Method
How we test
Most recovery-gear rankings are rewritten spec sheets. This page exists so you can check whether ours are something better, and hold us to it.
The three rules
One: a number needs an instrument and a condition. "High irradiance" is marketing. "70 mW/cm² at six inches, spectroradiometer" is a measurement. Every figure we publish carries the condition it was measured under, or it does not get published.
Two: cost means installed cost. A $6,299 barrel sauna that needs a $1,400 circuit and a $600 gravel pad is an $8,299 purchase. We price it that way, because that is the number that shows up on your statements.
Three: we say what we have not done. Where a figure comes from a manufacturer rather than our own bench, it is labelled in the sentence, not in a footnote at the bottom of the page.
Light
Red light panels are measured for irradiance at 6 and 12 inches on centre and at the corners of the emitting area. The consumer solar meters most reviewers use over-read narrow-band red and near-infrared substantially — often around 2× — which is why brands quoting only meter figures show numbers that look impossible.
We also log panel surface temperature after 20 minutes, audible fan noise at one metre, and flicker. Where a brand publishes both meter and spectroradiometer figures, we quote the spectroradiometer one.
Heat
Saunas are logged for time from ambient to 175°F at the upper bench, with a stated outdoor temperature, and for energy draw per session at the meter. We record bench-level and floor-level temperature separately because the difference tells you how well the room is stratifying — the thing that actually determines whether a sauna feels good.
Heaters are assessed on stone mass, recovery time after a water throw, and whether the published room-volume rating survives contact with a real glass door.
Cold
Plunges are logged for pull-down rate from tap temperature to 45°F, hold-power draw over 24 hours, and lid-off temperature rise per hour — all in an uninsulated garage in summer, because that is where most of them live. Insulation quality and lid seal cost the manufacturer almost nothing and change these numbers more than chiller horsepower does.
Cost and installation
For anything requiring a circuit we collect quotes for the electrical work in several US metros, and publish the range rather than a single number, because trench length and panel capacity dominate the price. Pad, drainage and permit costs are estimated the same way.
What we have not tested yet
We are transparent about the state of the bench. As of September 2026 this site launched with a fully specified product database built from manufacturer sources and verified pricing, with hands-on measurement rolling out category by category. Any product page carrying our own measurements says so explicitly; every other figure is attributed to its source.
How we make money
Affiliate commissions, and nothing else. No brand has ever paid for placement, a score, or a review, and no brand sees a review before it publishes. If that ever changes it will be stated at the top of the affected page in the same size type as the headline.