Almost Heaven vs Redwood Outdoors

The short version: Almost Heaven offers a limited lifetime warranty on its sauna rooms, describes them as USA-made and builds the models we read in red cedar. Redwood Outdoors offers a one-year limited warranty, builds its barrels in heat-treated hemlock, uses FSC-certified wood on its Cove and Cabin, and lists a wider menu of heater upgrades. Both fit a Harvia KIP 6 kW heater as standard on their two-person barrels. On published terms, the warranty gap is the headline.

Side by side

The warranty gap, and what both exclude

Almost Heaven says it will replace any component of the sauna room that fails from a manufacturing defect, at no charge, for life; the Harvia heater carries its own shorter terms. Redwood Outdoors' limited warranty runs for one year from delivery. Neither transfers to a second owner. And both exclude the thing outdoor saunas most often suffer. Almost Heaven excludes normal weathering, wear and tear, improper use or assembly, and weather events. Redwood Outdoors excludes weather events, acts of nature, a lack of reasonable preventive maintenance, improper installation, and improper electrical work or site preparation — and says natural variation, knots and minor surface checking in the wood are not defects.

So a lifetime warranty on a barrel is not a promise that the barrel will survive the weather. It is a promise about manufacturing defects. It is still a real difference: a defect that shows up in year three is covered by one brand and not the other.

Cedar or heat-treated hemlock

The Almost Heaven models we read are rustic red cedar. Redwood Outdoors builds its barrels in heat-treated hemlock, which its listings describe as treated for durability, stability and resistance to moisture. Untreated hemlock does poorly outdoors; heat treatment is meant to change that, and it is the same idea as the thermally modified woods some premium brands use. Our cedar vs hemlock vs spruce page covers the species question, and best cedar saunas the cedar route.

Two-person barrels

At the small end, Almost Heaven's Salem seats two in rustic red cedar with a glass door and a choice of no window, a port window or a vista window, on a 6 kW Harvia KIP or smart heater. Its Vienna adds a one-foot canopy with built-in exterior benches, and Almost Heaven says it heats to 180 °F with the same 6 kW heater. Redwood Outdoors' Duo is its most compact outdoor model, with a 6 kW Harvia KIP, Harvia stones, a bulkhead light, a felt hat and shingles included, and upgrades up to a 9 kW Homecraft.

Beyond the barrel

Both brands sell far more than barrels. Almost Heaven lists canopy barrels, Blackwater cubes, cabins, indoor rooms and infrared cabins. Redwood Outdoors lists barrels with and without porches, the Cove, Cabin, Garden, Grove and other outdoor designs, indoor rooms, and bundles that pair its Duo with a cold plunge. If you are comparing a specific model rather than the brands, put the questions below to both.

Questions to ask either brand

• Stave or wall thickness. The specification that decides how well a barrel holds heat and resists warping.
• The heater's rated room volume against your model's interior — our heater sizing guide shows how to check it.
• The roof covering and what it sits on. Barrels fail at the crown first.
• The foundation they expect, and what the delivery actually includes.

Which to choose

• Almost Heaven, if a lifetime structure warranty, red cedar and US manufacture are what you are paying for — and you are happy assembling a flat-packed kit.
• Redwood Outdoors, if you want its range of designs, heat-treated wood and a wider heater menu, and a one-year warranty is acceptable to you.

Alternatives you can buy today

The first pick is Almost Heaven's own Laurel — the one sauna from either brand we found with a live Amazon buy box, and an indoor infrared cabin rather than a barrel. The other four are cedar barrels on Amazon that publish a heater output; two carry Harvia heaters, like both brands' standard fit. Those four are not Almost Heaven or Redwood Outdoors products, and none carries a lifetime structure warranty.

Our honest position

On published terms, Almost Heaven's warranty is the stronger promise, and red cedar is the proven outdoor wood. Redwood Outdoors offers more variety and a longer heater menu, on a one-year warranty. We have used neither and we earn nothing from either. Our existing notes on each — the Almost Heaven review and the Redwood Outdoors review — cover what their marketplace presence looks like.

Every pick on this page comes from published specifications, not from hardware we own. Read how we pick — including what spec-led ranking cannot tell you.