When we talk about the best home saunas, it鈥檚 really about finding the best option for you (and, of course, your budget). First of all, every home is different, and space comes into play. Also, will you be using it indoors or outside? And should it look chic? More importantly, what kind of sauna are we even talking about here鈥攖raditional Finnish wood-burning sauna, electric, or infrared? Thankfully, although saunas have been around since forever, the market has been heating up over the past few years in particular. Now, there鈥檚 a veritable smorgasbord (to use a geographically appropriate term) of options to choose from, no matter what your taste or needs.

To help us narrow the field, we enlisted the help of Christopher T. Minson, PhD, a professor of human physiology at the University of Oregon with over 25 years of heat studies under his belt. He also happens to have recently gone through the home sauna buying process himself鈥攁nd he has thoughts. 鈥淚 think people need to be intentional about how they’re going to use their sauna,鈥� he says. 鈥淗ow often are you going to use it? Are you going to share it? Do you want to be outside in nature?鈥� These are all important questions, and just a few of the factors we took into consideration in curating the list below.

Best Home Saunas: At a Glance

• Best Infrared Home Sauna: (From $6,799)
• Best Home Sauna on a Budget: ($1,900)
• Best Home Sauna for Contrast Therapy: ($20,480)
• Best Wood-Burning Home Sauna: ($7,998)
• Best Sauna Tent: ($4,500)
• Best Barrel Sauna: ($7,195)
• Best Home Sauna with a View: ($13,250)
• Best Home Sauna for Lottery Winners: (From $47,200)

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Revolutionary. Game-changing. These are the most overused words when it comes to gear and technology. But they鈥檙e the only way to describe the new , an AI-powered exoskeleton made specifically for outdoor adventures and endurance sports. Whether you need support to push the limits on an epic hike, ride, or climb, or simply need the assistance to help experience the outdoors, the X Ultra enables you to achieve your goals while reducing exertion, heart rate, and muscle fatigue.

So what is it? Exoskeleton is a word you鈥檙e more likely to see in a sci-fi movie than while shopping for trail gear, but Hypershell鈥檚 latest is far from fiction. The X Ultra is the world鈥檚 first exoskeleton specifically designed to help endurance athletes and everyday adventurers go further. The wearable device is made from aerospace-grade titanium alloy and SpiralTwill 3000 Carbon Fiber, which means, despite its minuscule weight, it鈥檚 incredibly durable and built to withstand conditions you鈥檙e likely to encounter outside (think steep scree fields or rocky singletrack). The whole thing with the battery weighs about 3 pounds, and one charge will get you up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) of range, or around 42,000 steps.

As always, the proof is in the details. And these details are impressive. With 1,000 watts of peak power output, the exoskeleton reduces physical exertion by up to 39 percent while you鈥檙e cycling and 22 percent while walking. It also reduces heart rate during activity by up to 40 percent. It does all of this by using AI to adapt to your movement and assist with each step or pedal stroke鈥攅ven better, it learns your gait pattern over time for a more seamless and personalized user experience.

You could spend all day just dreaming up ways to put the X Ultra to use. Last year, I spent six weeks bikepacking the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and rode 2,700 miles from Mexico to Canada. Taking off six weeks for the journey was a push, and I can鈥檛 help but wonder how long it would have taken me if I had the X Ultra (or how much better my legs would鈥檝e felt each night!).

But epic efforts are only one way to benefit from the X Ultra. It also makes hiking objectives feel more doable at any level, like accessing a hard-to-reach fly fishing spot or touring winter terrain. It actually adapts to a dozen different conditions and activities, snow and sand included. And with the new Downhill Buffering feature, the X Ultra detects downward motion and automatically reduces impact, helping to protect your joints.

Revolutionary? That might be an understatement.

About Hypershell

Founded in 2021, is a wearable robotics company focused on expanding human mobility. Its intelligent exoskeletons adapt in real time to terrain, activity, and intention, making movement lighter and more natural. With SGS-certified performance and more than 15,000 units sold worldwide, Hypershell enhances 鈥� not replaces 鈥� human ability, shaping a future where wearable robotics become as essential as backpacks for exploration, work, and play.

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Fall means a lot of things to me: more mountain biking, more raking leaves, more flannel shirts. Mostly, though, it means more sitting around a fire in my backyard. Since night comes earlier, I like to pretend I鈥檓 a caveman and gather around a flame with my friends and family as often as possible.

Backyard fires are like a lot of the adventurous pastimes that define our lives. You can approach your fires as a minimalist by arranging rocks in a circle and lighting some sticks with a match. Or you can give some thought to the practice and elevate the experience with a few choice items. Here are five key pieces of gear that I鈥檝e used to upgrade my own backyard fire pit experience.

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It鈥檚 fall, and that can only mean two things: pumpkin spice everything, and a new crop of smartwatches. Last year, Google鈥檚 Pixel Watch 3 established itself as the best non-Apple smartwatch on the market, making it the top choice for Android users. The new Pixel Watch 4 continues that tradition, offering meaningful improvements across the board. Unfortunately, it also continues to ignore some core fundamentals that would make it a truly great sports watch (think Garmin), and that鈥檚 a major missed opportunity.

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When the Scottish explorer Alexander Mackenzie first tried to canoe across North America in 1789, he unwittingly followed a river that led him north to the Arctic instead of west to the Pacific. When he tried again (and ultimately succeeded) in 1793, he brought with him a special piece of navigational equipment imported from London: a telescope with enough power to see the moons of Jupiter, which would enable him to calculate his longitude accurately.

On my canoe trip down the Petawawa River in northern Ontario this summer, I did the same. I鈥檇 received a press release from a French company called Vaonis about their new , which is the size of a hardcover book and uses your smartphone as its brains and viewfinder. Among their boasts: the Hestia enables you to see the moons of Jupiter! I had maps and GPS for navigation, but the idea of channeling Mackenzie by spending my evenings along the river peering into the heavens sounded fun, so I added a Hestia to my pack. Here鈥檚 how it went.

How It Works

The Hestia itself is nothing but a bunch of lenses and prisms packed into a rectangular case and weighing 1.87 pounds. There are no moving parts and no electronics. Once you attach your phone to it, you have a telescope with an aperture of 1.2 inches and a field of view of 1.8 degrees. That鈥檚 at the very bottom end of what you鈥檇 get from an inexpensive backyard telescope, but better than you鈥檇 get from the cheap portable monoculars you might buy for birdwatching or hunting. The magnification is 25X, and the price for the basic unit and can go up to $299 if you include accessories like a tripod and solar filter.

What gives the Hestia an edge for portable stargazing is the Gravity app that you download for your phone. Fancy telescopes can take very-long-exposure images because they have a motor that moves along with the stars; the Hestia doesn鈥檛 move, but the app takes multiple photos and digitally stacks them on top of each other, giving you exposure times of up to 30 seconds. The app can also analyze the stars in your field of view, figure out where the telescope is pointing, and then guide you towards whatever astronomical feature you鈥檙e looking for: planets, star clusters, galaxies, and so on.

When I first got the Hestia, I took it through its paces in a park near my home in Toronto, a city of 3 million with plenty of light pollution. It was underwhelming. There were so few stars in the sky that I had trouble getting six of them鈥攖he minimum required for the Gravity app鈥檚 star analysis to figure out where I was pointing鈥攊n the viewfinder. The poor visibility also made it difficult to focus properly.

I later tried it at a friend鈥檚 cottage outside the city, and had somewhat better luck. I still struggled to get the star analysis to work, but I was able to snap a nice picture of the moon:

I also used the included solar filter to take a picture of the sun, sunspots and all. This was less interesting than I expected, but it鈥檚 a reminder that the Hestia started as a Kickstarter project aimed at people who wanted to watch the 2024 solar eclipse.

Into the Wild

I figured the Petawawa River, in Algonquin Park, would be the perfect place to try the Hestia in earnest. During our six-day trip, we would be paddling right past the Algonquin Radio Observatory, a facility built in 1959 to observe outer space deep in the wilderness away from pesky cities.

I brought the telescope in its hard carrying case, along with the included tripod. There was some good-natured grumbling from some of my tripmates about the added weight in the portage packs, but it fit in nicely and was rugged enough to withstand rough handling.

It proved useful on our second day, when we were paddling down 2.5-mile-long Radiant Lake. About halfway along, we found a decent beach to camp on. Our maps told us there was one more suitable spot at the end of the lake, about a mile farther on. We wanted to cover more distance, but we didn鈥檛 want to risk having to double back if the site was already taken. I got out the Hestia, put it in 鈥渟cenery鈥� mode, and confirmed that there was indeed a canoe on the distant beach.

The stargazing that night was less successful. The stars were uncountable, but I still couldn鈥檛 get the Gravity鈥檚 star analysis working. It kept telling me that the scope was unstable. I鈥檝e since realized that extending the tripod to its maximum height of roughly five feet makes it too wobbly, but that didn鈥檛 occur to me at the time. So I took some photos of random points in the sky:

It鈥檚 a nice photo. You can see some remarkable details, including something at the bottom right that I can almost imagine is Jupiter with a couple of moons. It鈥檚 not, though. Jupiter was below the horizon when I took that pic.

The Verdict

Back in Toronto, I tried a few more experiments with the telescope. Keeping the tripod at half-height kept it stable, which eliminated one problem. But there was simply too much light in my neighborhood to see enough stars for the star analysis. I managed to get it to work a few times, so that it could start directing me to the specific star cluster I was looking for, but not consistently. It鈥檚 tricky to get the focus, exposure, and ISO settings right, especially when there aren鈥檛 many stars in the sky.

I鈥檓 still intrigued by the idea. The Hestia is capable of seeing Venus鈥檚 rings, Jupiter鈥檚 moons, and other cool astronomical phenomena that would be totally new to me. Next time I鈥檓 outside the city, I鈥檒l set it up again鈥攁t half-height鈥攁nd give it another shot. But even if I master it, I鈥檒l stick to GPS for navigation on my next canoe trip.

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For the past nine years, I鈥檝e joined journalists from around the world in the Steve Jobs Theater at Apple headquarters for the keynote product launch speech. Many of those journalists work for tech publications, so they spend the whole day fastidiously taking notes about every detail Apple announces. I, meanwhile, patiently wait to see what Apple is going to say about the tech that will matter to outdoor adventurers. Some years, there are only a few specs of interest, but this year I found myself typing just as fast as my colleagues because all three of the major product releases鈥攊Phone 17 Pro, Ultra Watch 3, and AirPods Pro 3鈥攃ome with important updates for 国产吃瓜黑料 readers.

I鈥檝e been furiously testing early releases of all three products for the past week. Here is a full breakdown of the new features that matter to those of us who love to travel, play outside, and explore off the grid.

Apple Watch Ultra 3, iPhone 17 Pro, and AirPods Pro 3 Reviewed

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My mind and my body don鈥檛 always agree with each other. While my mind is always game for adventures like monster trail runs in the mountains, hopping into a Masters swim session, or trying for a dyno at the climbing gym, my body regularly puts the brakes on. I鈥檓 always straining something; I鈥檓 regularly in pain.

I don鈥檛 chalk it all up to the fact that I鈥檓 not 20-something any more. Since my teens, I鈥檝e needed to listen to my body and do a lot of maintenance in the form of strength training, physical therapy treatments, and mobility exercises. So much physical therapy. So many exercises.

Roughly 10 years ago, I was told I have a connective tissue disorder. My lax ligaments and tendons mean I slip out of alignment easily, which causes all sorts of issues. Instead of doing less, however, I learned I needed to do more. I need to constantly strength train, keep my activities varied, and do a lot of self-care. My body needs maintenance.

To keep from constantly booking appointments and spending money on things like deep tissue massage and dry needling, I鈥檝e found tools that let me treat issues on my own time, my own dime, and in my own space at home. While I still need to visit experts for bigger issues, I can often address small pains and strains before they become problematic.

Here are the self-care tools I rely on to keep me healthy and moving.

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Yesterday, Garmin announced its new watch. The biggest selling point? It connects to both cellular and satellite networks. That means users can make phone calls, trigger an SOS, and have two-way text communications with friends, family, and emergency responders all from their wrist鈥攐ff-grid and without their phone. Even with all these battery-sucking features, Garmin claims that the f膿nix 8 Pro will pack an incredible 27 days of battery life in smartwatch-mode. Also announced was the , which has the same connectivity features but a much brighter screen鈥攖he brightest on the market according to Garmin鈥攁nd a battery that still lasts up to 10 days.

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Labor Day is almost here, but our gear editors and testers have been making the most of the dwindling summer days鈥攑edaling dusty trails, grinding up high-alpine switchbacks, and sneaking in lakeside hangs whenever possible. Naturally, we brought a pile of fresh gear along for the ride. Here鈥檚 the latest bike gear, trail runners, and hiking essentials that earned a permanent spot in our quiver.

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This was the summer of outside. I鈥檝e always loved gathering in the backyard, but this year I wanted to go all in on creating a space that wasn鈥檛 just pretty for one dinner party but functional every day. A place to cool off, cook meals, rest, host friends, regulate my nervous system, and enjoy time outdoors alone or with people I love.

I bought my house in Salt Lake City, Utah, four years ago and began gutting the entire thing. Every wall, every floorboard, every outdated system鈥攔ipped out and redone. It鈥檚 been a labor of love that often stole weekends from the mountains and ski days from the calendar. I spent more Saturday mornings than I care to admit pulling rusted nails from ceiling stringers or insulating the attic on 104-degree August days when I should鈥檝e been on a river trip.

And for years, the backyard sat neglected. A patch of dead grass. No shade, no seating, no charm. But eventually, after spray-painting hand-me-down patio chairs, collecting potted plants from Buy Nothing groups, and wishing I had more reasons to linger outside, I turned my attention to the last blank canvas of my home.

I approached it the same way I approach planning or packing for any big outdoor objective: start with a clear goal, prioritize what adds value, and leave out the rest. Plus, make sure there are good snacks and cold beer involved.

My goals for the space were simple:

• Easy access to fresh air on days I鈥檓 chained to my laptop
• A low-stress outdoor hang zone where friends can drop by without a big production in the group text
• Micro-adventure vibes鈥攖he feeling you get on a camping trip, minus the packing list

Bit by bit, I turned the yard into a place I actually wanted to be. I invested in a few big-ticket items I knew I鈥檇 use for years鈥攍ike the sauna and cold plunge鈥攂ut I also DIY鈥檇 where I could, thrifted patio furniture, and waited for sales. It didn鈥檛 happen all at once, and it didn鈥檛 have to be perfect.

You also don鈥檛 need to replicate my to-do list (or have the same square footage) to feel the payoff. Maybe you start with a $12 citronella candle and pop up your camp chair in a shady spot of the driveway. Maybe you hang a string of solar lights or drag your old camp table onto the porch. The point is to create a space that invites you outside today, not 鈥渟omeday,鈥� especially on days when you can鈥檛 go much further than your own backyard.

Below, you鈥檒l find the gear that moved the needle most for me, plus why it earns its keep, who it鈥檚 best for, and what to try if you鈥檙e working with a different budget or space. Mix, match, upcycle, or scale way down. Either way, the goal is the same: more sun on your skin, less time on your phone, and a backyard (or stoop, or patio) that feels like the easiest adventure you鈥檒l take all week.

Addlon Solar String Lights ($25 for 48 Feet)

If you do nothing else to your backyard, start here. String up solar lights and boom鈥攜ou鈥檝e created ambiance. These are bright enough to illuminate a whole hangout zone and cute enough to feel intentional without being fussy, and they can go up anywhere thanks to the solar panel. No wiring needed.

They鈥檙e easy to install and look great, especially at night. So far, mine have held up great, but I will likely store them inside during the winter to cut down on exposure and weather.

Purple Leaf Cantilever Umbrella ($478)

If you want to spend a lot of time outside in a space that doesn鈥檛 get natural shade, this is one of those upgrades that makes your whole setup more livable. I picked mine up used on a local marketplace to save some cash, but even if you have to buy one new, it鈥檚 worth every penny.

The 10×10-foot canopy casts a huge swath of shade, which is enough to cover a dining table, a pair of lounge chairs and a couch, or a full corner of your deck. The double-top design helps with airflow (so it doesn鈥檛 become a sail in the wind), and the UV-resistant fabric hasn鈥檛 faded, even after long, hot days of use. My favorite part: The 360-degree rotation and adjustable height/tilt. I can shift it throughout the day without dragging furniture around. It鈥檚 a splurge. But it鈥檚 also the difference between staying outside for 30 minutes or staying out all day.

Solo Stove Bonfire ($329)

I wanted a fire pit that felt permanent enough to anchor my backyard, but still portable enough to toss in the car for a weekend trip. The Bonfire hits that perfect middle ground. At just over 23 pounds, I can move it easily, but four or five people can still gather around for s鈥檓ores, full moon gazing, or post-dinner wine. Setup is easy, and cleanup is even easier (the removable ash pan is clutch).

Solo Stove makes a range of sizes depending on your space. The Bonfire sits right in the middle. I also added the tabletop-sized Mesa to the mix, which brings just the right amount of glow and ambiance to the patio table.

Soundboks Go Bluetooth Speaker ($799)

This is not your cute little travel speaker. This is the speaker you bring out when you’re ready to turn post-ride beers into a Saturday night party. The sound is loud, rich, and absurdly crisp鈥攅ven outside, even when there鈥檚 background noise, even when you鈥檙e standing on the far edge of the yard. It connects via Bluetooth, holds a charge that lasts all day (and into the dance party with a 40-hour charge), and can be paired with additional speakers if you want to go full block party mode. I use it for everything from mellow workday playlists to spontaneous backyard dance breaks. Pro tip: Start with Caamp or Brandi Carlile. End with 50 Cent.

Yeti Tundra 45 Cooler ($325)

When it鈥檚 not riding in the back of my Subaru, it lives on the back deck鈥攑acked with cold drinks so no one has to trek inside every time they want a Spindrift. It sits in direct sun all day and still keeps ice frozen for days. No melt, no lukewarm cans.

The Tundra 45 doesn鈥檛 have wheels like the Roadie 32 Wheeled (which our testers picked as Best Cooler of 2025), but it鈥檚 built using the same construction and it鈥檚 incredibly spacious, durable, and airtight. I鈥檝e been amazed at how much better a backyard gathering feels when cold drinks are within arm鈥檚 reach. A good cooler is the unsung hero of outdoor life, and this one鈥檚 the real deal.

DIY Stock Tank Pool

I鈥檝e been dreaming of DIY-ing a stock tank pool ever since my friend John sent me a photo of himself floating in a tube with an Aperol Spritz in hand and his newborn daughter on his chest. That was five years ago, and I finally have the space and time to install my own.

I bought a literal stock tank from Tractor Supply for $600, added a pump and fittings and a few other supplies for under $400, and boom: a real, chlorinated swimming hole in the backyard. I followed a combination of YouTube videos, texted a cousin, and While it鈥檚 not Instagrammable in its asethic, it works, and at least I know the only Band-Aids floating in there are mine. When winter comes, I鈥檒l drain it, cover it, and call it good.

Gozney Arc XL Pizza Oven, $999

This was the hit of the summer for me (and all my new friends that appeared suddenly?). The Arc XL delivers restaurant-quality 16-inch pizzas in under 60 seconds. The lateral rolling flame means fewer turns, and the results are those perfect, blistered, chewy crusts I usually only get from my favorite wood-fired spots with long waiting lists.

My topping of choice? Peaches, burrata, prosciutto, basil, and a drizzle of hot honey.

I made one mistake however: I didn鈥檛 buy the Gozney stand, and my cheap Amazon one fell apart almost immediately. So now I haul it out of the garage for every pizza night. Learn from me: . Other than that, it鈥檚 easy to use, super efficient with gas (I just hook it up to the propane tank from my old grill), and surprisingly lightweight, though I do recommend having a friend help you move it.

Plunge Original Cold Plunge Tub ($5,941)

This is the thing I鈥檝e used the most in my backyard this summer. I鈥檓 simply a better person after I鈥檝e jumped into an alpine lake鈥攂ut I can鈥檛 always get to one in the middle of a workday. I can get to my backyard, however, and this plunge has truly been life-changing. It鈥檚 helped on days when my anxiety disorder feels unregulated, when period cramps are wreaking havoc on my body, when my back is sore from mountain biking, or when it鈥檚 just too damn hot out and I need to chill.

Mine is set at 55 degreesFahrenheit, and I鈥檓 still only staying in for five minutes, but the app makes it easy to track, adjust, and follow challenges to build your tolerance for the uncomfortable. I鈥檓 working on channeling my inner Wim Hof and using it morning and night. Installation was extremely simple. The chiller is quiet, the acrylic tub is roomy and durable, and the design is sleek enough to sit right outside my garage out of sight from the neighbors.

Plunge the Standard Sauna, $12,591

A sauna in your backyard sounds like a luxury鈥攁nd it is鈥攂ut it鈥檚 also one of the most grounding, body-resetting rituals I鈥檝e added to my life. I opted for the Plunge Sauna because it鈥檚 compact enough to tuck into a side yard or corner space, sleek enough to not look clunky, and it heats up fast (from cold to 174 degreesFahrenheit in under 20 minutes). Plus, the cedar wood smells amazing. The standard size fits up to five people (the fits two; the seats up to seven), with a folding bench that allows for more movement space instead of seating.

While it says it can be assembled in a few hours with two people, I chose to have it professionally installed because #time (and it still took nearly a full day). I also hired an electrician to add a special outlet to my garage panel because this requires a dedicated circuit.

You can control the temperature and lighting through the app, and the full glass door gives it a modern, inviting look. For me, it鈥檚 the ultimate bookend to cold plunging, but even on its own, it brings a whole new dimension to outdoor living. What I鈥檓 most looking forward to is using it this winter post-ski day. Apres just got very zen at my house.

The Payoff

This backyard project was about creating a space I actually wanted to be in (away from screens!), inviting in all weather, and restorative in every way. Now, it helps me recover after long days, host friends without stress, and soak up sun, fresh air, firelight, and good carbs.

The upgrades I made range from big to small, but they all share one purpose: making it easier and more joyful to be outside. Whether you鈥檙e stringing up lights or going full backyard revamp, the invitation is the same鈥攕tep outside and stay a while.

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