This page explains how Chillveda arrives at a recommendation and what our process does not include. Read it before you rely on a score.
Scope
We review home equipment in four areas: saunas, cold plunge gear, red light devices and recovery tools such as massage guns, compression boots and foam rollers. We compare products available to buy in the United States against the other products in the same category and against the published standards that apply.
Chillveda does not run its own product trials, we do not operate a laboratory, and we do not measure products. When you read that a panel is rated at a given irradiance or a gun at a given stall force, the figure comes from the manufacturer, and we label it that way every time.
Sources we use
For every product we work through the manufacturer specification sheet, the installation manual, the warranty document, the stated safety certifications and the retailer listing. Where a number can be calculated rather than looked up, we calculate it. Running cost is the clearest case: rated wattage multiplied by a realistic session length and the current US average residential electricity rate, with the rate and date named.
AI tools help collect the data and draft the article. Every figure is then checked against the source it came from, and anything that cannot be traced is removed. See the Editorial Policy for who is responsible.
Scoring
Every product we recommend carries a Chill Score from 9.2 to 9.8. The same five criteria apply to every product in a category, and the weights are fixed and published here.
| Criterion | Weight | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | 35% | The specifications that decide whether the product does its job: heat output and range, chilling capacity, wavelengths and rated irradiance, amplitude and rated stall force. |
| Build quality | 25% | Materials, construction, insulation, serviceability and availability of replacement parts. |
| Value | 25% | What you get for the money, including running cost and first-year consumables, not only the purchase price. |
| Safety and certifications | 10% | UL, ETL or CSA listing, FCC where relevant, FDA clearance where the device is regulated, and the electrical requirements the product places on your home. |
| Warranty and support | 5% | Length and scope of the warranty, exclusions, who pays return freight, and how reachable the company is. |
Safety counts for powered gear and for products whose listing states certifications. Where it does not apply, such as a roller or a textile, the guide is scored over the other 90 points and scaled to 10, so a product is not marked down for a certification it could never carry. Products appear in ranking order, and a product never shows a higher score than one ranked above it.
We do not skip a criterion because a brand stayed quiet. A missing warranty term, or no stated listing on a mains-powered product, scores zero for that criterion, because an unpublished figure gives a recovery gear buyer nothing to weigh. Where a performance figure is missing, we say it is unavailable rather than guess. In categories where almost no product states a listing, such as sauna cabins and cold plunge chillers, we include products, score safety at zero and say so. Have mains-powered equipment installed or checked by a licensed electrician.
What we never claim
We never describe our own work as trials or lab work, because that is not what we do. We review, evaluate, compare, analyze, rate and recommend. We never claim a product removes toxins, burns calories, shifts hormones, strengthens immunity or reduces inflammation, and we never describe a red light device as approved by the FDA. Clearance is not approval, and where a device holds clearance we name the cleared indication. We do not give medical advice; see the Medical Disclaimer.
Review cycle
Products change. Manufacturers revise specifications, retire models and alter warranty terms. Every article shows its publication date and last updated date, and we revisit a roundup when a product in it changes generation. If you find an error, write to [email protected]. We correct mistakes and note what changed.