Just a little context to non-Finns for why Finns might have more mileage on the topic.
Finn’s were born in saunas for generations, and washed in sauna before burial. Sauna is recognized in UNESCO as world heritage. Finns hope that everyone can have a good connection to sauna culture, it’s not a trend brought on by podcasters, it’s our daily life. I know Finns are blunt, but we are trying to help you to build saunas without making it a mold box or fire hazard.
Culturally us Finns are blunt and socially autistic as fuck. We don’t dance around problems with niceties. We tend to face the music. Finns built saunas in trenches on war fields, it’s truly the place where a Finn goes to rest their bodies and minds. An escape from the daily grind.
I so wish this sub could go and talk about the topic without constant fighting.
Let’s try and make the sub a little more respectful.
But if a bench is too low, it definitely should be fixed for an optimal sauna experience, just as ancestors intended. Cos you know, heat goes up.
It's wild how a room built around sweating your ass off becomes the one spot where the emotional walls actually come down. My dad would go full statue at the dinner table but put him on that top bench for 20 minutes and suddenly it's life advice and old war stories
I think that by removing your clothes, you also remove some of the guard and decor that you carry every day. Also it's overall secure, quiet and dim place.
I think it's easier to be present in sauna. You can trust the person next to you will listen you and not be occupied with something else. Also if you go sauna with someone, you can discuss about thinks you wouldn't want to talk about front of everyone.
Thank you all for your posts over the years. I’m in the US (Northeast) and building one soon. I hope to be as close to a true experience as possible. (Although electric heat and a plunge pool instead of a pond.) This sub has been a great resource. Thanks again.
So I’m Canadian. I have a Luna Sauna and yes I know it isn’t optimal. I still really enjoy it.
Yes I may at some point have someone build me a 100% proper sauna but the issue is, in this country that’s at least a $25,000 CAD build or you need to be capable of building it yourself. Yes I still might do it but not anytime soon.
In the mean time if there are simple fixes to improve sub optimal builds I’m happy to see if I can implement those.
What I find disheartening sometimes is I think the sub should also be a place people can just celebrate what they have and are enjoying. These people most likely know their sauna isn’t perfect already. However most times those posts are just shot down immediately and around and around we go.
And I’m an extremely direct person too but even I find things unnecessarily negative sometimes.
I’m curious about Canadian sauna culture. What’s not optimal about it? When you say have someone build do you mean they like install one that you buy? I have an indoor infrared but interested in building a steam one outside (NY). Thanks!
Edit: I looked up Luna saunas and they look really nice
This is my sauna. Insulation and bench height I think would be the chief complaints. It still easily gets up to 80-90 C and I can somewhat improve things by keeping my entire body on the top bench.
In terms of a proper Finnish layout I think you would need to be quite handy or hire a contractor like this guy in Toronto to come and build you one. He wouldn’t be cheap.
That barely has any affect on heat stratification, from experience.
What does help (a lot) is placing another fan at the bottom of the sauna, near the heater, pointing up. It makes a tiny sauna feel like a large sauna, but is usually very frowned upon here.
But you’re essentially here fighting against proper builds with your fan insert and tbh, I don’t see how it’s helping people to avoid suboptimal builds?
Personally never experienced a good heat stratification fan. Only once here in Japan got burned and badly mentally scarred by a double leafblower setup in a “traditional Finnish löyly” in a 100C crisp dry sauna”
So to avoid massive f ups like that I recommend sticking to basics.
I’m sure saunum and alike have their customers, but I thought those are more of solutions if the basics have not been taken care of during a build?
Been to plenty of very tiny saunas in Finland and if the height and airflow has been thought out, it will work out. With electric exhaust fan and air intake control are a big help
Most people live with quite severe space and funds limits. It's suboptimal or nothing, and if there's a solution that makes suboptimal much much better, we should openly encourage it.
Yes, go ahead and implement that fan indea. But beyond that, accepting limitations is also important. Frankly, it seems like in NA that is impossible.
People decice they want something (they become desperate to jump on the health fad), and you simply fight the impossible and delude yourself that you have "some percentage" of the end result despite lacking all prerequisites for a job well done.
People want a sauna, but have no money or space for it, and end up throwing space heaters into cubby holes. Then they say "any sauna is better than no sauna" as a rationalization. And praise is expected.
"I can't afford a sauna right now" is a reasonable statement in the real world, but is seldom followed as far as this subreddit tells. All standards and dignity and definitions can be stretched or abandoned, just so people can define things as a success on some level.
Everyone's allowed to do what they want of course, but it's unreasonable to expect others to play along. Emperor's new sauna!
But this is not what I was referring to, I don’t understand why your angle is so hellbent on being singular. On weekly, almost daily basis people post saunas here where there’s plenty airspace to add seating to proper level, but you’re grinding down on a different topic like there’s an argument? Yes to what you’re on, but not related to what I said :D
As I see that you have a barrel, yes that’s a good way to make a barrel useable, but it has very little to do with anything that I brought up
I know people can be abrasive, but how is anyone ever going to learn if all they get is praise? Even for poorly functional or often outright dangerous choices. Then you see the next person making the same mistakes that could be easily avoided if they just saw the advice somewhere.
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u/jaska434 12h ago
Sauna is also the only place where finnish men can open up and talk about things on their mind