For the past 6 months I have had a deep dive into he Canadian sauna industry and on a wider scale the North American Sauna industry as well. For many people the ins and outs and strong opinions (there are many sauna purest’s) that come from debating “what a good sauna heater: is or “are infrared saunas actually saunas” are far to deep into a reddit debate then you would want to venture into and most likely what you actually want is just to have that quiet space where you can go, sweat and unwind a little bit and at the heart of it all that is what is ultimately  most important. 

Canadian Sauna Culture:

The Finns have created a culture of sauna use and the way they treat the sauna experience certainly can give our North American culture a lot of lessons to learn from. This is one thing I have learned more of in the past 6 months of owning Homecraft and it goes far beyond just owning a sauna but in creating a lifestyle that incorporated healthy practice for self and for the community of people around you. We live in such a culture of rapid movement and busyness that the practice of sitting, renewing, contemplating and even vulnerability with others is far often the last thing we experience on a week to week basis. It is for these reasons that sauna use is such a benefit when incorporated into weekly practice and something that needs to be promoted more and more. 

The Challenge of producing great saunas heaters

One of the greatest challenges over the past 6 months is how to offer a better sauna heater for Canadians or better said for all of North America. You see what most people don’t ever think about is the regulations that all sauna companies should have to follow in selling sauna heaters in Canada or the USA. Our greatest challenge is that a European sauna heater is going to function very differently that what is being sold here. Without getting bogged down into the details Europe has less restrictions then Canadian and American Sauna companies have which allows them to produce heaters that oftentimes would out perform a Canadian sauna. For most users here they would not notice the difference but for the avid sauna enthusiasts they certainly can pinpoint the difference. For Homecraft we want to build new and better sauna heaters that get people excited about but we also have to fit within the guidelines to get the proper approvals but we are excited about releasing new sauna heaters in the next few years. 

True Canadian Sauna Companies

The last thing that has stuck out to me as a Canadian sauna manufacturer is that there are really just a few of us and just a few true sauna companies that are truly Canadian. As a manufacturer there are only a few of us actually building heaters in Canada as most of what is on the market is all imported but secondly there are actually only a few true Canadian sauna products being made here. There are many companies that want to look Canadian but are merely bringing in their Sauna products from Asia while advertising their use of Canadian Cedar. When it comes to companies that are actually sourcing and building locally there are very few of us. In some ways this should be to our advantage if you want to support local Canadian made products but in other ways it is far harder for us to compete with the prices of other companies importing their products from other countries. For us we want to stay true to who we are, stand out in the market and build products that we can be truly proud of and that is what we are aiming to do as we move forward. 

Kyle Wilson