Barrels, Tents, Cabins, and NorthUps. How to Choose the Right Sauna?

Barrels, Tents, Cabins, and NorthUps. How to Choose the Right Sauna?

Listen – the author of this post is one of the owners of NorthUp Saunas. Obviously there is bias here. However, the owners of NorthUp Saunas also own sauna tents. They've helped design and build traditional cabin-style saunas. They've loved the heat in high quality handmade barrel saunas made locally.

We truly believe there is a great use case for every type of sauna. We also believe there are tradeoffs to each sauna type. We're here to help you make the best decision for your home, cabin, or business.

The Real Tradeoffs Every Sauna Buyer Faces

  • Wood-fired romance or the convenience of electric or infrared
  • A long-lasting sauna or an affordable pice
  • Portability or year-round outdoor durability
  • Vast windows and light or robust insulation
  • Spacious group seating or fast heat up times

Common designs were never meant to do it all. You simply choose what you value and accept the tradeoffs. NorthUp was designed to balance the best of every approach — without the usual compromises.

Longevity

When you’re investing in a sauna, you are usually deciding between spending less but having a sauna you may need to replace, or spending more on a sauna that could last decades.

Barrel saunas and infrared cabins shipped from overseas usually sacrifice quality materials for a more affordable price point. A tent is almost always going to be the cheapest, but you're at the mercy of a fragile structure prone to breaking and rips, and often a stove not meant to last more than a year or two.

Verdict:
The NorthUp and traditional cabin builds will outperform for years. Bonus? The NorthUp can easily move with you to your next home (more on that later). 

Heat Quality and Sauna Experience

First and foremost, in order to have an authentic sauna experience, your sauna must be able to heat to at least 160°F (ideally 200°F) and have a stove that allows you to add water to the rocks to create steam (or löyly, as they say in Finland). This is what makes a sauna a sauna and where most of the research around health benefits has been done. This is why we cannot recommend an infrared cabin, as there is no steam and the temperatures fall well short of ideal sauna temps.

The other top items that can make or break a sauna experience:

  • Sitting where the heat is – barrels and tents struggle as they only have one tier of benches. This leaves you with cold feet. 
    • Bonus item to watch for: Make sure your sauna ceiling is pitched so the high part is over the benches. Many saunas have the tallest part of the ceiling in the middle of the sauna (barrels and tents), or over the stove (poorly designed cabins). This means the heat is where you are not.
  • Proper ventilation – a sauna needs an intake vent to efficiently feed the stove and also to supply fresh air for sauna bathers. No one want to feel light-lighted or get that dreaded musty smell. A sauna also needs an outlet for air to escape and properly circulate. NorthUp has a patented industry-leading ventilation design.
  • Natural light and views – Are you out in nature? Is there a lake, or trees, or stars to look at? Or do you just want to avoid that dark claustrophobic feeling from a windowless room? 
  • Heat up times -- read more about how our NorthUp sauna, with only 1/4" walls, manages to outperform the heat up times of most traditional saunas.

Ease of Use, Install, and Portability

When evaluating the price of a sauna, it's important to put a number on shipping costs and installation costs and time.

  • Assembling a sauna for days is either a lot of your own time or an additional cost to hire out.
  • Buying a fully assembled barrel or traditional cabin often means spending thousands on shipping, and potentially even more for a crane or forklift once it arrives at your home.
  • Don't forget foundations! Heavy saunas require you to pour a foundation which is more time and more money.

NorthUp saunas are so light, that even if you do not purchase our ultra-easy 5 panel kit that goes together in minutes, not hours or days, and instead buy one of our fully assembled builds or trailers, they are so light you can simply slide them around your properly and place them directly on grass, gravel, or concrete, or an existing deck. No foundation needed. No hassle.

Wood-fired vs. Electric

  • Wood stove: If you love the crackle, ritual, and romantic feel of a traditional stove — this is your jam. Best for off-grid or outdoor setups.

  • Electric: We always say the best sauna is one that gets used. If removing that extra barrier of building a fire means you'll use it more, then absolutely do it. Push a button and it's hot, easy to maintain. Especially great if you’re installing near a home or rental. You just have to consider that could be an added cost for an electrician if you don't already have a 220V / 15A breaker for the stove to plug in. 

Our builds work beautifully with both — it just depends on your lifestyle and how hands-on (or hands-off) you want your sauna sessions to be.

Still not sure?

We’ve helped dozens of people choose the right sauna for their lifestyle, backyard, and budget. If you’re even thinking about building something beautiful, we’d love to talk it through with you.

Shoot us a text, email, or hop on a call to make sure you're choosing the right sauna for your space and to pressure-test and tough decisions.

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