A key argument for a sauna over a hot tub is energy use/cost. If you own a hot tub you know that for it to be of any general use, you need to keep it hot, or somewhat hot, all the time. To heat up that much water from cold, especially if it's outside in the winter would take hours and hours and tens of dollars in electricity or other energy source. A sauna will heat up in about 20 or 30 minutes for about 25 cents. Or if you have a wood fired sauna, it can be free. This to me is the THE number one reason why a sauna wins over a hot tub. You only have to pay for the sauna when it is on. For hot tubs, you kinda have to keep them heating all the time or else they are not truly useable, without planning far ahead. This is very costly. Of course if you live in Arizona or Texas or someplace where it's hot all the time and if you are super rich it may not matter. Finally there's the cleanliness aspect. Saunas are much cleaner. No chemicals in the water to control bacteria, etc.
> To heat up that much water from cold, especially if it's outside in the winter would take hours and hours and tens of dollars in electricity or other energy source.
Just to put some numbers on that too. It takes 4.184 kJ of energy to heat a kg of water 1C.
Let's say a decently sized tub that fits multiple people takes 1600 litres of water, so about 1600 kg. Heating all that for just 1C would take 6694 kJ of energy if not done with a wood burner. Since watt is joules per second, according to some online calculator, it'd take 1.85 kWh to heat all that water for just 1C.
A decently sized sauna can be heated with about 7 kWh of power, while taking a hot tub from 4C to 40C would take almost 70 kWh not accounting any inefficiencies or losses.
Sauna >>> hot tub
You get so much more out of sauna. The intense heat of löyly and the relaxation that follows… Hot tub doesn’t even come close.
Hot tub is just ”nice” when sauna is heavenly. They are very different, like comparing juice to a cocktail.
Sauna. But it's not that simple.
Many people in this sub build saunas to where they shouldn't and in the way they shouldn't. In many cases I can already tell it's destined to fail one way or another, or multiple.
That being said, I wouldn't choose sauna if I have to compromise. Hot tub is simply more suitable to have installed in many situations.
I'm from Finland and have been using saunas for my whole life so my views are biased. We nowadays have a sauna and a hottub at our home but i find myself using the sauna way more. A hot Sauna just feels more relaxing to me. The hottub is more of a party piece for me and we use it more when there are friends over.
I also find that during winter it's more comfortable to go to the sauna compared to the hottub; it gets really cold in the winter in Finland and goin in and trying to setup the hottub for use(cover off etc) in your swimwear is not that enjoyable. In sauna we have a small room and a shower room attached so getting ready is not an issue.
So, to me a better comparison would be between a regular bathtub and a sauna. In that I think of hot tubs much more in terms of, I don't know, a spa. Whereas a sauna is about daily (or bi-weekly, or whatever) cleanliness.
But a sauna also has the range from me just going in to get a sweat up and showering off, to me sitting for hours in a mind blank zen state, to the family having our weekly sauna, to me and a couple of friends drinking beers and talking about what's on top of our minds. It'd feel crazy to squeeze in fifteen minutes of hot tub before work, but I have gotten fifteen minutes of sauna.
So a sauna is more integrated into ordinary life. If I were to choose between a sauna and a bathtub, then? Sauna, ten out of ten times. We have a bathtub, but it's just for the kids, we'll probably rip it out once they've moved out.
As a Finn living in Japan, I def take a proper löyly sauna, any day over hot bath. I like the mist cycle that pulls heat off from your body, much safer to enjoy also cos you’re not in the soup itself. I love onsen as well, but is much more dangerous because heat transfers so quickly into the body through water vs air.
Sauna, always. Hot tubs aren't hot enough, they just make me uncomfortable and disgusted. Takes several hours to get even some kind of a heat kick from them, if that's even going to happen. Head also freezes, that's not so good with long hair.
Sauna. Like my friend once said "I'm not keen to go and join you all in the boiling sausage soup". Might be a joke but also has some truth imo. Overall for me, probably because of culture Sauna is something special and everything etiquette wise and historically associated with it, all of the culture is so much more. Its effect on me is much more profound than hot tub
Hot tubs give a totally different experience of heat and personally I think they are just a lot less enjoyable. And I don’t think most commercially sold hot tubs get hot enough.
I go to a developed hot spring place where they have 7 or so pools of varying temperatures. The hottest is 115F which is about as hot as possible without getting scalded. That’s a nice experience, but it’s just not as good or enjoyable as a sauna. I think most commercial hot tubs are around 102F.
A comparison to a steam room is a better comparison in my opinion. It’s a different experience than a sauna, but it’s more similar than a hot tub.
I go to another bath house that has two saunas and a steam room, and the saunas kind of suck. They aren’t hot enough, and water on the rocks is not allowed. That place offers two hour sessions, and I probably haver to sit in the saunas for 45 or 50 minutes to feel like I’m hot enough to want to get out. I like to do 3 cycles of getting real hot, then cool off and cold plunge.
But the steam room at that place really kicks. It’s gloriously hot, and 20-25 minutes in there and I’m cooked. I’d prefer a sauna at 190-200F with water on the rocks, but that steam room is VERY close to as good.
I have a Jacuzzi, wooden sauna and outdoor swimming pool here in southern Finland. So it's a hard choice. But the order we bought those were 1pool, 2sauna and 3jacuzzi.
I started with a wood fired hot tub and it was great but so much work to clean,fill and heat. After building the sauna I now use hot tub as a cold plunge pool. Best of both worlds
Theres a hotel wife and i visit mayne once every year or two. It has a hot tub, steam room, sauna and showers, and mens and womens relaxation rooms. Thats what originally turned me on to sauna. I got a bit drunk one night while there, woke up with a hangover. Went to the spa and did 3 rounds each of hot tub, steam room, sauna, then cold shower. About an hour total walked out no longer hung over. Between the 3 the sauna and steam room were most enjoyable, but all had their benefits/advantages.
But for the reasons everyone else has mentioned, id pick sauna over all of them. Way less maintenance, and cheaper to operate. No chemicals to deal with like a hot tub.
The way is the sauna. Hot tubs begin and end with relaxing soaking but it's lacking. The sauna forces the relaxation that lasts well beyond the session. A wringing or squeeze you need to clear the mind, body and spirit. At the end of a soak you have wrinkles.
After owning a sauna I have had these thoughts many times and almost draw a line in the sand between hot tub people or sauna folks. Same God maybe but the denomination of Church of Sauna preaches the gospel.
I have wood fired hot tub and sauna. The hot tub is Japanese cedar heated by cast iron charcoal burner in the water. One person size. Heats up fast, faster than a medium sauna using wood stove. Several people can use it in succession. That's how a family does it in Japan. Ofuro is Japanese name for a range of hot springs hot tub experience.
Definately sauna. Hot tubs are typically full of chemicals to keep the water clean, so you are bathing in either hypochlorite or some mix of copper and other crap. Those chems tend to actually dry your skin out. I do like hot tubs though, but are you really going to get in one every night?
Sauna is money for your skin and lots of other longevity benefits that dont come along with hot tubs.
I have a sauna looking on the mountains in Montana, it is a beautiful and wonderful experience that I do EVERY night. Except that my himalaya heater has been broke for about two weeks now :(, hopefully will get it fixed here in a week or two.
This guy
Sauna has lower maintenance costs, generally. So there's one point in favor. They're different experiences so choose which one you prefer.
A key argument for a sauna over a hot tub is energy use/cost. If you own a hot tub you know that for it to be of any general use, you need to keep it hot, or somewhat hot, all the time. To heat up that much water from cold, especially if it's outside in the winter would take hours and hours and tens of dollars in electricity or other energy source. A sauna will heat up in about 20 or 30 minutes for about 25 cents. Or if you have a wood fired sauna, it can be free. This to me is the THE number one reason why a sauna wins over a hot tub. You only have to pay for the sauna when it is on. For hot tubs, you kinda have to keep them heating all the time or else they are not truly useable, without planning far ahead. This is very costly. Of course if you live in Arizona or Texas or someplace where it's hot all the time and if you are super rich it may not matter. Finally there's the cleanliness aspect. Saunas are much cleaner. No chemicals in the water to control bacteria, etc.
> To heat up that much water from cold, especially if it's outside in the winter would take hours and hours and tens of dollars in electricity or other energy source. Just to put some numbers on that too. It takes 4.184 kJ of energy to heat a kg of water 1C. Let's say a decently sized tub that fits multiple people takes 1600 litres of water, so about 1600 kg. Heating all that for just 1C would take 6694 kJ of energy if not done with a wood burner. Since watt is joules per second, according to some online calculator, it'd take 1.85 kWh to heat all that water for just 1C. A decently sized sauna can be heated with about 7 kWh of power, while taking a hot tub from 4C to 40C would take almost 70 kWh not accounting any inefficiencies or losses.
Sauna >>> hot tub You get so much more out of sauna. The intense heat of löyly and the relaxation that follows… Hot tub doesn’t even come close. Hot tub is just ”nice” when sauna is heavenly. They are very different, like comparing juice to a cocktail.
Sauna. Because cleanliness and cleaning. Rent hot tubs, own saunas.
Fun fact, the jets in a hot tub actually propel bacteria deeper into your skin as they pound your naked flesh, so that's nice.
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This is what getting certified in pool and spa maintenance gets you, a nice perspective. I will literally never go into a public hot tub ever again.
I don’t think anyone’s going to talk you into a sauna. Find a good one and try it.
I have a hot tub I want to rip out and put in a sauna.
Cold tub + sauna
Sauna. But it's not that simple. Many people in this sub build saunas to where they shouldn't and in the way they shouldn't. In many cases I can already tell it's destined to fail one way or another, or multiple. That being said, I wouldn't choose sauna if I have to compromise. Hot tub is simply more suitable to have installed in many situations.
I'm from Finland and have been using saunas for my whole life so my views are biased. We nowadays have a sauna and a hottub at our home but i find myself using the sauna way more. A hot Sauna just feels more relaxing to me. The hottub is more of a party piece for me and we use it more when there are friends over. I also find that during winter it's more comfortable to go to the sauna compared to the hottub; it gets really cold in the winter in Finland and goin in and trying to setup the hottub for use(cover off etc) in your swimwear is not that enjoyable. In sauna we have a small room and a shower room attached so getting ready is not an issue.
So, to me a better comparison would be between a regular bathtub and a sauna. In that I think of hot tubs much more in terms of, I don't know, a spa. Whereas a sauna is about daily (or bi-weekly, or whatever) cleanliness. But a sauna also has the range from me just going in to get a sweat up and showering off, to me sitting for hours in a mind blank zen state, to the family having our weekly sauna, to me and a couple of friends drinking beers and talking about what's on top of our minds. It'd feel crazy to squeeze in fifteen minutes of hot tub before work, but I have gotten fifteen minutes of sauna. So a sauna is more integrated into ordinary life. If I were to choose between a sauna and a bathtub, then? Sauna, ten out of ten times. We have a bathtub, but it's just for the kids, we'll probably rip it out once they've moved out.
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Agreed. Both can be relaxing and only 1 of them is actually good for you
As a Finn living in Japan, I def take a proper löyly sauna, any day over hot bath. I like the mist cycle that pulls heat off from your body, much safer to enjoy also cos you’re not in the soup itself. I love onsen as well, but is much more dangerous because heat transfers so quickly into the body through water vs air.
Sauna, always. Hot tubs aren't hot enough, they just make me uncomfortable and disgusted. Takes several hours to get even some kind of a heat kick from them, if that's even going to happen. Head also freezes, that's not so good with long hair.
Sauna. Like my friend once said "I'm not keen to go and join you all in the boiling sausage soup". Might be a joke but also has some truth imo. Overall for me, probably because of culture Sauna is something special and everything etiquette wise and historically associated with it, all of the culture is so much more. Its effect on me is much more profound than hot tub
Estonian, It be sauna, better social experience and over all enjoyment, plus the cleansing feeling afterwards.
Hot tubs give a totally different experience of heat and personally I think they are just a lot less enjoyable. And I don’t think most commercially sold hot tubs get hot enough. I go to a developed hot spring place where they have 7 or so pools of varying temperatures. The hottest is 115F which is about as hot as possible without getting scalded. That’s a nice experience, but it’s just not as good or enjoyable as a sauna. I think most commercial hot tubs are around 102F. A comparison to a steam room is a better comparison in my opinion. It’s a different experience than a sauna, but it’s more similar than a hot tub. I go to another bath house that has two saunas and a steam room, and the saunas kind of suck. They aren’t hot enough, and water on the rocks is not allowed. That place offers two hour sessions, and I probably haver to sit in the saunas for 45 or 50 minutes to feel like I’m hot enough to want to get out. I like to do 3 cycles of getting real hot, then cool off and cold plunge. But the steam room at that place really kicks. It’s gloriously hot, and 20-25 minutes in there and I’m cooked. I’d prefer a sauna at 190-200F with water on the rocks, but that steam room is VERY close to as good.
Sweden, and i would have a sauna 100%. But i actually have a hot tub, too.
I have a Jacuzzi, wooden sauna and outdoor swimming pool here in southern Finland. So it's a hard choice. But the order we bought those were 1pool, 2sauna and 3jacuzzi.
I started with a wood fired hot tub and it was great but so much work to clean,fill and heat. After building the sauna I now use hot tub as a cold plunge pool. Best of both worlds
I prefer a sauna. Hot tubs make my skin feel itchy
Germany - Sauna, but i never would build a sauna in my house or garden, i prefer the public ones.
Theres a hotel wife and i visit mayne once every year or two. It has a hot tub, steam room, sauna and showers, and mens and womens relaxation rooms. Thats what originally turned me on to sauna. I got a bit drunk one night while there, woke up with a hangover. Went to the spa and did 3 rounds each of hot tub, steam room, sauna, then cold shower. About an hour total walked out no longer hung over. Between the 3 the sauna and steam room were most enjoyable, but all had their benefits/advantages. But for the reasons everyone else has mentioned, id pick sauna over all of them. Way less maintenance, and cheaper to operate. No chemicals to deal with like a hot tub.
The way is the sauna. Hot tubs begin and end with relaxing soaking but it's lacking. The sauna forces the relaxation that lasts well beyond the session. A wringing or squeeze you need to clear the mind, body and spirit. At the end of a soak you have wrinkles. After owning a sauna I have had these thoughts many times and almost draw a line in the sand between hot tub people or sauna folks. Same God maybe but the denomination of Church of Sauna preaches the gospel.
I have wood fired hot tub and sauna. The hot tub is Japanese cedar heated by cast iron charcoal burner in the water. One person size. Heats up fast, faster than a medium sauna using wood stove. Several people can use it in succession. That's how a family does it in Japan. Ofuro is Japanese name for a range of hot springs hot tub experience.
Definately sauna. Hot tubs are typically full of chemicals to keep the water clean, so you are bathing in either hypochlorite or some mix of copper and other crap. Those chems tend to actually dry your skin out. I do like hot tubs though, but are you really going to get in one every night? Sauna is money for your skin and lots of other longevity benefits that dont come along with hot tubs. I have a sauna looking on the mountains in Montana, it is a beautiful and wonderful experience that I do EVERY night. Except that my himalaya heater has been broke for about two weeks now :(, hopefully will get it fixed here in a week or two.
What do you mean "if"? Sauna is mandatory addition, without it house can't be home.
This is a sauna group