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There’s a saying in Finland that foreign "saunas" are not true saunas at all, but rather just "untypically warm rooms". The experiments where at 73°C which is

There’s a saying in Finland that foreign "saunas" are not true saunas at all, but rather just "untypically warm rooms". The experiments where at 73°C which is a lot hotter than most gym/hotel/spa saunas I’ve been in outside Finland

ttiurani 7mo ago
Also while 73°C is a proper sauna, there are plenty of hotter ones. 90°C is closer to what I'm used to at my apartment building's common sauna. I do take two breaks when I'm there for 30 mims though.
- mrgoldenbrown 7mo ago
  What percent humidity? That is just as important as temperature for understanding how tolerable a particular sauna is.
  - ttiurani 7mo ago
    It's a sauna so humidity depends on how much water I feel like throwing on the stones ("kiuas"). I throw at about once per minute, but I have no idea what that would mean in humidity.
ludicrousdispla 7mo ago
you can sous vide beef and pork at a lower temperature than that
- koolba 7mo ago
  I knew a guy that would bring a steak sealed in a vac seal bag to the gym and leave it in the sauna while he worked out. One hour later he was done working out and it was ready to eat too. Not sure I can actually recommend it to others but the novelty was interesting till they nearly kicked him out of the gym.
  - Towaway69 7mo ago
    Sounds a bit like using your dishwasher to cook your dinner - https://parallelplates.com/dishwashers-still-full-meals/ https://parallelplates.com/dishwashers-still-full-meals/ I won’t want to use my dishwasher as a sauna though /s
    - rmcpherson 7mo ago
      I think you intended to link a different article. That one’s not about cooking with your dishwasher.
  - walletdrainer 7mo ago
    On a recent visit to Finland I found out that basically all supermarkets sell aluminium foil bags for the purpose of cooking sausages on the sauna stove while you use the sauna.
KellyCriterion 7mo ago
73° hot? Here in mainland Europe, a "classic fin sauna" is usually at least 90°++
- yeahforsureman 7mo ago
  Would those be "dry saunas" or proper ones where you're allowed to throw water on the rocks? Adding humidity ('löyly') is kinda the point, and 73°C might be just fine for a small sauna, giving you a nice punchy löyly.
  - KellyCriterion 7mo ago
    > hrow water on the rocks? Depends on the location! Very often, at public locations there is a "saua master" taking care, in smaller locations I have seen people handling this on their own. And in one location there was a sign: "no private watering due to electrical issues"
    - mesrik 7mo ago
      I think I've heard US it's mostly no water at all on stove and Germany I've heard they have had these sauna-masters who come and cast water on stove. Neither of these are practised anywhere in Finland at least. But there are at least one Finnish swimming bath where they had to limit steam competitions and made a button controlled mechanism to administer water instead of free usage. Not because electrical shock prevention but because bad human behaviour per se.
    - euroderf 7mo ago
      The men's sauna at Harjutori in Helsinki has a pullchain (with a handle of wood, natch), by the entrance to the room. When you walk into the men's sauna (which is BIG), you can inquire whether löyly is needed, and affirmative answers dictate a tug or two or three on the chain, which releases bursts of steam. And anyone on the highest bench really gets cooked.
  - kakacik 7mo ago
    Yes every sauna I have ever been to in Europe (spas, various gyms) have electric heater with stones on top. Infra saunas are only for cheapest installs at home and usually dont generate enough heat. Also, 80° celzius minimum for proper saunas, I have been to >100 celzius ones and its a struggle to remain for 15 mins inside. Another point - I consider the after-part most crucial for health benefits to me - as-cold-as-possible long shower or even better a similar dip pool. Few days after that my cold resistance is significantly higher. Just the heating of body in sauna I can reach also ie with cardio workout or free weights, which brings tons of other benefits.
kikimora 7mo ago
Anything beyond 90 C is not a sauna :) Better to have 90+ and hot steam as in Russian sauna (banya) :)
tauntz 7mo ago
As an Estonian, anything below 80°C is considered a "kids sauna". 80°C - 90°C is a cold-but-workable sauna and proper sauna starts from 90+°C. I'd assume it's the same in Finland as we share a lot of the sauna culture.
- omnimus 7mo ago
  This would be same in Germany and eastern european countries too. But it really depend on humidity. High humidity saunas don't have to be hot and get tough pretty quicky. 100c dry sauna is lot more manageable than 60c humid sauna (atleast to me).
  - PaulDavisThe1st 7mo ago
    My steam room (at home) at 116F/47C is close to the upper limit of bearable for me. But that's a lot more humidity than even a humid sauna.
  - tauntz 7mo ago
    Indeed, humidity matters a lot. Most our saunas here are löyly (in Finnish) saunas, so you get a rollercoaster of dry - humid - dry cycles. Once you get to 100+c and throw a good amount of water on the stones, it can get quite challenging to endure :) Everybody has their personal preference of course. For me, the sweet spot seems to be a moderately humid sauna at 93c. At that point, the löyly is not too harsh yet but is still hot enough to make you feel alive :)
    - omnimus 7mo ago
      I also prefer around 90-100c with swings of humidity. I think it's most exciting exactly because you can make it temporarily more intensive with the "humid wave". It's the most popular type of sauna - "the sauna" for a reason.
- nextlevelwizard 7mo ago
  90+ sauna sounds painful. Are you actually throwing water? Because even with 80 the steam is pretty hot

ttiurani 7mo ago

Also while 73°C is a proper sauna, there are plenty of hotter ones. 90°C is closer to what I'm used to at my apartment building's common sauna. I do take two breaks when I'm there for 30 mims though.

mrgoldenbrown 7mo ago
What percent humidity? That is just as important as temperature for understanding how tolerable a particular sauna is.
- ttiurani 7mo ago
  It's a sauna so humidity depends on how much water I feel like throwing on the stones ("kiuas"). I throw at about once per minute, but I have no idea what that would mean in humidity.

ludicrousdispla 7mo ago

you can sous vide beef and pork at a lower temperature than that

koolba 7mo ago
I knew a guy that would bring a steak sealed in a vac seal bag to the gym and leave it in the sauna while he worked out. One hour later he was done working out and it was ready to eat too. Not sure I can actually recommend it to others but the novelty was interesting till they nearly kicked him out of the gym.
- Towaway69 7mo ago
  Sounds a bit like using your dishwasher to cook your dinner - https://parallelplates.com/dishwashers-still-full-meals/ https://parallelplates.com/dishwashers-still-full-meals/ I won’t want to use my dishwasher as a sauna though /s
  - rmcpherson 7mo ago
    I think you intended to link a different article. That one’s not about cooking with your dishwasher.
- walletdrainer 7mo ago
  On a recent visit to Finland I found out that basically all supermarkets sell aluminium foil bags for the purpose of cooking sausages on the sauna stove while you use the sauna.

KellyCriterion 7mo ago

73° hot? Here in mainland Europe, a "classic fin sauna" is usually at least 90°++

yeahforsureman 7mo ago
Would those be "dry saunas" or proper ones where you're allowed to throw water on the rocks? Adding humidity ('löyly') is kinda the point, and 73°C might be just fine for a small sauna, giving you a nice punchy löyly.
- KellyCriterion 7mo ago
  > hrow water on the rocks? Depends on the location! Very often, at public locations there is a "saua master" taking care, in smaller locations I have seen people handling this on their own. And in one location there was a sign: "no private watering due to electrical issues"
  - mesrik 7mo ago
    I think I've heard US it's mostly no water at all on stove and Germany I've heard they have had these sauna-masters who come and cast water on stove. Neither of these are practised anywhere in Finland at least. But there are at least one Finnish swimming bath where they had to limit steam competitions and made a button controlled mechanism to administer water instead of free usage. Not because electrical shock prevention but because bad human behaviour per se.
  - euroderf 7mo ago
    The men's sauna at Harjutori in Helsinki has a pullchain (with a handle of wood, natch), by the entrance to the room. When you walk into the men's sauna (which is BIG), you can inquire whether löyly is needed, and affirmative answers dictate a tug or two or three on the chain, which releases bursts of steam. And anyone on the highest bench really gets cooked.
- kakacik 7mo ago
  Yes every sauna I have ever been to in Europe (spas, various gyms) have electric heater with stones on top. Infra saunas are only for cheapest installs at home and usually dont generate enough heat. Also, 80° celzius minimum for proper saunas, I have been to >100 celzius ones and its a struggle to remain for 15 mins inside. Another point - I consider the after-part most crucial for health benefits to me - as-cold-as-possible long shower or even better a similar dip pool. Few days after that my cold resistance is significantly higher. Just the heating of body in sauna I can reach also ie with cardio workout or free weights, which brings tons of other benefits.

kikimora 7mo ago

Anything beyond 90 C is not a sauna :) Better to have 90+ and hot steam as in Russian sauna (banya) :)

tauntz 7mo ago

As an Estonian, anything below 80°C is considered a "kids sauna". 80°C - 90°C is a cold-but-workable sauna and proper sauna starts from 90+°C. I'd assume it's the same in Finland as we share a lot of the sauna culture.

omnimus 7mo ago
This would be same in Germany and eastern european countries too. But it really depend on humidity. High humidity saunas don't have to be hot and get tough pretty quicky. 100c dry sauna is lot more manageable than 60c humid sauna (atleast to me).
- PaulDavisThe1st 7mo ago
  My steam room (at home) at 116F/47C is close to the upper limit of bearable for me. But that's a lot more humidity than even a humid sauna.
- tauntz 7mo ago
  Indeed, humidity matters a lot. Most our saunas here are löyly (in Finnish) saunas, so you get a rollercoaster of dry - humid - dry cycles. Once you get to 100+c and throw a good amount of water on the stones, it can get quite challenging to endure :) Everybody has their personal preference of course. For me, the sweet spot seems to be a moderately humid sauna at 93c. At that point, the löyly is not too harsh yet but is still hot enough to make you feel alive :)
  - omnimus 7mo ago
    I also prefer around 90-100c with swings of humidity. I think it's most exciting exactly because you can make it temporarily more intensive with the "humid wave". It's the most popular type of sauna - "the sauna" for a reason.
nextlevelwizard 7mo ago
90+ sauna sounds painful. Are you actually throwing water? Because even with 80 the steam is pretty hot