MOOSSE

The comparison

Infrared sauna or sauna tent?

They sit in the same category on comparison sites, but they are two very different things. One heats you, the other heats the air around you. That difference decides almost everything.
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Water being poured on the hot sauna stones in the MOOSSE sauna tent

Infrared sauna or sauna tent: two ways to get warm

An infrared cabin works with panels that give off radiant heat. That heat passes through the air and is only absorbed when it lands on your skin. That is why an infrared cabin already feels warm at 50°C, while the air itself is not really hot. You sweat, but you are not sitting in the heat.

A wood-fired sauna tent does the opposite. The stove heats the air and a pile of stones, and you warm up by sitting in that hot air. Pour water on the stones and the humidity shoots up and it immediately feels a lot hotter. That effect simply does not exist with infrared.

Point by point

Where the difference lies.

Infrared cabin
MOOSSE sauna tent
Temperature
40 – 60 °C
Up to 100 °C
How you warm up
Radiation on the skin
Hot air and steam
Humidity
Stays low
Yours to control by pouring water
Heat-up time
10 – 15 minutes
About 30 minutes
Electricity needed
Yes, a normal socket
No, just wood
Cost per session
€0.40 – €0.70
€1.50 – €2.50
Purchase
€1,500 – €3,000
From €1,349
Placement
Indoors, fixed
Outdoors, movable
Travels with you
No
Yes, in the boot

The ritual

First you sweat, then you jump in.

Warm up in the tent, cool off in the lake, and head back to the heat together. That's the MOOSSE experience.

MOOSSE sauna tent carried to the beachThree friends running into the lake after the saunaCooling off and chatting in the water

Fair is fair

When infrared is the better choice

If you have no garden, it will be infrared. A wood stove belongs outside, so without outdoor space a sauna tent simply drops out. The same goes if you live in an apartment where open fire is not allowed.

Infrared is also nicer if you tolerate heat badly. At 50°C you do sweat, but the stuffy feeling that some people get at 90 degrees stays away. For anyone who wants to sit for twenty minutes every day after training without making a fire first, it is more practical.

But anyone who wants the real sauna experience, with steam, with a crackling wood stove and with the contrast of the outdoors, will be disappointed by infrared. Then it is not a question of better or worse, but of a different product.

Which one suits you

Four situations, four answers.

Infrared

You live in an apartment without a garden

Infrared. A wood stove belongs outside and needs a chimney, so a sauna tent is simply out. An infrared cabin fits in a bedroom or bathroom and runs on an ordinary socket.

Sauna tent

You want real sauna heat with steam

Sauna tent. This is the point where infrared simply cannot do it: there are no hot stones, so there is no pouring of water and no humidity. If you want that burst of steam, you need a real stove.

Infrared

You want twenty minutes every morning before work

Infrared. Pushing a button and sitting down ten minutes later beats lighting a fire. Firing a stove is a ritual, and a ritual fits badly into a morning routine.

Sauna tent

You want to take it to the campsite or the water

Sauna tent. An infrared cabin is a piece of furniture that stays where you put it. A sauna tent fits in two carry bags and works without electricity, so anywhere.

One more thing

Questions about infrared and sauna tents

An infrared cabin heats your body directly with radiant heat, while the air around it stays relatively cool, usually 40 to 60°C. A regular sauna heats the air and the stones to 80 to 100°C, and you are warmed by sitting in that hot air. You sweat in both, but it feels completely different.

There is no evidence that one is healthier than the other. Infrared is milder on the heart and blood vessels because the temperature is lower, which can be pleasant if heat quickly becomes too much for you. A traditional sauna is more intense. If you are unsure because of your health, talk to your doctor.

No. There are no hot stones to pour water on, and water near electronics is not a good idea anyway. The burst of steam and the humidity that belong to a Finnish sauna are something an infrared cabin cannot give.

Infrared, clearly. A session costs about €0.40 to €0.70 in electricity, against €1.50 to €2.50 in wood for a sauna tent. In purchase price it is the other way round: an infrared cabin starts around €1,500 to €3,000, a complete MOOSSE sauna tent at €1,349.

If you live in an apartment without a garden, want to sit indoors and mainly want gentle warmth, infrared makes sense. If you want real sauna heat, steam, and the option of taking it outside with you, a wood-fired sauna tent is what you are looking for.

All frequently asked questions →

Further reading

Wood-fired sauna

Real wood, real steam, no electricity. How the stove works.

Read

Sauna cabin

Cabin or tent? An honest comparison, downsides included.

Read

Outdoor sauna

What a fixed outdoor sauna costs, and what the alternative costs.

Read

The real heat, not the building project.

Wood-fired, up to 100°C, complete from €1,349. At your door within 5 working days.

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