Traditional outdoor heat from Vulcan. Indoor infrared calm from Zarin. Pick the sauna that fits your space and your recovery.
Why saunas
Traditional and infrared saunas both deliver the same core benefits: the difference is how they get you there. Here's what regular sauna use does for you.
Regular sauna use raises heart rate and mimics the effects of moderate exercise. Long-term studies link consistent sessions with lower blood pressure and reduced cardiovascular risk.
Heat drives blood flow to muscle tissue, helping flush metabolic waste and speed recovery. A staple of athlete routines from strength training to endurance sport.
Deep sweat opens pores and supports the skin's natural cleansing process. Consistent use leaves skin looking clearer and healthier over time.
Sessions lower cortisol and shift the body into parasympathetic recovery mode. Users report deeper sleep and calmer, sharper mornings.
Traditional vs Infrared
Same core benefits, two very different experiences. Here's a straight comparison so you can pick with confidence.
Traditional
Infrared
TraditionalTraditional · Outdoor
From
£9,590.00
InfraredInfrared · Indoor
From
£4,495.00
Vulcan and Zarin are Odyssey's off-the-shelf saunas. For commercial projects and residential builds that need a custom footprint, we design and manufacture bespoke saunas indoor or outdoor, any shape, any size, any timber. Red cedar as standard, with heater configuration to suit the room.
Bespoke Saunas →
Every Odyssey sauna is clad in Canadian red cedar by default. It is the timber we return to for aroma, longevity and the feel of a properly built room. Below are the four species we work with, and where each one earns its place.
The gold standard for sauna timber
Red cedar is our house cladding, inside and out. It carries a natural aroma that becomes part of the sauna experience, low resin content that stops sap weeping at temperature, and inherent oils that resist moisture and decay without needing chemical treatment. It weathers to a soft silver outdoors and holds its warmth indoors. It is what a great sauna smells like, and it is what we recommend to almost every client who asks.
Pale, low-resin, Nordic feel
Aspen is heat-treated at high temperature which drives out moisture and stabilises the fibres. The result is a pale, almost cream-coloured timber that stays cool to touch and shows almost no resin bleed. A legitimate alternative for clients who want a lighter interior palette than cedar delivers, particularly in commercial spa environments where a bright, clean aesthetic is part of the brief.
Warm honey tone, dimensionally stable
Thermowood hemlock is a workhorse for high-traffic commercial installations. Heat-modification gives it excellent dimensional stability, so panels do not warp under repeated heat cycles, and its warm honey colour ages to a soft caramel. Widely specified in premium hotel and wellness projects where longevity under continuous operation is the priority.
Traditional Scandinavian entry level
Spruce is the timber most public saunas in Scandinavia are built from. It works, it is affordable, and it looks the part on day one. We do not default to it because it is more resinous than cedar, needs more attention as it ages, and lacks cedar's aroma. If a project's brief specifically calls for a traditional spruce build we can deliver it, but we will make the case for cedar first.
Interior bench slats are typically alder or abachi across every species we clad in. Both stay cool to touch even at operating temperature, which is why they are the craftsman's default for where a bather actually sits.
We offer a full professional installation service. Fully assembled and ready to plug in from day one. No builders, no hassle.
Cladding
Canadian red cedar throughout, inside and out. Naturally moisture-resistant, low-resin at temperature, and the timber that gives a proper sauna its aroma. Weathers to a soft silver outdoors and holds its warmth indoors.
Heater
8kW commercial-grade electric heater in the Vulcan, with a wood-fired option for outdoor installs where an external flue is available. Zarin runs carbon-crystal infrared panels engineered for even distribution across a two-person bench footprint.
Bench Craftsmanship
Bench slats sit proud of the frame with concealed fixings so nothing hot touches skin, and are milled from timbers that stay cool at temperature. Details a bather feels every session, and the ones we refuse to compromise on.
Twelve months of limited coverage on every sauna we deliver, plus honest guidance on what wears with use.
• Duration: 12-month limited warranty from date of delivery on defects in materials or workmanship
• Coverage area: UK mainland (Scotland and remote areas may incur additional site-visit fees)
• Bespoke and commercial: Bespoke sauna builds carry project-specific warranty terms confirmed at contract stage
FAQs
Traditional (Vulcan) is a bigger, hotter, faster experience. Think 15-30 minute sessions at 80-100°C, ideally outdoors, ideally shared. Infrared (Zarin) is gentler at 45-60°C but you sit for longer, warms your body directly rather than the surrounding air, and installs indoors on a standard socket. If you have outdoor space and want the classic Nordic experience, pick Vulcan. If you want daily wellness indoors without an electrician visit, pick Zarin.
For the Vulcan (traditional), yes. It's designed for outdoor placement on a solid, level base with adequate ventilation. For the Zarin IR, no. It fits in a spare room, garage, home gym, or basement.
The Vulcan's electric heater runs on 1-phase or 3-phase depending on the model spec (an electrician can advise). The wood-fired variant needs a flue install but no electric heater. The Zarin IR runs on a standard 13-amp domestic socket: no wiring changes required.
The Vulcan is flat-pack, designed for rapid on-site assembly by our team. Typically half a day for the cabin itself plus heater/flue commissioning. The Zarin is delivered and assembled in-room; because it doesn't need site works, most installs are complete same-day.
The core cardiovascular, recovery, skin and mental benefits apply to both. Traditional saunas run hotter and induce a more intense sweat and heart-rate response in shorter sessions. Infrared runs cooler but the heat penetrates deeper into muscle tissue, so many people find it easier to sit in for the longer session times. Both work. Pick the experience you'll actually use consistently.
Regularity beats intensity. Long-term studies point to the biggest benefits at 4+ sessions per week. Both the Vulcan and the Zarin are built for daily use, so pick whichever fits your routine best.
Yes. Pairing hot exposure with cold plunges is what the Odyssey system is designed around. Buy any of our ice baths alongside the Vulcan Sauna and you get the WiFi control upgrade free as a bundle perk, applied automatically at checkout.
Compare the Vulcan and Zarin side-by-side, or get in touch and we'll help you pick the sauna that fits your space, install, and recovery routine.
Worldwide delivery available. Enquire for lead times
