by Procraft
A barrel sauna is a round, horizontal cylinder. A cabin sauna is a conventional square or rectangular room with straight walls and a roof. Barrels heat up quickly and look striking. Cabins give you more usable space, easier insulation and a more normal interior. Both work well outdoors in cedar.
The barrel shape means less air volume around the people inside, so it comes up to temperature quickly. The curve also puts the ceiling close to where you sit, which keeps the heat down at body level rather than pooling in a high corner. They shed rain and snow well, and they turn heads.
A cabin is a normal room. Straight walls, a flat ceiling, a conventional roof. That makes everything easier: insulation, bench layout, a proper door, and headroom you can stand up in. If you want a larger sauna, a change room, or a sauna that matches the other buildings on the property, a cabin is the practical answer.
Choose a barrel if you like the look, you want it hot quickly, and it is mostly for a couple of people. Choose a cabin if you want more room, better winter performance from heavier insulation, or a sauna that reads as a building rather than a feature.
For a Canadian winter, insulation is the deciding factor for a lot of buyers, and that is easier to do thoroughly in a cabin. See using an outdoor sauna in a Canadian winter.
Whichever shape you pick, the heater is sized off the interior volume, not the footprint. A barrel and a cabin with the same floor area do not need the same heater. Work it out with our sizing guide.
Procraft builds Western red cedar saunas and makes four CSA-approved electric sauna heaters from 4.5kW to 9kW. See the heaters, read about Western red cedar, or see how installation works.