice of words by some crappy Japaneses company trying to make a hand strap that will supposedly increase the length of the infared beam.

the guy who wrote this article was just an idiot attempting to make a joke based off the name with no information on the product itself.

this is not anything like that Q-ray bullshit