Sauna blanket buying, and where it fits

Starting prices, checked

How to choose

1. Know what it is. A blanket heats your wrapped body; a cabin heats a space you sit in with your head inside it. The blanket is portable and cheap; the experience is lying still, not sitting in a room.
2. Check the temperature and materials. Read the maximum temperature and the materials against the skin, and whether it uses low-EMF elements if that matters to you. A towel or insert is usually recommended between you and the blanket.
3. Judge storage and use. A blanket folds away, which is its main advantage in a small home. But you lie still inside it for the session, which some find restful and others confining; decide which you are.
4. Set expectations against a cabin. A blanket cannot replicate a cabin's enveloping heat, the ritual of a sauna room, or steam. It is a low-cost, low-space way to sweat, not a substitute for a sauna if a sauna is what you want.

What a sauna blanket actually is

An infrared sauna blanket is a heated, padded sleeping-bag-like enclosure with far-infrared elements built into it; you lie inside with your head out and it warms your wrapped body. It is by a wide margin the cheapest and most portable entry into infrared heat, needs only a normal outlet, and folds into a cupboard. What it is not is a sauna in the room sense: there is no heated air to breathe, no steam, and no sitting upright in a cabin, so a buyer expecting the sauna experience from a blanket is usually disappointed, while a buyer who wants a cheap, storable infrared sweat is well served.

What to check before buying

The things that separate a good blanket from a poor one are the maximum temperature it reaches, the materials that sit against your skin, whether the heating is even or patchy, and, for buyers who care, whether it uses low-EMF elements. Most blankets are used with a towel or a cotton insert between you and the interior, both for comfort and hygiene, so factor that in. Cleaning is wiping down the interior, since you cannot machine-wash the electronics, which makes the insert more than a nicety.

Where a blanket fits and where it does not

A blanket suits a renter, a small home, a traveller, or anyone testing whether infrared heat is for them before committing to a cabin. It does not suit a buyer who wants the ritual and the enveloping heat of a sauna room, who wants steam, or who wants to sit and read rather than lie still. Priced against a cabin it is a fraction of the cost, and that gap is exactly the gap in what it delivers; judged as what it is, rather than as a cheap sauna, it is a reasonable product.

Common questions

Is a sauna blanket as good as a sauna?

No, and it is not trying to be. A blanket wraps and heats your body while you lie still; a sauna heats a room you sit in, with air to breathe and, in a traditional sauna, steam. A blanket is a cheap, portable infrared sweat, not a substitute for the sauna experience.

Does a sauna blanket use a lot of power?

No. It runs on a standard household outlet and heats only the small enclosed space around you, so it uses far less power than a sauna cabin, which is part of its appeal for a small home or a renter.

How do you clean a sauna blanket?

You wipe down the interior, since the electronics cannot be machine-washed, and most people use a towel or cotton insert between themselves and the blanket to keep it clean and comfortable. That insert is worth having from the start.

By type

• Compare Outdoor sauna on printed prices
• Compare Infrared sauna on printed prices
• Compare Barrel sauna on printed prices
• Compare Cold plunge tub on printed prices