Always, ALWAYS bring beverages in can containers to sauna gatherings. Never, NEVER bring beverages in glass containers to sauna gatherings. Same with boats. Same on the dock. It only takes one yahoo to knock over a glass bottle and smash. And glass fragments end up everywhere, including embedded in bare feet. Serious and immediate buzz kill to an awesome sauna party. BONUS: Transfer beverage of choice into a glass made entirely out of ice, and now you've got somethin'! (Especially after jumping through a hole in the ice). … [Read more...]
The 5 gallon pickle bucket may just be your best sauna accessory
Looking to give a loved one into sauna a gift for Christmas? This may be the best looking gift under your tree: Especially in winter, the 5 gallon water bucket is an awesome sauna accessory: You can fill it with water anywhere. It's easy to carry. At a sauna party, it holds enough water for folks to dump water over their heads, multiple rounds. The 5 gallon water bucket can be filled up in your avanto (hole in the ice) and carried up to your sauna. Got that one covered? Here are three more sauna accessories you can add to the 5 gallon bucket, for the sauna aficionado living in a four season climate: The outdoor shower kit: Simple and easy and $15.00 from your neighborhood hardware store. More info. here. And more about outdoor showers here. The frost freeze faucet: It may seem like a pain in the ass to install, but it takes less than an hour to replace your conventional outdoor garden hose faucet with this frost free faucet. This faucet allows … [Read more...]
Ice is a funny (and beautiful) thing
nICE mug – a drinking glass made entirely out of ice – is enjoyed by NHL players between sauna rounds
A recent sauna gathering in Minneapolis included a few NHL alumni guests from different NHL teams. nICE mugs were shared between sauna rounds. One player realized: "we've been skating on ice our whole lives, it's pretty damn cool to be drinking out of ice!" There is something magical about enjoying a hot sauna, then cooling down between rounds while drinking your favorite beverage from a glass made entirely out of ice. nICE mug - a great sauna companion. Now you can order your own kit to make nICE mugs over and over. Click here and you can order today! … [Read more...]
Sauna by the numbers: a lifelong authentic sauna enthusiast describes his routine
The preview: as the sauna heats up "I sauna when I want to" He explains. And this maybe the most fundamental aspect to AUTHENTIC sauna. Sauna isn't crammed into a busy schedule or an afterthought at a health club. "'ll fire up my sauna then come back into the house and get ready." A sauna experience is a retreat. Authentic saunas are separate structures. They aren't separated from the house or cabin just in a physical sense. An authentic sauna building is a metaphor. An escape, An opportunity to leave the busy world behind. "I'll finish my emails or whatever i'm doing. I'll fill up a big jug of water. I'll get closure to whatever business i'm ready to leave behind. Sauna is like going on a little vacation for me. I get to pull the plug and get away. Sometimes, I'll fire up the sauna and go for a run. Or a bike ride. In winter, during a snow storm, I'll fire up my sauna stove and go for a ski. Those are wonderful times." Sauna round one: the big build "I won't … [Read more...]
Authentic sauna enthusiasts understand and appreciate seasons and weather extremes
Sauna during each of the four seasons involve: Summer saunas by the lake with plunges off the dock and rainy days. Spring saunas with freshly made vihta and new growth. Fall saunas in the misty garden all wet with rain after an outdoor shower. Winter saunas after a pick up hockey game or cross country ski out the back door. Sauna is a celebration of nature. Snow: And Ice: … [Read more...]
Make your own sauna essences – don’t cost nothin’.
After enjoying this nICE mug, It melted down while on the sauna bench. The pine clipping sat in hot water for an hour or so. Next sauna round, I tossed a little of this water onto the sauna rocks. Ahhh.. the gentle essence of fresh pine. Ahhhh.. Now, I keep this - with the pine clippings - full of water. A nICE pine tea for tossing on sauna rocks. ahhhh.. … [Read more...]
Coming in from the cold: the Rubber Band Theory expanded with Bob Marley
There are moments when everything comes together: -10 degrees f. (-23 degrees celsius) outside. No need to drive to a health club, cabin, or Finland. Backyard authentic Finnish sauna patiently waiting just steps out the back patio door. Wood burning sauna stove idling quietly in the 175 degree f. hot room. Round one complete with a clean rinse outside. Steam billowing off the body. Feeling an endorphin rush akin to vigorous exercise. Invigorating stretches outside with a big smile. Sipping a cool brew from a nICE mug. Muscles, mind, body expanded, relaxed, recharged, refueled. The Rubber Band Theory. Contemplating: do sauna enthusiasts live longer more because of the physical OR the mental benefits? (both are incredible!!). Realizing that the cool down in the frosty, steamy changing room has now been over 10 minutes. Reaching for the hot room door, Bob Marley's voice: "When one door is closed, another door is open" … [Read more...]
Sauna is a celebration of temperature extremes.
There are many, many millions of people who don't relate well nor seek out temperature extremes. The walk from their air conditioned car to their air conditioned office is enough of a temperature trauma for one day. Thankfully for them, their health club temperature is carefully regulated and monitored. The shopping mall? Safe there too. Checking in at Applebees: "would you like to sit outside or inside?" Now the tropical fish squirms because outside is always: too hot too cold too sunny too .... We sauna enthusiasts embrace temperature extremes. Either because of sauna or because we are wired differently, we smile like children when we: make snow angels between sauna rounds. jog without a shirt after a fresh snow. jump into Lake Superior (38 degrees f.) with a smile. People think we're crazy. What is crazy? Crazy is hiding from nature. Crazy is limiting one's life so as to be only be comfortable at 68-72 degrees f. Crazy is thinking a … [Read more...]
nICE mug: a cool new product on the way!
How many of us have ever tried to enjoy a cold drink in a hot sauna? A glass bottle can burn your lips, a beer can heats up in a few seconds. Conventionally koozies don't cut it. Finally, a fun product that is perfect for a sauna. Invented by a sauna lover, for the sauna lover. Stay tuned for order information coming soon to www.nicemug.com I have been working and refining nICE mug for more than a few years. We are getting close! I am excited to bring you nICE mug!!! … [Read more...]