Polar Monkeys Ice Bath Review
Polar Monkeys Ice Bath
The ice bath tub market is growing rapidly as practice of a daily cold plunge is really enters the mainstream. No longer is it just athletes and Wim Hof followers looking for an ice bath to do their daily cold plunge in.
The days of filling up a wheely bin with ice or converting a chest freezer into an ice bath are becoming a thing of the past with so many good options for purpose-built ice baths for sale online. These cold tubs, like the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath, often come fitted with a built-in chiller unit, letting the user have ultimate control over when and how cold they plunge.
Cold water immersion is one of the latest and greatest biohacking trends of 2023, with thousands of people taking up the practice for the exercise recovery benefits, mental health and mood lifting effects, weight loss benefits, sleep improvements and brain health.
In this article we look at the best ice bath tub UK, the Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath which is their base model steel cold plunge tub with built in cooling system. In this Polar Monkeys Ice Bath Review, we show you everything you need to know before buying this ice bathtub including how it compares to other brands like Ice Barrel vs Cold Plunge vs Ritual vs Brass Monkeys vs Odin on its price point, warranty, shipping, reviews, design and products specifications.
See Best Ice Bath Tubs of 2023
Bottom Line
The Polar Monkeys Ice Bath is not your average steel cold plunge tub, with the ability to fully customise your tub from graphic design to chiller unit function and power, extras and more. The Polar Monkeys Portal is a durable tub that can be suited to indoor or outdoor use and is one of the more funky ice bath tubs I have seen available.
Pros
Fully customisable design
Built in chiller unit
Lightweight design
Easy drainage
Indoor and outdoor
Multiple size options
Reasonable price
No ice bags required
Cons
Only 1 year warranty
Tub cover is extra
Steel can cause condensation
Polar Monkeys Price
The Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath is the cheapest option in the Polar Monkeys range at $2740 for the plain Black, small tub with cooling only chiller unit. In terms of price comparison, we consider this to be one of the best value ice bath tub setups we have seen with some other purpose built ice bath brands asking upwards of $15000 for their base model tubs.
We like that the Polar Monkeys tubs can be customised for size, chiller unit power, design and adding in extras like the insulated cover, filter replacements, hot/cold capability and smart plug, which gives buyers the options for their accessory preference. For the large Portal Ice Bath with all the extras, hot and cold chiller unit, and colourful design you are looking at over $5000 which is still pretty competitive against ice bath tubs like the Cold Plunge, Odin or Ice Barrel.
The price of the Polar Monkeys Portal ice bath is definitely a whole lot more than other options like the Ice Barrel or converting a chest freezer into an ice bath, but in our experience ice baths that require ice bags for each cold plunge session becomes a very expensive practice and the chest freezer option just isn’t as safe and voids your product warranty.
The only thing with the price of the Polar Monkeys ice baths arises if you are trying to ship the product to countries like Australia. To get the base model Portal Ice Bath to Australia you will be paying around $2500 which really blows out the price of the tub and makes it not worth it. For a more suitable Australian ice bath look to the Ritual Recovery Dual Plunge Tub.
See full Polar Monkeys Ice Bath range
Polar Monkeys Warranty
The Polar Monkeys warranty is very base and could be better in my eyes. For a basic steel cold plunge tub, we would expect the warranty to be 3 years or more. The one year warranty also applies to the chiller unit which is generally the most expensive part of the cold plunge setup. In general, we have seen pretty well reported customer reviews of the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath, with the most common fault being reported as condensation from the steel design, which on the odd occasion has affected operation.
The Polar Monkeys warranty is quite basic compared to the majority of its other ice bath competitors, with the some offering up to 5 years warranty like the Odin Ice Bath. Others offer a paid warranty extension like the Cold Plunge, which costs roughly an extra few hundred dollars to extend the warranty by a couple of years which we think is fair.
As far as warranty goes, we think that Polar Monkeys could definitely improve this and feel that it is an downside to buying the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath over other brands.
Polar Monkeys Design
Something that we love most about the Polar Monkeys ice baths are the fun design options. These are pretty much the only ice baths we have seen that offer a couple of design upgrades other than a plain black colour, which include Silver, White, Monkeyverse and a completely custom option.
These colours obviously come at an additional cost but give the ice bath a more exciting and unique feel to a plain steel tub. Be aware, the Monkeyverse design options will cost you an additional $600 or more.
The Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath is an oval shaped design, although they do now offer a variety of different model options including a more traditional bath tub style, inflatable version and the Star Treatment which is a timber design with integrated chiller unit ozone generator.
Polar Monkeys Ice Bath Specifications
The Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath does the job for both a personal, residential cold plunge tub or for commercial purposes in a gym or wellness space. The Polar Monkeys tub cooling only options gives you temperature as low as 37F or 2.7 degrees Celsius. The hot and cold chiller unit options gives you a range of 37F to 110F (2.7C – 43.3C).
The base model Portal gives you a ½ horsepower chiller unit which uses roughly the same amount of energy as a household freezer. This option is most suited to residential use for one person. Of course, they give you the option to upgrade the chiller unit to a 1HP model which is better suited to a commercial use ice bath and allows a much more rapid heating or cooling ability. This faster cooling power would also be a good option for someone using the tub in an area with a high ambient temperature that would require a greater effort to chill the water and keep it cold for the cold plunge session.
Size wise, the larger Polar Monkeys Portal tub is 5 ft and is recommended for people up to 6’4" while the smaller 4 ft tanks are recommended for people up to 5’8". If you are a taller person but like to have your feet exposed during an ice bath like a lot of people do, then the smaller version would still work.
Polar Monkeys Ice Bath Review
Polar Monkeys Cold Plunge
Polar Monkeys Ice Baths have been around for a few years now and we first came across them just over a year ago. We have tried the majority of different ice bath tub varieties out there on the market and the Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath which is their original cold plunge tub falls somewhere in more budget option for cold plunge at home.
To be honest, the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath isn’t built for comfort, but is high on value at its price, giving you all the benefits of cold water exposure. This variety of cold plunge tub is quite literally a steel tub, retro fitted with a chiller unit. For people who like to lay back in the ice bath, the larger variety is ideal if you want to completely stretch out and the smaller option is good if you like to have your feet sticking out.
The drawback of this type of cold plunge system is that it offers zero insulation and can cause condensation from the cold water which is a consideration for the type of surface you will be installing the tub onto.
The Polar Monkeys Ice Bath features a pretty high quality chiller unit, in comparison to others on the market, and we think that the customisation of design is something that sets the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath apart from other brands like Cold Plunge or Ice Barrel which generally just offer one colour selection.
In terms of ice bath models, the Polar Monkeys brand have done quite well to cater for a large range of budgets with everything from about $2400 - $12000. The options available give a good selection for users who just want a standard ice bath for home to setup in a garage or deck space, all the way through to a commercial buyer who is looking for something more aesthetic, with a higher powered chiller unit for a gym or wellness recovery space.
What’s Included with the Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath?
The base model Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath will get you:
Steel tank with inlet/outlet connections and drain valve
1/2 HP Water Chiller
5200 BTUs of cooling approx.
Pump
Filter
Hoses
As we mentioned earlier, there are extras and additions that can be made that will increase the price but also upgrades features like the size of the tub, the power of the chiller unit and the design.
Who is the Polar Monkeys Ice Bath for?
The Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath is not the most high grade cold plunge tub available, but it does suit a very large portion of people looking to start or grow a cold plunge practice.
The Portal Ice Bath is suited to:
1. People who have been using a garbage bin or plastic tub which requires ice bags and are finding this practice to expensive in the long run.
2. Plungers looking to begin a cold plunge practice that want a built in cooling system without spending too much money
3. People who want both hot and cold capability for their plunge tub
4. People who have are doing the Wim Hof Method and want an ice bath cold enough to practice the cold immersion side of the Wim Hof practice.
5. People who are doing group or community plunge sessions that are looking to buy multiple tubs without breaking the bank
Who should avoid the Polar Monkey’s Ice Bath?
Although the Polar Monkeys ice bath is great for a lot of people, we wouldn’t recommend the Portal ice bath for:
1. Gyms and wellness spaces who are wanting a high quality, high class design specification for their space.
2. People who are installing the ice bath in a space at home that can not be affected by moisture on the floor, as the metal tub produces condensation.
3. People who prefer standing upright in a cold plunge tub
4. People who are looking to do cold plunge with multiple users, this type is not big enough.
Conclusion on Polar Monkeys Ice Bath Review
As far as ice baths go, the Polar Monkeys Portal Ice Bath is well rounded and high on value, we would rate the tub at 4/5 stars overall.
The Polar Monkeys ice baths are a perfect option for home users with enough options for all types of preferences. The Portal tub, in particular, is a very basic design that will last a long time. Although it is not a ‘beautiful’ looking ice bath, it definitely suits a big portion of the cold plunge market and is really perfect for a sporting team, athlete, increasing a basic gym offering to recovery too, or a garage recovery tub for the average person training and exercising a lot.
The only other downside to the Polar Monkeys Ice bath is that if you are shopping for an ice bath in Australia, this tub will be too expensive once you factor shipping, a better option in this case would be the Ritual Dual Plunge Tub which is an Australian based ice bath.
