Experts explain how wellness treatments using heat and cold can improve your health. These outdoor saunas will help you enjoy these potential benefits right in your own home.
Saunas come in a variety of styles, from traditional barrel saunas to more modern cube saunas with electric heaters, infrared heaters, or wood-burning stoves. Some newer models come with high-tech features like surround-sound speakers, LED light therapy, and charging stations for electronic devices. However, to fully enjoy the benefits of a sauna, you really need a high-quality product.
We’ve found six of the best outdoor saunas and put together a comprehensive guide to help you choose the right one. We also invited Saloni Sharma, MD, Medhat Mikael, MD, and Errik Li, a research fellow in sports science and lecturer at the Department of Sports and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland (also known as the Sauna Centre), to help us understand how saunas can benefit athletes during training.
This article is for informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, prevent, or treat health problems. Always consult your doctor before starting any new supplement or exercise program.
If you’re looking for a more high-tech sauna, the Luminar Outdoor Infrared Sauna from Sun Home is definitely worth the investment. This five-person sauna uses an infrared heating system that can be controlled via a mobile app. Indoor saunas typically use infrared heating, but Sun Home claims that its Luminar model has up to 500 watts of power, which is 12.5 times more than similar products. Equipped with a Bluetooth speaker and soothing LED chromotherapy, this sauna will make even first-time users enjoy the warmth. Yes, this sauna is pricey, but it’s fully functional and has floor-to-ceiling windows that offer panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.
According to SweatTent, you can set up the SweatTent outdoor sauna in about three minutes. It is portable as it is easy to install and remove. The material is durable, insulating and weather-resistant, so you can keep your sauna outdoors for a long time.
The SweatTent is heated by a wood stove and comes with 20 pounds of sauna rocks, a pair of fireplace tongs, and heat-resistant gloves for safely starting a fire. The SweatTent is our favorite complete sauna kit. It’s easy to set up, relatively inexpensive, portable, and works great.
The Sun Home Luminar Sauna is a cube sauna with carbonized wood exterior walls and Duraglass windows that can withstand all weather conditions. Compared to other two-person cube saunas, the Luminar takes up little space. It uses a combination of infrared and full-spectrum heaters to maintain the optimal temperature regardless of the outside conditions.
The sauna is made of carbonized grade A red cedar wood and features thick double-glazed windows for durability and thermal insulation. The Luminar outdoor sauna features nine heaters, including three infrared heaters under the bench and six full-spectrum heaters around the perimeter of the sauna, ensuring an efficient and effective sauna experience. Sun Home cleverly positions these heaters so that users can enjoy the warmth of the 3D healing waves from all angles.
You can control the Luminar’s temperature via an app, starting to heat up the sauna before you even get home. It features Bluetooth surround-sound speakers and panoramic views through durable glass windows.
The Redwood Outdoors Barrel Sauna is a traditional barrel sauna made from thermally modified wood. It has all the features you need without any of the extras. We really appreciate that you can customize several parts of this dry sauna, from the heating element (you can choose between a Finnish sauna with a Harvia electric heater or a wood-burning stove) to extras like a weather-resistant shingle roof and even a cold plunge pool. It has a spa-like aroma and dry heat, and can comfortably accommodate 4 to 6 people.
One of the great things about Thermowood saunas is their durability and ability to withstand the elements. Redwood Outdoors claims that with proper care, this sauna can last up to 20 years outdoors.
The Redwood Outdoors Thermowood Sauna is our recommended sauna for cold weather outdoor use due to its durable, weather-resistant construction. This sauna is built in a traditional Scandinavian style using heat-treated Scandinavian cork, which provides excellent thermal insulation. This construction not only extends the life of the sauna, but also increases energy efficiency and ensures even heat distribution throughout the room.
The Thermowood Cabin sauna set includes an electric Harvia heater, a wooden heater guard, a water bucket and ladle, sauna stones and an indoor seating bench, providing all the necessary components for a truly relaxing sauna experience.
If you enjoy your sauna, have a healthy lifestyle, and live in a place where you can relax outdoors, a sauna can be a great investment in your health. “Researchers have found many potential health benefits of saunas; most importantly, they have found that saunas can help treat cardiovascular disease (especially high blood pressure and heart disease), as well as acute and chronic pain and neurological disorders,” Mikhail said.
However, installing a sauna indoors can come with some logistical challenges, such as installation, insulation, and more. Outdoor saunas are easier to install and allow you to be closer to nature, as many have large windows. “One of the benefits of outdoor saunas is that they are outdoors,” Sharma said. “We have a problem in our society called ‘nature deficit disorder,’ which means we don’t spend enough time outdoors. There are many proven benefits of being outdoors, and these saunas allow you to combine those benefits with the potential benefits of heat therapy.”
Depending on the model, once your outdoor sauna is installed and ready to use, you can set the temperature using a manual controller, Bluetooth app, or touchscreen. Heat comes from a heater or wood stove. Some outdoor saunas allow you to set the timer up to 36 hours in advance. Then you simply open the door, climb in, and relax.
As for timing, “two to three 15- to 25-minute sessions a week is ideal,” says Mikhail. “In 15 to 25 minutes, people can get the most benefit without feeling dehydrated or dizzy.”
Bring a book, put on some music, or invite a friend to sweat with you—just remember to drink plenty of fluids.
“You need to make sure you’re drinking enough fluids before and after the sauna,” says Sharma. “You sweat a lot in the sauna, so it’s easy to become dehydrated.” If you sweat a lot, we recommend taking an electrolyte powder after use.
Ideally, you should make sauna use part of your post-workout routine as soon as possible, says Lee. “We found that not only was the effect stronger with the combination of exercise and sauna, but many of the cardiovascular benefits, such as lower blood pressure, also lasted longer after exercise.”
Most saunas use electricity for lighting and heating. If your sauna doesn’t have lighting, a simple wood-burning sauna stove may not need electricity. If you’re looking to reduce your environmental impact (and your energy bills), solar-powered saunas are also available. You’ll just need to make sure you have a battery backup.
Because of its large size and weight, the sauna is not very portable. Therefore, we recommend that you wait until you have a permanent residence (as opposed to an apartment or rental house) before purchasing an outdoor sauna. However, life changes, and sometimes you have to move. You can transport an assembled outdoor sauna, but you may need special equipment to load it into the back of a truck. There are several very portable tent saunas on the market, and they are much less expensive than the outdoor saunas we recommend.
The outdoor saunas we recommend range in price from $1,599 to $9,799. According to our research, less expensive saunas provide sufficient heat but have fewer features. More expensive saunas typically accommodate more people, have a wider range of temperature adjustments, provide a more comfortable experience, and are built with higher-quality materials.
Many of the outdoor saunas on this list offer optional accessories. While these accessories are not necessary for your new sauna regimen, they can make your sauna experience more enjoyable, luxurious, and comfortable. Common accessories we saw included outdoor showers, cold water tubs (like the Plunge), and wooden loungers. However, you can make these accessories yourself.
Many health trends are short-lived (and potentially harmful). But saunas have been a part of Scandinavian life for hundreds of years and have huge potential for improving health. Our experts say that regular sauna use can help relieve muscle pain and even chronic pain.
If you’ve tried heat therapy before and want to make it a long-term lifestyle choice (and have the budget), an outdoor sauna can be a valuable and helpful tool. However, as with any major health investment, our experts recommend that you always consult with your doctor before purchasing an outdoor sauna or starting a sauna session, especially if you have serious cardiovascular or pulmonary conditions.
The price of an outdoor sauna depends on many factors, including capacity, heat source, additional features, built-in technology, and materials. We found that some saunas cost around $1,599, while others cost up to $9,799, depending on your budget and needs.
Yes, outdoor saunas are usually equipped with fittings and accessories (such as roof tiles) that protect them from the elements and keep them dry and ventilated in the winter.
When purchasing an outdoor sauna, you need to consider its cost, including the power consumption for electric heaters, lighting, etc. When purchasing an outdoor sauna, pay attention to the power and amount of electricity required to operate it; it is always worth calculating the electricity bill for your sauna.
Amanda Dvorak, ISSA-CPT, ISSA-CNC, is a fitness and nutrition writer and editor. She has written for sites like PowerliftingTechnique, FeastGood, Garage Gym Reviews, BarBend, and Fitbod. In her free time, she can be found working out in her garage gym, snuggling with her dog Charlie, trying to keep her cats Raven and Riley from destroying her house, or spending time with her family—all while sipping coffee.
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