By Mike Shilling, Recovery & Training Editor · Updated 30 September 2026
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The usual complaint about sauna tents is posture. You sit bolt upright on a camping chair in a narrow box for 30 minutes, knees up near the zip, and by the end your lower back has had enough. Smartmak's SMT-016 tackles exactly that: the tent is about 120cm long rather than the 80cm or so most rivals offer, and the chair has a high back that tilts into a semi-recline.
It costs around £253.49 at the time of writing (30 September 2026), sold directly by smartmak on Amazon UK, and the listing showed only seven left when we checked. That price puts it at the top of the tent market, above the CONLONS we reviewed last week at £215.99.
How we review
We haven't tested the Smartmak SMT-016 in person. This review is research-based: it uses Smartmak's Amazon UK listing, our reviews of rival infrared and steam tents, and peer-reviewed studies on sauna use. Where the listing doesn't give a figure, we say so rather than guess.
Taller users, and anyone who wants to stretch their legs out during a session. The extra 40cm or so of length is the whole point of this model, and Smartmak claims "50% more leg room" over its standard tent. If your current tent leaves your shins against the fabric, that matters more than any other spec here.
It also suits people who can't leave a sauna standing permanently. The frame is removable metal poles, and Smartmak says setup or teardown takes 5 minutes, so it can live in a cupboard between uses.
Look elsewhere if you want a traditional hot sauna. The 60°C ceiling is typical for tents, but it's 20°C to 30°C cooler than a Finnish sauna, and you'll need longer sessions for a proper sweat. And if you're buying it because it says two people, read the section on that first.
Check price on Amazon£253.49Smartmak publishes a number most rivals don't: 1050W across the three carbon panels. That's useful, because it tells you the running cost (about 17p for a 30 minute session plus warm-up at 25p per kWh) and gives some sense of heating power in a tent with more volume to fill than usual. The listing claims the panels warm the tent in about 8 minutes, up to 60°C, and it's upfront that the peak "may fluctuate" with the temperature outside the tent. A cold spare room in January will cost you a few degrees.
Is 60°C enough? For a sweat and a raised core temperature, yes. A 2026 study had 12 adults sit in a far infrared sauna at 65°C for 45 minutes: core temperature rose by 1.4°C, heart rate climbed from about 74 to 153 bpm and they lost around 1.4 litres of sweat an hour (far infrared sauna at 65°C study). The Smartmak tops out a little cooler, so expect slightly less strain, but it's the same kind of load on your body, and that's a reason to take the safety section below seriously.
What 60°C won't do is replicate the research behind the big sauna headlines. The Finnish cohort data linking regular sauna use with lower cardiovascular and all-cause mortality came from traditional saunas, typically 80°C or hotter, as a 2018 review in Mayo Clinic Proceedings sets out (Laukkanen and colleagues). Those are observational studies of Finnish men, not trials of tents. Our sauna vs steam room guide explains how dry heat, steam and infrared differ.
| Model | SMT-016 |
|---|---|
| Heat source | 3 large carbon far infrared heating plates |
| Power | 1050W |
| Max temperature | 60°C / 140°F (varies with room temperature) |
| Heat-up time | About 8 minutes (seller figure) |
| Size | About 120 x 90 x 159cm (47.24 x 35.43 x 62.7in) |
| Frame | Removable metal poles, about 5 minute setup |
| Chair | High-back folding chair, upright or semi-reclining |
| Extras | LED light, remote control |
| Timer / chair limit | Not stated in the listing |
The tent measures about 120cm long, 90cm wide and 159cm tall. For one person that's generous; you can sit with your legs forward rather than tucked, and the reclining back lets you lean into a half-lying position that's much kinder over 30 minutes than a straight-backed stool.
Two people is another matter. Smartmak includes one chair, and a 120 x 90cm footprint with three heating plates around the walls doesn't leave room for two adults to sit side by side comfortably, let alone recline. Two smaller people on low stools could share it, but we wouldn't buy it on that basis. Think of it as a single sauna with elbow room.
The listing also doesn't say whether your head sits inside the tent or out through a collar. At 159cm tall it's shorter than the 195cm CONLONS, which is fully enclosed, so check the product photos against your seated height before ordering. It's a genuine gap in the listing.
We knocked the score down for what Smartmak doesn't publish rather than for anything it gets wrong. There's no timer or auto shut-off mentioned, and the remote's functions aren't described beyond its existence. The chair has no stated weight limit (CONLONS rates its chair to 150kg). Unlike the cheaper Runitude, there's no material or VOC testing information, and there's nothing on EMF from the panels.
The other omission is a foot warmer. Cold feet are the most common gripe with tent saunas, because the heat rises and the floor stays cool. Smartmak's head-out kit in our best home sauna UK roundup includes a heated foot pad, as does the CONLONS. This model's contents list is tent, three plates, frame, LED light and chair, and that's it. A folded towel under your feet will help.
The evidence for sauna after exercise is better on how you feel than on how you perform. A 2018 systematic review of regular dry sauna bathing found 40 clinical studies with 3,855 participants, most reporting benefits, but only 13 were randomised trials and most had fewer than 40 people (Hussain and Cohen systematic review). The authors called the benefits "potential" and asked for better data on side effects. That's a fair summary of where infrared sits too.
In practice: finish training, rehydrate, then give yourself 20 minutes to start. Our sauna after workout guide covers timing around lifting and running days, and infrared sauna benefits goes through the research study by study, null results included.
A 60°C tent is gentler than a Finnish sauna, but the study above showed heart rates past 150 bpm, and dehydration creeps up on you when you're sitting still. Keep sessions to 15 to 20 minutes at first and build up slowly. Drink water before and after, skip alcohol and don't use it straight after a hard session if you're already light-headed.
Get out straight away if you feel dizzy, sick, confused or get a headache; the NHS guidance on heat exhaustion lists the warning signs and what to do. Speak to your GP before using any sauna if you're pregnant, have a heart condition or take blood pressure medication. Plug it directly into a wall socket rather than an extension lead, since 1050W running for 40 minutes is a sustained load.
The CONLONS infrared sauna tent at £215.99 is the closest rival: a taller, fully enclosed tent with a heated foot pad and a 150kg chair, but a square 80 x 80cm footprint and no published wattage. Pick CONLONS for headroom and warm feet, Smartmak for legroom and a reclining seat. The SereneLife infrared sauna tent is cheaper still, with your head outside the box. If you'd rather not give up floor space at all, a sauna blanket is the other route, and our recovery hub covers those alongside cold plunges.
Check price on Amazon£253.49Smartmak quotes a maximum of 60°C (140°F) and says it can fluctuate with the temperature of the room. That's well below the 80°C to 90°C of a traditional Finnish sauna, but far infrared warms your skin and tissue directly, so it feels hotter than the air reading suggests.
The listing says 1 or 2 person, but it ships with one folding chair and the floor area is about 120 x 90cm. Two slim adults on two low stools could squeeze in; two average adults would be cramped. Treat it as a roomy single-person sauna.
Smartmak says the three panels heat the tent within about 8 minutes. Switch it on, wait, then get in, because opening the tent mid-session lets the warm air out quickly.
It's rated at 1050W, so a 30 minute session plus an 8 minute warm-up uses roughly 0.67kWh. At 25p per kWh that's about 17p a session, or under £30 a year at three sessions a week.
No. Our roundup features a different Smartmak model with a heated foot pad and a head-out design. This SMT-016 is the larger version with three carbon panels, more legroom and a reclining chair, and its listing doesn't mention a foot pad.
Speak to your GP first if you're pregnant, have a heart condition, low or high blood pressure, or take medication that affects heat tolerance. Everyone else should start with 15 to 20 minutes, drink water and get out if they feel dizzy or sick.
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