Ice Barrel 300 Cold Plunge Tub & Maintenance Bundle – Full Care Kit

Why it's worth it

The Ice Barrel 300 is an upright, fully insulated tub made from recycled LLDPE, and this bundle adds the cleaning and stabilizing supplies you'd otherwise buy separately. It can't chill water on its own, but it holds cold well enough that one ice run can cover more than a single session.

A rigid insulated shell is the part you shouldn't cheap out on. Inflatable tubs are tempting because they pack away, but they sag, they puncture, and they lose cold fast. The Ice Barrel is molded from recycled LLDPE, the same family of plastic used in medical-grade gear, with insulation built into the wall. That means your ice melts slower and your water stays in range longer, which is the whole ballgame if you're paying for ice.

It also takes up less floor than you'd expect. The barrel stands upright and you plunge seated, so it occupies roughly the footprint of a patio chair instead of a bathtub. That's the right shape for a garage corner, a balcony, or the strip of concrete beside the house. If you're tall or broad, check the listed dimensions carefully — you sit in this, knees up, and you won't be stretching out.

From our review of 3 cold plunge tubs, by Eleanor Vance, Health & Beauty Editor

What we like

• +A rigid insulated shell is the part you shouldn't cheap out on
• +It also takes up less floor than you'd expect
• +The maintenance kit matters more than it sounds
• +Nothing here can break in an expensive way

What to know

• –You have to supply the cold
• –Temperature control is guesswork
• –The seated position is divisive