The 5 Best Portable Saunas for Recovery and Relaxation

CAROLINE STANKO/FAMILY HANDYMAN

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Best Overall

Tatdol Portable Home Steam Sauna Box

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For the closest thing to a classic home sauna, turn to the Tatdol portable steam sauna box. As our pick for best portable sauna, the 31.5 x 31.5 x 70.87-inch station is tall and roomy enough to easily fit the included steam box, folding chair and textured footrest with space to spare. The unit was still compact enough to be set up in the (infrequently used) dining room of my 1-bedroom apartment.

Once I had all the pieces laid out, the sauna was easy to assemble in under 30 minutes and I let the sauna air out for 24 hours. The tents waterproof fabric had a strong plastic smell that took a while to dissipate. The setup instructions also recommend running the steamer twice before you plan to use it to help with the scent.

I set the temperature to the middle of the scale (the temp ranges from 104-122F) and time for 30 minutes (can run for up to 2 hours), then I hopped in and almost instantly relaxed. The folding seat (which looks like a camping chair) was comfortable and the included footrest/massager was a real bonus. The inside of the sauna gets very steamy, so its nice that there are zippered windows on three sides that let in a lot of light (even if you cant exactly see out due to the steam). They can also be used to quickly vent the sauna if the heat becomes too much.

The Tatdol sauna box also dried quickly. Once I was done steaming, I left the entrance unzipped and hung it open on a convenient Velcro strap on the next panel. After a wipe-down with a microfiber towel, the box was fully dry in 10 minutes. Beyond the initial strong plastic smell, the only downside is that there isnt any storage for all the pieces when the sauna is disassembled. There are a lot of pieces to this sauna, so youd probably need to invest in a storage container to hold them all.