What To Consider When Buying a Portable Sauna

There are several big considerations when shopping for the best portable sauna. Here are the top things you should keep in mind:

• Heat type: There are several types of saunas, most of which can be categorized as either a dry sauna or wet sauna. Dry saunas use infrared or a heater to warm the air and whoever is sitting in the sauna. On the flip side, a wet sauna produces heated steam to fill the air. Both heat styles provide a relaxing experience, it’s just a matter of what level of humidity you enjoy.
• Size: Portable saunas still come in a range of sizes and capacities. The most compact are blanket saunas, which are the approximate size of a sleeping bag. These saunas can be folded or rolled up to be stored or to travel with and only fit one person at a time. There are also tent saunas. A tent sauna is a cloth or plastic shell that is supported by a built-in or separate frame. They then are filled with wet or dry heat with a heater that is placed in the tent or connected to it via piping. All of the tent saunas on our list fit one person, but some brands offer a two-person portable sauna. If you’re looking for space to fit multiple people, you might be better off with a more traditional home sauna.
• Price: One of the biggest considerations for a sauna is how much you’re willing to pay. The most affordable portable sauna on our list is the Serene Life Portable Sauna, which is just over $100. Portable saunas, however, can cost over 5 times that much, like each of the sauna blankets on this list. This is still significantly less than a permanent sauna, which can cost thousands.

Why You Should Trust Us

Family Handyman has been in the DIY and home improvement space for decades. And it’s always been our goal to help our readers transform their homes into beautiful, functional and relaxing spaces.

When it comes to wellness at home, we’ve put in the time to test and review products and plans so you can get the most bang for your buck. We can even teach you how to build your own sauna! For this piece, each product listed was tested at home by our editors and product testing team to find their unique features and pain points to help inform your purchase.

How We Found the Best Portable Saunas

To find the best portable saunas, we searched online retailers for the highest-rated and most talked about blanket and tent saunas. From there, we chose both wet and dry heat saunas to test.

Our editors and product testers put these saunas to use in their homes over several uses. They took note of how easy or difficult the sauna was to set up, the heat and time settings, extra features, the sauna experience, price and more. The testers also evaluated the ease with which the sauna could be broken down and moved.

FAQ

What is better: infrared or steam?

As mentioned before, the benefits of infrared and steam heat are largely the same. Typically, dry heat can reach a higher temperature than wet heat, though you might feel the heating effects more in a dry sauna.

Portable steam saunas tend to take up a bit more room than infrared since they’re powered by a separate steam generator, but they usually cost less.

What are the benefits of a portable sauna?

Portable steamers pack all of the health benefits of a traditional sauna into a more compact and movable design. Rather than taking up precious space in your home or garden, portable saunas can be broken down, or rolled up, and stored when not in use.

Blanket saunas are even easier to move around and travel with since they’re roughly the size of a large sleeping bag. That makes them a great option to soothe muscles and joints when you’re on the move.

How do you clean a sauna?

It varies a bit depending on which specific unit you go with and what materials it is made of. But there are some commonalities. Chiefly, you should always allow your portable sauna to dry completely in between uses and before packing it away to prevent mold and mildew from growing.

It’s also a good idea to wipe down the inside of the sauna with a gentle cleaning solution to kill any germs and bacteria. Just check with your manual or the company’s website to learn which solutions are safe for the material the sauna is made of.

If your steam sauna utilizes piping, give them a wash regularly and ensure they’re dry before storing.