Saunapallo Sauna Ball | Hanging Steam Ball, Designed in Finland

Löyly that does not quit on you

Water on hot stones is the best part of a session and the shortest. The steam comes up, thins out, and you are off the bench reaching for the bucket again. In a small room that is every few minutes, which is the opposite of why you sat down.

What it does

The Saunapallo hangs on a chain from the ceiling above your stove. You pour water into the open top, then give it a push with your ladle. Small holes in the base let the water down onto the rocks a little at a time while the ball swings, so one fill becomes a long, even löyly instead of a single burst. Fill it before you get in and the room is already humid when you sit down.

How long one fill lasts

• Full, about 3 quarts: roughly 12 minutes of flow
• Half full, about 1.5 quarts: roughly 7 minutes
• A pint: roughly 3 minutes

For a slow, rising heat, a quart to a quart and a half is the usual pour. If you want a hard hit, throw water on the stones the way you always have and load the ball first, so the soft steam carries on behind the burst.

Scent goes in the ball

Mix your sauna scent into the water you pour in and the ball spreads it across the rocks over several minutes instead of flashing it off one hot spot. We like it better than dosing the stones directly.

Room to swing

Check your clearance first. The ball hangs over the stove and needs clear space to move, so it wants open ceiling above the heater and nothing sitting in its arc. It suits every kind of room, from an electric heater to a smoke sauna. The maker does not recommend it for a continuously heated electric sauna, because it needs that space to swing freely.

Specifications

• Material: stainless steel
• Capacity: about 3 quarts
• Ball weight: 1.2 lb
• Chain weight: 0.23 lb
• Shipping weight: 2 lb
• Finishes: matte black, brushed steel, shiny steel
• Designed in Finland

One warning

Do not touch the ball or the chain once the room is hot. It hangs directly over the heater and it gets hot with everything else. Fill it before you heat the room, or pour and push with your ladle.

Care

Rinse the inside every so often. The holes in the base are small and they clog, and a ball that drips unevenly is almost always a ball that wants washing out. That is the whole maintenance schedule.

You will still want a ladle

You pour with one and you push the ball with one, so a long handle earns its keep here. The birch sauna ladle we stock is 14.5 inches, which keeps your hand clear of the steam column coming off the rocks.

Why we stock it

We think every sauna could use one. It is the rare accessory that changes the session instead of decorating it, and it does that with no electricity, no plumbing and nothing to program. Saunapallo has been building these since 2017 and they have ended up in public and hotel saunas around Helsinki, which is a harder duty cycle than any home room will ever see.