We installed the Backyard Discovery Paxton 4-Person Sauna this winter, and living in the Midwest, it has been one of the best additions to our home. When the temperatures drop and the snow starts piling up, stepping into the warmth of this sauna feels like pure luxury. What I love most is how it brings a bit of Finnish culture into our backyard. The ritual of heating up the sauna, sitting in the deep, dry heat, and then stepping outside into the cold air feels both invigorating and grounding—exactly the way sauna was meant to be experienced. There’s something incredibly satisfying about going from a 180° sauna into crisp Midwestern winter air. The Paxton sauna is the perfect size for our family or a small group of friends. Four adults can sit comfortably, and the layout makes it easy to relax without feeling cramped. The wood interior gives it that authentic sauna feel and smell, which really adds to the experience. It also holds heat impressively well—even on the coldest Midwest days. Once it’s warmed up, the temperature stays consistent and creates that deep, enveloping heat that sauna lovers appreciate. Assembly took some time, but the instructions were clear and the quality of the materials was solid. Once it was up and running, it quickly became part of our winter routine. If you live somewhere with real winters and appreciate the Finnish tradition of sauna culture, the Backyard Discovery Paxton sauna is absolutely worth it. It turns even the coldest days into something to look forward to.

I bought this in March 2026. I had a problem with shipping, and Backyard Discovery's customer service was outstanding. No matter what problem you might have their customer service will help without question. The Wifi doesn't work however it's not a deal breaker for me. The heater has been very good and heat up quickly. The kit looks daunting, (come's in 8 boxes) but the directions easy to follow. I highly recommend this product.

I purchased the 4-6 person Paxton Barrel Sauna about 2 months ago and I have been very impressed with the product and the results. The price is extremely competitive with other barrel saunas and the "extras" that are a part of many other barrel saunas are standard with Backyard Discovery's Paxton Sauna. I built the foundation out of pavers and river rock while waiting for the delivery. The delivery was on time and easy. I followed the recommendation to lay out all of the parts before assembling and I am glad that I did because it was a time saver in the assembly process. I would say that I have average to slightly above average mechanical and woodworking skills and assembling this sauna was surprisingly easy. The step by step guide as well as the BILT App was very helpful for the whole process. I would say that in all it took about 9 hours for the full assembly. Follow the guide book and use the rope (not included) during the stave assembly and you will do just fine. You will need a professional electrician to wire the 240 to your sauna. You can get everything ready for the electrician to hook the 240 in if you want, or you can have your electrician do that for you. My electrician decided to run a 110 to the back of the sauna as well so that the LED light was kept separate from the 240, but that is not a requirement according to the manual. The sauna generates heat quickly and we are able to use the sauna once the electrician finished the job and we completed the hour long heat up process as recommended in the manual. I researched many different saunas and I decided to go with the Paxton because I felt (based on reviews and my comparison shopping) that I would get a tremendous value for my money. I am very satisfied with my purchase and the performance of the sauna. If you are not sure if you should make the purchase or not, I say do it! You will be glad you did.

Really impressed with build quality of this sauna and all the parts and accessories it comes with. Easy to follow directions, heats up quickly and gets HOT. Not even going to dock it a star but I can't get the app to connect so you just have to use control panel on sauna.

This sauna is everything I'd hoped it would be. Looks beautiful, heats up quickly and very comfortable inside. Instructions and assembly were straightforward and fairly easy to carry out. So relaxing at the end of the day, it's helping me sleep better!

I didn't want a sauna, but.... This thing has been amazing! The quality of the kit was top tier and very well thought out. The hardware was nice, the included tools were high quality. They even included a 90 degree attachment to help with certain screws. It gets to 176 degrees in about ten minutes. The touchscreen directions in the manual need to be improved. For example, it does not say that to turn it on, it is a long press. Also, if you want to adjust temperature or timer you need to double tap. It would also be nice if the touchscreen would turn off as it stays on 24 hours a day. Overall, thrilled with the purchase.

We've been using this sauna 4-5 time per week for the past 5 weeks. It took 4 people all day to put it together. One of us is an electrician and was able to make sure we had power out to the backyard to support the sauna. I love the way it looks in the backyard. It's great for 4 people or for 2 people to lay down.

DIY here. Assembly instructions were straight forward. A couple of the boards were warped but I managed to straighten them out with a bit of force. The sauna heated up quicker than I thought (in the Spring). I would have given this a five-star rating however the control panel is a bit clunky to use. There's definitely room for improvement with the functionality within the control panel. I highly recommend using the app to bypass the control panel all together.

Bought this a couple weeks ago and put it together myself, the instructions were fairly straightforward especially using the app. Advertised 4 hr build time with two people but it took me around 8 because I took my time. Love the way it looks and smells. It did have a small leak coming in the roof on the first rain so I siliconed around where the metal meets the trim on the front and back and hasn't leaked since. Still waiting on my electrician to show up so make sure you plan ahead! Not in a rush because it's July in North Carolina! Still happy with the product so far.

The sauna itself is really nice. From the lumber itself to the heater, the physical product is really nice and of great quality. One of the reasons we chose the Paxton specifically was all that was included, however, especially the tech offered such as WiFi capabilities, etc. And I need to be honest that the tech falls massively short. First, the control panel we received didn't work at all so they sent the updated version (begging the question why it wasn't included to begin with if it was a known issue that the original version didn't work). And with that, the new one really doesn't function with any consistency whatsoever. It's more or less useless. In terms of WiFi, it doesn't work at all. Sounds like they're working on some sort of fix, but just know that it doesn't work. Finally, the app: It's a 3rd party generic app that offers you the ability to add all kinds of home connected products and is not specific to the sauna itself or even Backyard Discovery for that matter. B/C the WiFi doesn't work and the control panel doesn't really work, I have to turn on the unit through a Bluetooth connection I set up on said app and the only way that works is if I sit on the bench next to the unit. So all in all, it's been disappointing that the marketed differentiators that were the drivers in our decision to select Backyard Discovery's product specifically are the very things that don't work. I don't generally leave reviews (let alone ones this long), but felt people should just be aware of what you're getting. Despite all these challenges, we love having a sauna and use it virtually every day. We've just had to adapt our expectations from what we thought we were getting.