Best Sauna Tents for Demanding Users (2025)

You may have noticed that sauna tents are one of the more popular sauna types out there.

It’s no wonder either, considering their versatility: some sauna tents are only meant for temporary use, some can be almost permanently left outside, some are more easily portable than others, and so on.

Then there’s the question whether you want a real tent sauna that resembles a traditional sauna, or whether you call some of those cheap 1-person plastic boxes with infrared panels or steam generators on Amazon “sauna tents,” and choose one of those.

In this article I’m going to look at real sauna tents that come with a wood-burning stove and sauna rocks for steamy sauna experiences.

To my pleasant surprise, the selection is far better and more legitimate than I expected! But on the flip side, many models seem to offer the same features and even look (exactly) the same.

Best Sauna Tents: Are They Worth It? (+ Pricing)

Portable sauna tents have gained popularity, but for many, it’s not the portability that attracts them, and that makes sense, too, since a heavy stove, sauna benches, and 40 pounds of rocks aren’t really that nice to carry while hiking or camping.

Most people seeking sauna tents are either not allowed to have a permanent outdoor sauna on their (back)yard due to building permit issues, they move a lot, or they just can’t afford a fancier sauna right now.

The good news is that the best sauna tents do actually work just like real saunas! It’s because they share the most important characteristics:

1. ✅ (a wood-burning) sauna heater
2. ✅ sauna rocks
3. ✅ you’re allowed/supposed to throw water on the rocks to produce steam (löyly)

With these types of saunas, many ask questions like are tent saunas effective (yes, they certainly can be) and do sauna tents work (yes, at least the reputable ones) when they should be asking something else entirely:

Is the heater a proper sauna stove with rocks that will stay hot, release heat, and produce steam the way they’re supposed to, or is the stove just a clump of steel, with sauna as a mere afterthought?

Put even more plainly, you want your tent sauna to have a sauna stove, not just any tent stove with a few random rocks on top.

The heater and sauna rocks are the most crucial aspects of your tent sauna, and they’re also the few features that set apart sauna tent packages that, at first glance, look identical.

With all this in mind, let’s see what different sauna tents have to offer and rank them below!

1. North Shore Sauna Tent

After careful comparison, the sauna tents of North Shore Sauna won this race. Let’s discuss why after taking a look at the features:

• either for 2, 4, 6, or 8 people
• all tent packages come with a wood-burning stove
• 35–37 pounds of sauna rocks included in all packages
• heat-resistant walls
• tent rain cover
• full-size zipper door for easy access
• sauna bench included (in most pro and all premium kits)
• more options available than with competitors

💰 Price range: $1,318 – $4,834

What sets North Shore Sauna tents apart from the rest is the heater design that allows you to stack enough sauna rocks. This brand also gets extra points for two-level sauna bench:

You’ll see later with other tent sauna stoves why the design (whether it comes with a rock basket, rack, or cage) and the amount of rocks matter so much.

A 2-tier sauna bench, on the other hand, beats a 1-tier bench as it allows you to sit higher where it’s hotter; but if it gets too hot for your friends or family, for instance, then the lower bench is perfect since the air is cooler the lower you sit.

One final pro with North Shore Sauna that no other tent sauna company offers is that the larger dome models not only come with double the amount of sauna rocks but with two stoves as well!

That indicates this brand knows what saunaing is really about, which unfortunately can’t be said about most tent sauna brands.

2. Ox Sweat Sauna Tent

This is a close equal to the previous one in quality and features, and is more affordable too, but there’s only one model available, which explains ranking it #2.

The features of Ox Sweat Sauna tent kit:

• fits 3-4 people
• comes with a wood-burning stove
• 37 lbs of sauna rocks (not in starter kit)
• has a three-layer insulated design
• repels water
• has a rain cover
• fast pop-up construction
• two large zipper doors
• three windows with insulated privacy covers
• ventilation hole & fresh air intake
• stake attachment points for continued use

💰 Price range: $1,288 – $1,998

Like North Shore Sauna, Ox Sweat gets points for a proper sauna stove (with basket), decent amount of rocks, and a two-level bench (not included in starter kit).

If you’re looking for sauna tents for sale, Ox Sweat offers the best deals out of all the competitors (you’ll see the potential discounts and ready-made packages automatically when clicking any of my links).

3. Sweat Tent Sauna Tent

This brand has its merits in marketing and a previously user-friendly website that they’ve since managed to make cluttered yet vague. Regarding sauna tents, this is where things start to go downhill.

Let’s discuss the limitations of SweatTent saunas right after taking a look at the features:

• for outdoor use, just like all the competitors
• insulated
• two models: fits either 4 or 6–10 people with the larger option
• comes with a wood-burning stove
• 20 lbs of sauna rocks included
• weather-proof roof cover
• two color options with the smaller model: black & camouflage
• 1-level sauna bench (only in pro bundles)
• lots of excellent reviews (on their own site)

💰 Price range: $1,699 – $2,899

The first obvious limitation is that you get only 20 pounds of sauna rocks which is less than half of what is used (44 pounds) in a traditional 3-person sauna; that means poorer heat retention, less steam, and more frequent pouring of water to get enough steam.

Even if you bought extra rocks from elsewhere, the basket only holds 20 pounds of rocks as the heater is designed for that amount.

What’s even more surprising, though, is that the larger model doesn’t come with a larger heater (or two heaters) and more rocks! Yet, the website claims both models only take 15 minutes to heat up to 200 degrees.

This means that the same heater (weighs 65 lbs in both models) with the same amount of rocks is expected to heat larger areas as efficiently and as fast as smaller areas. That’s simply not how physics work.

Either the website has unfortunate errors, or the content is deliberate, which goes to show this company doesn’t have the best sauna understanding behind their products.

In fact, even SweatTent itself can’t agree on how their sauna tents work: in their product pages, they claim both the smaller and larger tent only require 15 minutes to reach 200 F (in a pig’s eye), but the front page says it possibly takes twice as long, 20-30 minutes. Well, at least they’re not lying on every page!

The last thing I don’t appreciate is that it’s claimed the larger model fits 10 people if only 6 of them sit and 4 of them stand. Saunas are for relaxing, not for standing.

Not having a place to sit down in a sauna isn’t comfortable or even safe as your blood pressure drops and the risk of fainting can increase.

4. Overland Sauna Tent

This brand’s tent sauna resembles the smaller SweatTent much more than the previous two, made evident by these features:

• room for 3-4 people
• insulated pop-up sauna tent
• a 29-pound, very light stove
• side-mounted rock cage
• 20 lbs of sauna rocks (only in pro kit)
• previous color options are gone; now only available in black
• lightest of the bunch: 60 lbs in total with stove and rocks

💰 Price: $1,395

If you happen to belong to the minority who really values portability, then this tent sauna could be ranked #1.

It truly is the lightest, with minimal amount of sauna rocks and a much lighter stove than you get with other brands.

As my approach to all these sauna tents is assessing how well they compare to traditional saunas, I don’t see the lightness of the stove and the lack of stones as pros.

What separates this brand from others (and not in a good way!) is that there isn’t enough space for sauna rocks in the side-mounted rock cage, leading them to be placed freely on top of the heater:

This is something more sauna-conscious brands (like Savotta below) advice against since it’s dangerous to have loose rocks on top that aren’t supported or held in place in any way.

Water is more difficult to pour in a controlled manner when the stones aren’t properly contained (= the hot rocks make water hot when it hits them, and then that water splashes all over).

There’s one last thing I want to point out with Overland’s sauna stove specifically: it’s claimed you reach the desired temperature (up to 200 F) in just 10 minutes while “it takes 30-45 minutes for the stones to get hot enough to produce good steam” (quote taken from their user manual).

This is NOT how proper sauna heaters work; instead, they heat the rocks, not the room alone, and the temperature rises gradually as the rocks get hot.

When the sauna is ready for use, both the rocks are hot and the temperature is right.

After finding that quote, it couldn’t be more obvious that Overland’s heater is a regular tent stove disguised as a sauna heater.

5. Morzh Sauna Tent

Morzh is a known Russian brand that has generally been held in high regard among campers. They have operations in Orlando, Florida, and ship products to the US, Canada, the UK, and the EU.

This brand hasn’t had the best availability for many years, though, most likely due to politics, and some people don’t want to support anything Russian at the moment.

But if we move politics aside and just look at sauna accessories, you’ll most likely get quality materials for a potentially affordable price.

As this brand’s tents and stoves are for more universal use than just saunaing (i.e., camping, ice fishing, cooking, etc.), you can’t buy any ready-made sauna tent packages or kits; this means you have to be a more informed buyer to know which components you’re going to need as everything is sold separately.

For the example below, I individually added to cart everything that other sauna tent brands in this list offer in their packages:

With shipping to Minnesota, this kind of package would cost 💰 $942.90.

The price isn’t accurate, though, as neither sauna bench nor sauna rocks are included, or even available to purchase. That’s partly why I ranked this brand fifth.

There’s also not much room for the rocks, which, as we’ve seen by now, is a running theme with most sauna tent stoves. Morzh is yet another brand with emphasis on mostly heat although saunas are much more about the steam that you always need stones for.

It’s likely that when you buy all missing items elsewhere, the total price comes very close to what many other sauna tents cost. But maybe you’re a handyman and will build the benches yourself!

If you go for Morzh’s sauna tent with stove, this is what to expect:

• tents fit 4-6 people
• tent awning made of three-layer quilted cloth, keeping heat in = you don’t need as much firewood
• wood-burning stove, reaching max. temperature of 230 F (110 C)
• up to five tent color options

6. Savotta Sauna Tent

This Finnish brand would be much higher on the list if the availability wasn’t so poor in the US.

Even when you manage to find online stores that sell Savotta tents and ship to the US, usually they’re out of stock and/or you have to wait for your order to arrive for several months.

The tents come in two sizes and are very light, fairly thin, and not insulated:

• they fit 2-4 people, are portable, and for outdoor use
• fire-retardant and mildew-resistant fabrics
• tent weight (including poles, stakes, etc.): 12,3 lbs (smaller) or 19,2 lbs (bigger)
• not for continuous use

Nothing that special, right? That may be, but with Savotta, it’s the sauna heater that’s pure magic:

Now we’re talking! This is what a proper tent sauna heater looks like with enough sauna rocks.

Now that you’ve seen this, you understand why the extremely small stone baskets and 20 pounds of sauna rocks that you get with some sauna tents are so pitiful.

The Savotta stove above is designed to be used with two stone racks, one on each side, and not just as unmovable boxes but opened like wings, which allows you to stack them with enough rocks like any traditional sauna heater!

That’s exactly why the sauna-goers in the video below get such a satisfying fizz and so much steam when water is thrown onto the hot rocks.

💰 Price: $1,252 (taken from an online store that previously shipped to the US; includes 4-person tent, sauna stove, stone racks, and sauna benches x 2, but NOT sauna rocks)

7. Snowtrekker Sauna Tent

As this option is on the pricier side, it’s difficult to evaluate who would prefer it to one of the more affordable sauna tents or a wooden outdoor sauna that you could potentially get for cheaper:

• fits 4–6 people
• comes with a wood-burning stove
• package includes rain fly, sod cloth, and ground tarp
• suitable for extended use

When Snowtrekker tent sauna was still sold by Cedar and Stone Nordic Sauna, it cost $6,495, came with stools instead of benches, and was said to be handmade in the US.

Now that Snowtrekker sells it itself, the price has gone down to $4,500, no mentions of the US or handmade are present anymore for the sauna tent specifically, and the kit is sold without sauna rocks and stools/benches that aren’t available for purchase separately either.

(As Snowtrekker products are generally made in the US, the tent can of course still be exactly the same as before, and the lower price can be the result of cutting out the middleman + removing the seats.)

With these specs, price, and 3-year warranty, it’s realistic to expect superb material quality, but the sauna aspect of this package feels lacking to me with my 35+ years of sauna experience, certainly not helped by the missing rocks and benches.

💰 Price: $4,500

What Is the Maximum Temperature for a Sauna Tent?

Morzh claims their sauna tents heat up to 230 F (110 C).

North Shore Sauna, Ox Sweat, SweatTent, and Overland Sauna all claim to heat up to 200 degrees which is much more than sufficient and already needlessly hot. (The ideal temperature range is 140–185 F.)

Most brands say this can be achieved in 15-30 minutes, but Overland Sauna (that has the lightest stove with rocks placed loosely on top) claims you get temperatures up to 200 F in just 10 minutes. Yeah, maybe if your campsite is in hell!

At first I was very skeptical of such claims, but as Overland Sauna’s stove has the largest fire chamber, allowing you to use more wood at a time, it probably really does heat up more quickly.

That means the stove also cools down the quickest as it has the poorest heat retention capacity, which makes sense considering the stove is very light.

The guy in the Savotta sauna tent video featured above says it best:

“The whole point of the sauna is the hot steam produced by throwing water on the hot rocks. It should not be the STOVE itself that is heating you but the steam. This is very important to understand.”

Savotta doesn’t recommend even trying to reach higher temperatures than 167 degrees (75 C) simply because it’s unnecessary.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1. What are the main sauna tent benefits?

In a nutshell, they are:

• portability
• affordability
• great for temporary use; in some climates also for extended use
• the best ones resemble traditional saunas surprisingly well
• if the color fades or fabric tears after years of use, you only need to replace the tent since the stove, chimney, and sauna benches can still be in great condition

2. Are sauna tents only for temporary or also for permanent use?

Savotta is the only brand that specifically says their sauna tents are NOT meant for continuous use while all the other brands allow prolonged use but mostly advise against leaving the tent outside for good.

As sauna tents are often featured and used in the middle of winter and snow, it’s obvious they can handle harsh weather conditions (and heat up really well even in cold climates), but it’s the storms and heavy snowfall they can’t withstand.

If you have your sauna tent set up at all times, have it secured with stakes and cinder blocks, for instance, and use a tarp to protect the material from sun exposure and UV rays.

Also, when not using your tent, keep the vents open to allow fresh air in; this helps prevent moisture developing inside the tent. Another good way of combating moisture is heating up (= using) your sauna frequently.

If you’re able to place your tent under a wooden canopy or a similar, sturdy structure, then it’s even more protected from the elements.

3. Are sauna tents safe?

The best ones are when used correctly. Avoid tent sauna brands with poor regard to safety.

Some people worry about inhaling toxic fumes that are thought to form when the (plastic) tent heats up, but that’s not the case with tents sold in the Western world as they’ve undergone rigorous testing.

With sauna tent safety, what people really should consider is having a proper stove, with rocks contained, and having enough space so that no one is sitting (and definitely not standing!) too close to the heater.

Water shouldn’t be thrown uncontrollably, or when someone leaves or enters the tent. This way hot water is much less likely to splash on anyone.

4. Can you use a hot tent as a sauna?

Tents can be used as saunas, which the many options above so well illustrate.

But if you mean whether a hot tent is hot enough to be used as a sauna, the answer is no. Even in the hottest livable climates, the highest temperatures are roughly half of those possible in traditional saunas. Plus, you need löyly (steam) in your sauna, not just heat!

Final Thoughts

Since publishing this article for the first time (I regularly update my content), I’ve been contacted by several brands regarding their sauna tents: some have offered to send me their tent for free (in exchange for a review), some have inquired why their sauna tent is not on my list 😅, and some wish I had ranked them higher.

I have to say no to many offers because I can instantly see most sauna tent packages are inferior to North Shore Sauna’s and Ox Sweat’s products.

You simply can’t beat their designs with “sauna” heaters that have a minimal amount of sauna rocks, not enough space for more rocks, and a 1-level bench that leaves you sitting below the heat and löyly pocket while your feet remain cold as they’re touching the ground.

When doing comparison shopping, remember that all basic/starter sauna tent kits are sold without sauna benches and most without sauna rocks, too.

Oftentimes, even when the bench is included, you get only one of them. SweatTent, for instance, includes one small bench in their 10-person tent kit, ensuring most sauna bathers really will be standing as there’s no other option. When buying additional benches separately, it jacks up the price significantly.

North Shore Sauna’s pro and premium tent sauna kits DO include sauna benches (2-level) and nearly 40 pounds of sauna rocks; you can see their most affordable such package here.

Their newest addition, even cheaper 2-person tent, now also comes with a mini 2-level bench when you choose the premium kit.

Ox Sweat, which is similar in quality to North Shore Sauna but has a narrower tent selection, offers even better deals and bigger savings with their discounted packages:

Concerning the durability of sauna tents, warmer and pleasant climates definitely have the advantage here.

Even the best sauna tents are defenseless against storms and lots of snow.

If you live in a climate with either of those, and want the tent to be a more permanent than temporary solution, then you may have to get creative or consider a sturdier sauna.

For everyone else, a sauna tent is more than viable!