🔥 Infrared vs. Traditional Nordic Wood-Fired Sauna — Which Is Better and Why?

Every so often someone asks me,“Okay…so what's the difference between infrared and traditional sauna?”

And because I’m a therapist and a sauna owner, my answer is usually: “Well… it depends. What’s happening in your body, and what are you hoping to get out of it?”

But since you're here for actual clarity, here’s a grounded, real explanation of the differences — and why traditional sauna (especially wood-fired) has stuck around for about 2,000 years.

🔥 1. First: What’s the actual difference?

Traditional Nordic sauna (what Nomadic Fire is):

·       Air is heated to ~170°F plus

·       Steam (“löyly”) is created by pouring water on hot stones

·       Your entire body warms, inside and out

·       Heart rate increases similar to light cardio

·       Big nervous-system shift

·       Feels like being wrapped in steady, enveloping heat

Infrared sauna:

·       Lower air temperature (~110–140°F)

·       Infrared panels heat you, not the air

·       Feels more targeted and less intense

·       The room stays relatively cool

·       Often marketed as “deep tissue” or “detox” (take that word lightly for both)

Both make you warm. Both make you sweat. But they are very different experiences.

❤️‍🔥 2. What traditional wood-fired heat does best

• Deeper cardiovascular effect

Your heart rate climbs more, your circulation ramps up, and the feeling of heat is immersive. It’s like your whole system gets a tune-up.

• Stronger nervous-system reset

There’s something about the combination of high heat, steam, breath, and sensory simplicity that pulls you back into your body. The “post-sauna glow” is not imaginary — it’s physiology.

• Steam → humidity → more therapeutic heat

Infrared is dry heat. Traditional sauna gives you the option of steam, which changes the whole experience — softer skin, deeper heat, more “full body” warmth.

• It feels ancient, human, and communal

Traditional sauna is about presence. You sit. You breathe. You slow down. No panels, no glowing lights, no gadgets.

• Wood-fired = a whole different level

The heat feels alive. Even. Warm. Gentle. People describe it as “softer,” “rounder,” or “more honest” heat.

And personally? I love it.

There’s something grounding about the whole process —the crackle of the fire, the way the light moves through the stove window, choosing the right wood, stacking it, tending it, adjusting the burn, keeping it steady.

It’s a ritual in itself. A conversation between me, heat, timing, and intention.

I love stoking the fire for people — making sure the heat is as steady and welcoming as I can make it. It feels like tending to the experience before anyone even steps inside.

There’s a different kind of care in wood-fired heat. And people feel it.

💡 3. What infrared does well (and why some people like it)

Infrared is not wrong — it’s just different.

• Lower temperature

Good for people who can’t tolerate high heat or are completely new to sauna.

• More accessible in gyms and wellness centers

Plug it in, turn it on. No firewood required.

• Targeted heat

Some people feel their muscles warm quickly and directly.

• Can be useful for specific recovery and relaxation goals

Though not magic, and definitely over-marketed in the “detox” department.

🧠 4. Which is “better”? Here’s the honest answer.

If you want a gentle sweat → infrared has a place.

If you want the full sauna effect — cardiovascular, nervous-system, emotional, community-oriented, heat-therapy-in-its-actual-form — nothing compares to a traditional Nordic sauna.

Especially wood-fired.

🔥 5. Why Nomadic Fire uses traditional wood-fired sauna

Because it works. Because it feels good. Because people leave looking like different versions of themselves — clearer, calmer, softer. Because the ritual matters. Because the heat quality is unmatched. Because caring for the fire is caring for the people in the room.

And because no infrared panel in the world smells like cedar warmed by a real flame.

🌡️ The takeaway:

Neither is “wrong,” but they are not interchangeable.

If what you want is the full-body exhale, the deep warmth, the grounded reset, the communal quiet, the ancient heat, the ritual, the steam, and the honest-to-goodness “I feel human again” moment?

Traditional sauna is the one.

And wood-fired makes it even better.

Come find out for yourself and book at spot at the Colorado Tap House Tuesday afternoons/evenings from 5-9pm or at any one of our upcoming special events.