Buying guide for infrared sauna blankets

You do not choose a sauna blanket on one specification. You choose it on the combination of size, heat, controls and service. The most useful order is not to start with the product but with yourself: how often will you use it, where will you put it and who else will use it. Those three answers already decide half of your choice.

Someone who wants to relax for half an hour twice a week has different needs from someone looking for warmth after every workout. And a blanket that stays on a double bed calls for different sizes than one you slide into a cupboard after use. What an infrared blanket is exactly and how the heat reaches your body is explained in infrared blanket explained. This page is about the choice itself.

Size is where most bad buys happen, and at the same time it is the easiest thing to check yourself. Note that webshops sometimes give the outer size and sometimes the inner size. Only the inner size tells you anything about the space you will lie in. If it is not listed, ask for it before you order.

A sauna blanket does not need to reach your chin. Most people are most comfortable with the zip up to chest height and their arms outside the blanket, so the controller stays within reach. If you want your arms inside, look at the width at shoulder height and at models with arm openings.

Also look at the spot where the blanket will lie. A two seater sofa is often just too short, so you end up lying with your knees pulled up and the heat spreads differently over your body. A bed, a mat on the floor or a chaise longue works best in practice. Measure that spot before you order, not after.

And think one step further: where does the blanket go when it is off? A model you can easily roll up and slide into a bag stays in use. A model you have to squeeze in somewhere with effort every time naturally gets used less often.

A sauna blanket consists of several layers that each do something different. In effect you are buying those layers, not the number on the box. The outer layer has to withstand repeated rolling up, the insulation decides how fast the blanket warms up and how stable it stays, and the inner layer decides how it feels against your clothes.

Two blankets that reach the same range on paper can feel completely different. That is almost always due to the insulation and the inner layer, not the heating. A thin model loses heat at the bottom, so the heating keeps working harder and you feel the wires more clearly. A better insulated model reaches temperature faster and then holds it with less effort.

Where that difference comes from and when it is worth it is explained in the difference between a basic and a premium sauna blanket.

Almost every seller names a maximum temperature. That is the least useful figure on the whole product page. Hardly anyone uses a sauna blanket on the very highest setting, and a blanket that reaches 80 °C but takes twenty minutes to get there is less pleasant in practice than one that reaches 70 °C quickly and steadily.

So look at three things: where the range starts, how fine the steps are and how stable the temperature stays once you are lying in it. A low starting point matters more than a high end point, because in the first weeks it is exactly the low settings you use.

Heat distribution is harder to check than temperature, because there is no single figure for it. What you can do is ask how many heating zones there are and whether they are controlled separately. Cold spots at the feet and spots that are too warm on the lower back are the complaints you see most often in reviews. How to read such reviews and what else plays a part when comparing models is covered in what to look for when assessing models.

You hold the controller with warm, damp hands while lying down. That sounds like a detail, but it is the part you have in your hand every session. Check whether the display is readable while lying down, whether the buttons are big enough to find by touch and whether the cable is long enough to put the controller next to you without pulling on it.

A timer should be standard. More important than the number of timer settings is that the blanket actually switches itself off when the time is up, even if you fall asleep. That is not an extra but a basic feature.

• A CE marking on the product itself, not just in the webshop text.
• Automatic shutoff when the set time is up.
• Overheat protection that kicks in before the blanket gets too warm.
• An adjustable timer with a clear maximum running time.
• A manual in your language with instructions for use and care.
• A seller who sends you the declaration of conformity if you ask for it.

If one of these points is missing, that is not a reason to negotiate but to keep looking. Read more about safe use as part of a regular routine in are infrared sauna blankets safe.

What is included makes more difference in practice than most people expect. An inner liner is the clearest example. It lies between you and the inner layer, catches the sweat and can simply go in the washing machine. Without an inner liner you are wiping the inside after every session, and that is exactly when people start using the blanket less.

• Wipe the inside with a slightly damp cloth after every session and leave the blanket open until it is dry.
• Never put the blanket in the washing machine and never submerge it in water.
• Roll it up loosely instead of folding it sharply, so the heating wires do not get a permanent kink.
• Store it dry and do not put anything heavy on top of it.

Stick to this and a blanket stays in good shape for years. Fold it up damp and put it away, and you will often notice it within a season in the smell and the inner layer. So take this into account when choosing: a model that is hard to clean costs you convenience later.

A sauna blanket is an electrical product you use with your whole body. So the seller behind it matters just as much as the product itself. At Luxyor you get 60 days to change your mind and a 2 year warranty. Use those terms as a yardstick to compare other sellers.

Look not only at the term but also at what happens in practice when something breaks. Is there a real business address, a reachable customer service and a clear description of who arranges the return shipment? A two year warranty is worth little if nobody answers.

Go through this list before you order. If points remain open, put them to the seller as questions. The answer you get, and how quickly you get it, often says more about the service than the product page itself. How we assess models ourselves is explained in our product testing. You will find our own models in the infrared sauna blankets collection.