Which Sauna

Portable saunas: steam tents and infrared tents

A portable sauna is a fabric tent on a folding frame, heated by a plug-in steam generator or by carbon-fiber panels sewn into the walls. It sets up in a few minutes, folds into a closet, and runs on a 120 V outlet. The trade is temperature: the makers give maximums of 122 to 140 °F.

A SereneLife portable steam sauna tent with its steamer, chair and remote

Steam or infrared, head in or out

Two choices decide which tent fits.

Wet heat

Steam tent

A kettle-like generator outside the tent pipes steam in through a hose. The air gets humid and the fabric and floor get wet, so it belongs on a tile floor or a mat, in a room with an exhaust fan.

Dry heat

Infrared tent

Carbon-fiber panels in the walls and often a heated foot pad. Nothing to fill or drain, and no moisture in the room.

Full height

Head inside

A tent about 6 feet tall that you sit inside on a folding chair. The heat reaches your whole body, and it takes more floor space.

Sit-in

Head outside

A low tent that closes around the neck. Smaller and cooler on the face, which some people prefer and some find defeats the point.

Quick picks

The short answer for common situations. Each links to the full card below.

Compare the five

SereneLife's figures for its steam tent and compact infrared tent come from its own catalog. The others have no maker site or manual, so their specs are the Amazon listing's, and current is calculated from wattage.

Product links on this page go to Amazon. If you buy through them, Which Sauna earns a commission. How we pick and earn

Portable saunas
ModelTypePowerMaximumSizeLink
SereneLife portable steam tent, 4 L steamerSteam tentSteam tent1,600 W122 °F35 × 35 × 71 inAmazon
SereneLife compact infrared tentInfrared tent, sit-inInfrared, sit-in1,050 W140 °F40 × 33 × 31 inAmazon
SereneLife full-size infrared tentInfrared tent, full heightInfrared, full heightNot stated140 °F (listing)35 × 71 inAmazon
Durasage oversized portable steam saunaSteam tent, sit-inSteam, sit-in800 WNot stated33 × 31.5 × 41 inAmazon
Smartmak 2-person steam tent, steamer not includedSteam tent onlySteam tent onlySteamer not includedDepends on the steamer47 × 35 × 63 inAmazon
SereneLife portable steam tent, 4 L steamer

Steam tent

SereneLife portable steam tent, 4 L steamer

SereneLife SLISAU35BK

A full-height tent you sit inside on the included chair, fed by a 1,600 W steamer that holds 4 litres. Nine heat levels, a 60-minute timer and a remote.

Steamer
1,600 W, 4 L, 9 levels
Maximum
122 °F (maker)
Power
120 V; 13.3 A (calculated)
Size
35.4 × 35.4 × 70.9 in
In the box
Tent and frame, chair, steamer, hose, remote

Suits: Wet heat in a room that can take steam, folded away between uses.

Weigh: SereneLife gives 122 °F as the maximum temperature, well below a traditional sauna. At 13.3 A on 120 V it leaves little room for anything else on a 15 A circuit.

View on Amazon
SereneLife compact infrared tent

Infrared tent, sit-in

SereneLife compact infrared tent

SereneLife SLISAU20SL (probable match)

A sit-in tent that closes at the neck, with carbon-fiber panels and a heated foot pad. The Amazon title says "steam", but the unit has no steamer; it is dry infrared heat.

Heaters
Carbon-fiber panels, 1,050 W
Maximum
140 °F (maker)
Power
120 V; 8.8 A (calculated)
Size
40.0 × 33.0 × 31.4 in assembled
Timer
Up to 60 minutes

Suits: The smallest footprint here, for one person, stored in a closet.

Weigh: Matched to SereneLife's SLISAU20SL by title; treat the specs as the probable model's. Your head stays outside the tent.

View on Amazon

Infrared tent, full height

SereneLife full-size infrared tent

SereneLife 35 × 71 in infrared tent

A full-height infrared tent with three carbon-fiber panels, a heated foot pad and a folding chair. It has the most ratings of any portable sauna checked.

Heaters
3 carbon-fiber panels (listing)
Maximum
140 °F (listing)
Size
35 × 71 in (listing)
Timer
60 minutes, remote (listing)

Suits: Infrared heat with your head inside, without a wooden cabinet.

Weigh: No wattage or voltage is shown, and no matching model appears in SereneLife's own catalog, so the specs are the listing's.

View on Amazon

Steam tent, sit-in

Durasage oversized portable steam sauna

Durasage DSS-XL (probable)

A sit-in steam tent with an 800 W generator and a 60-minute timer. Half the wattage of the SereneLife steamer, in a shorter tent.

Steamer
800 W (listing)
Power
120 V; 6.7 A (calculated)
Size
33 × 31.5 × 41 in (listing)
Timer
60 minutes (listing)

Suits: Steam on a circuit that also runs other things, since 800 W draws about 6.7 A.

Weigh: No maker site or manual exists, so the steamer volume and maximum temperature are unknown. The specs are the listing's.

View on Amazon

Steam tent only

Smartmak 2-person steam tent, steamer not included

Smartmak 2-person tent

A tent wide enough for two, sold without a steamer. It suits someone replacing a worn tent, or who already owns a steamer.

Size
47.3 × 35.5 × 63 in (listing)
Steamer
Not included
People
2 (listing)

Suits: A buyer who has a steamer, or wants to choose one separately.

Weigh: Without a steamer it does nothing; budget for one. Two steamers on one 15 A circuit will overload it.

View on Amazon

How hot they get

SereneLife gives 122 °F as the maximum for its steam tent and 140 °F for its infrared tents. An infrared cabinet runs at 120 to 140 °F, and a traditional room with a stone heater at 160 to 194 °F. Steam at 122 °F feels hotter than dry air at the same reading, because sweat cannot evaporate in saturated air.

The outlet

A 1,600 W steamer draws 13.3 A at 120 V. On a 15 A bedroom or bathroom circuit that leaves room for a lamp and little else, and a hair dryer on the same circuit will trip the breaker. The 800 W Durasage and the 1,050 W infrared tent leave more headroom. Plug them straight into the wall; a long, thin extension cord heats up under a load like this.

Steam and the room around it

Every session puts water from the steamer, up to a full 4-litre tank, into the air of the room. A bathroom with a running exhaust fan handles it. A carpeted bedroom does not, and the tent itself needs to dry open after each use before it is folded away.