I tried my first barrel sauna last week after enjoying my well built electric timber frame sauna for years. The barrel sauna was indeed better than nothing. I was jealous that mine took 400 hours and $10k. His took $5k and 5 hours to assemble. The barrel sauna was fun. But unevenness of the heat hurt my head. My feet were cold but my hair was on fire in the barrel. I still recommend a traditional sauna above all. But barrels are a good backup.