Brand Review
True North Saunas review: is the cheapest Canadian cedar barrel worth it?
Yes, if you'll build it yourself. True North makes ten sauna kits in Owen Sound from Canadian cedar, and its barrel kit starts at $5,500.
True North's barrel is worth it for a buyer who'll collect a crate and spend a weekend building. At $5,500 for the kit, it's the cheapest barrel we've found whose maker says it's built here from Canadian cedar, and True North builds it in Owen Sound, Ontario. The rest of its ten models climb toward $10,000, and at that end we'd look hard at Nootka before buying, since True North's policy states a two-year warranty and Nootka covers its structure against rot for five.
True North sells ten models, and none comes with a heater
Every True North sauna uses the same 1.5 in (38 mm) walls in your choice of white or red cedar, and every price is for the kit alone. The shapes run from a plain barrel to glass-backed and porch-fronted cabins. We've listed them by price, using what True North's own store charges.
| Model | Shape | Size (True North) | Seats | Porch | Price at True North's store |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barrel | Round barrel | 1.2–3 m (4–10 ft) long | Not stated | Optional | $5,500 |
| Schooner | Barrel with a long front overhang | 1.5–3 m (5–10 ft) long | Not stated | Included | $6,000 |
| Tiny Pod | Arched roof | 2.1 m (7 ft) wide, 1.8–3 m (6–10 ft) long | Not stated | Optional | $6,650 |
| Quattro | Square cabin | 1.5 × 1.5 m (5 × 5 ft) and up | 2 in the smallest | No | $6,681 |
| Cabin | Peaked roof | 2.2 × 2.1 m (7.1 × 7 ft) | Not stated | Included, with 2 seats | $7,000 |
| Large Quattro | Square cabin | Up to 2.4 × 2.4 m (8 × 8 ft) | Up to 8 | No | $7,280 |
| Large Pod | Arched roof | 2.4 m (8 ft) wide, 2.4–3 m (8–10 ft) long | Not stated | Included | $7,700 |
| Jasper | Flush-front cabin | 2.2 × 2.1 m (7.1 × 7 ft) | Not stated | No | $9,200 |
| Jasper with Porch | Cabin with a porch | 2.7 × 2.1 m (9 × 7 ft) | Not stated | Included | $9,900 |
| Panorama Barrel | Barrel with a glass back | 1.8–3 m (6–10 ft) long | Not stated | Optional | $9,900 |
Sizes and seats from True North's 2026 Look Book and model pages; prices from its store, read Oct 10, 2026, for the smallest size, before heater, shipping and tax. The Look Book starts the Panorama at $10,600, the Schooner at $5,699 and the Quattro at $5,175, and the barrel's model page says $6,400; the table shows the store's figures.
The barrel is the reason to buy True North
We'd buy the True North barrel if price comes first and you're handy. It's a solid cedar barrel you can order from about 1.2 m (4 ft) for one person up to 3 m (10 ft) for a crowd, in white or red cedar, and the starting price undercuts every other Canadian-built barrel we've priced. True North's Look Book calls its kits a weekend build that needs only basic tools.
The kit includes the flat floor, a vent kit, ice-and-water shield and either wood roof boards or steel. It doesn't include a heater, and True North doesn't publish a seat count for each length, so ask before you choose one.
Where to buy
True North Saunas Outdoor Saunas
True North Barrel Sauna
Built in Owen Sound, Ontario
A pod or the Cabin gives you more headroom
The pods trade the barrel's curve for an arched roof that rises higher over the benches, and True North pitches the Large Pod for groups. The Cabin is a peaked-roof room about 2.2 m (7 ft) square with a porch and two outdoor seats in the price.
Both cost a couple of thousand dollars more than the barrel. We think that's money well spent if anyone in the family is tall, since a barrel's ceiling slopes away from the benches.
Where to buy
True North Saunas Outdoor Saunas
True North Large Pod Sauna
Built in Owen Sound, Ontario
True North Saunas Outdoor Saunas
True North Cabin Sauna
Built in Owen Sound, Ontario
At the top of the range, Nootka is the better buy
The Jasper, the Jasper with Porch and the Panorama run close to $10,000 before a heater. For less than that, Nootka sells an 8 ft barrel with its Canadian-built electric heater installed, wood traced to BC mills and a written five-year warranty on the structure. Unless you want the Jasper's flat front or the Panorama's glass wall, we'd spend the money there.
Where to buy
Nootka Saunas Outdoor Saunas
Nootka 8ft Barrel Sauna
Built in Squamish, British Columbia · with imported parts
True North leans toward wood heat
True North's Look Book makes the case for wood stoves, since they skip the electrician and the trench to the panel. It sells COZY 12 stoves, which it calls Estonian-engineered and which US retailers describe as made in Estonia, along with Harvia's wood and electric heaters from Finland.
The heater is always extra, and so is the chimney kit for a stove. An electric heater needs a 240V circuit and an electrician, the same as anywhere else.
True North builds in Owen Sound from Canadian cedar
True North's contact page says its saunas are handcrafted in Owen Sound, and its showroom is there too. The Vokes family runs it, the same family behind Vokes Furniture, its about page says.
True North calls its wood Canadian cedar and says it mills the red cedar in its own facility. It doesn't name the mill or the province where the trees grew, and that's the question we'd most like it to answer.
Delivery means a trip to the freight depot
True North books most orders as depot pickup, its shipping policy says. The crate goes to a carrier terminal near you, a forklift loads it into your truck or trailer, and you drive it home. The only delivery it guarantees to your door is curbside, and sometimes the driver will ask you to unload by hand.
That's less hassle than it sounds, because no piece in the crate weighs more than 27 kg (60 lb). True North says two people can empty a crate into the backyard in about half an hour. Its policy gives four to six weeks for delivery, while its about page says three to four.
Read the warranty and the cancellation terms before you pay
True North's refund policy promises a two-year warranty and says it'll send any new parts a customer asks for. Its shipping policy adds that it replaces faulty parts or whole units at its sole discretion. Ask what the two years cover, the structure and the heater both, and get the answer in writing with your quote.
The cancellation terms are strict too. You can return an unused kit in its crate within 30 days, minus shipping both ways, and cancelling after the first day costs a processing fee plus $500, the policy says.
How True North compares with other Canadian makers
True North is our budget choice in the best saunas made in Canada. LeisureCraft's Harmony barrel is the closest match from Ontario, about $2,000 more through a dealer and built from Ontario white cedar, and our LeisureCraft review covers its range. SaunaSpa's smallest Quebec barrel costs less and arrives built, though SaunaSpa doesn't say where its cedar grows.
Where to buy
LeisureCraft Outdoor Saunas
LeisureCraft Canadian Timber Harmony Barrel Sauna CTC22W
Built in Melancthon, Ontario
SaunaSpa Outdoor Saunas
SaunaSpa Barrel Sauna Classic
Built in Saint-Chrysostome, Quebec
How did we review True North?
This review draws on True North's 2026 Look Book, its store, model pages, contact and about pages and its shipping and refund policy, read Oct 10, 2026. We keep True North's origin evidence in the record our method page describes. Where True North's own pages give different prices or delivery times, we've said which one the table shows.
Common questions
- Where are True North saunas made?
- True North Saunas handcrafts its sauna kits in Owen Sound, Ontario, according to its contact page. It builds them from 1.5 in (38 mm) white or red cedar it calls Canadian, without naming the mill.
- How much does a True North barrel sauna cost?
- The True North barrel sauna costs $5,500 in True North's store for the kit alone, with the heater, shipping and tax on top. Its barrel model page quotes $6,400, so ask for a written quote.
- Does a True North sauna come with a heater?
- No. Every True North sauna is sold as a kit, and the heater's a separate purchase. True North sells COZY wood stoves and Harvia wood and electric heaters separately.
- How is a True North sauna delivered?
- True North ships most saunas as a crate to a freight depot near the buyer, where a forklift loads it into a pickup or trailer. No piece weighs more than 27 kg (60 lb), and curbside delivery is the only door delivery True North guarantees.
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