About Steam & Ice

John Voll edits Steam & Ice. Pages are built from manufacturers' spec sheets and installation manuals, with every price and spec linked to where it came from.

How a page gets made

Each guide starts from what the makers publish: the product page, the spec sheet, the install manual. Prices are the lowest configuration the maker's own store listed on the day we checked, and every price on the site carries that date. If a spec is not published, we leave it out. We do not guess a chiller's wattage or a cabin's weight.

We have not tested these products in person, and no page claims otherwise. When a page says one model suits a room better, that is a judgment from the published numbers, and the numbers are linked so you can check it.

How the site makes money

Some links to stores are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the store may pay us a commission. You pay the same price. A brand cannot pay to be on a list, and a brand we earn nothing from gets the same treatment as one we do. The disclosure page has the details.

Health

This is a buying guide, not medical advice. Heat and cold both put real stress on the heart. If you have a heart condition or blood pressure problems, or are pregnant, ask your doctor before you buy either.

Photo credits

Photos are from Unsplash, used under the Unsplash License. They illustrate the kind of thing a page is about; they are not photos of the specific products on our lists.

• A barrel sauna on a grassy lawn below a steep green hillside, with picnic tables in front, by T
• Inside a barrel sauna: curved wooden walls, benches on both sides and an electric heater at the far end, by Clay Banks
• A small barrel sauna on a gravel pad with a paver path leading to the door, by Clay Banks
• Two levels of wooden sauna benches lit from underneath, by Mo Khalil
• Sauna stones, a wooden bucket and a bench in a dimly lit sauna, by Anne Nygård
• A wooden sauna room with benches and glass doors open onto a dock and water, by Lukas Kubica
• A black sauna bucket with a wooden ladle on a slatted bench, by Lukas Kubica
• A dark wooden sauna with benches and a small window looking out on water, by Julia Elliot
• Close view of a slatted wooden sauna bench and wall, by Lukas Kubica
• A light wood indoor sauna with an L-shaped bench and lighting under the bench, by JosephAli Music
• A galvanized stock tank full of cold water outdoors, by Lukas Kubica
• A black tub filled with ice and water, by Paulina Herpel
• A man grimacing while sitting in a tub of ice (black-and-white photo), by Rory McKeever
• A man swimming in a hole cut in frozen water, by Vidar Nordli-Mathisen
• Inside a cabin sauna with flat walls, a wood-burning stove and a large window onto trees, by Clay Banks
• People sitting in icy water seen from above, by Wells Baum
• A light wood indoor sauna with two bench levels and a checked towel on the upper bench, by Clay Banks
• A glass door in the curved wooden end of a sauna, by Dylan McLeod
• A barrel sauna and a wooden hot tub covered in snow among pine trees, by Glib Albovsky
• A sauna with a wood-burning heater, firewood stacked under the bench and a bucket on the bench, by Lukas Kubica
• A wooden sauna bucket and ladle on a bench under small ceiling lights, by Anne Nygård
• The front of a barrel sauna with a round window, standing on a tiled patio, by Paulina Herpel
• A man standing waist-deep in a hole in a frozen lake, by Mika Ruusunen
• A barrel sauna and a wooden shelter in a green valley under misty mountains, by Ben Kupke
• An oval wooden barrel sauna on a small deck in a grassy field, by Angelo Moleele
• Wooden saunas with curved roofs on a pier over a lake, by Margo Evardson
• Inside a barrel sauna: benches on both sides, a heater in the middle and a round window at the far end, by Filipp Romanovski
• A wooden sauna with tiered benches, a bucket and a window onto trees, by Clay Banks
• A woman resting on the bench of a corner wooden sauna, holding a cup, by Taylor Heery
• Felt sauna hats hanging on hooks on a wooden wall, by Al Butler
• A blue tub of water and ice cubes on a wooden table, seen from above, by Aman Krishna

Contact

Corrections are welcome, especially from makers whose specs have changed: hello@steamandice.com.