Equipment is mostly home-style: chest-deep tubs (Plunge, Ice Barrel, BlueCube) holding 2–10 people, often paired with a wood-fired or barrel sauna for a contrast-therapy ritual. Pricing varies wildly: $20–35 single sessions in mid-tier markets, $40–60 in major metros, $150–300 monthly memberships. Group classes with breathwork instruction are common at the $25–40 tier.
The research is most robust for post-exercise recovery and norepinephrine response (Šrámek 2000, Versey 2013, Bleakley 2012). Mood and metabolic claims popular in US marketing — 'brown fat activation as fat-loss', 'cold thermogenesis weight loss' — are less robust than the marketing suggests. Look for operators who lean on the actual research and explain dose ranges (2–5 minutes at 2–10 °C is the typical evidence-based range for recovery).
