Have you found one brand to be warmer than others?
I find sometimes they work great and other times, not so much and I cannot figure out if it related to the brand or just a bad warmer.
The brands I've used are Grabber, Hot Hands and Game Winner.
I believe they have a shelf life. I have used last years leftovers with mixed results. I buy the ones that Wally World sells.
I like Grabber, the Hot Hands have aren't as reliable. I don't know what I would do without hand warmers.
These are made in various plant with various formulas. And the Quality Control is often sketchy at best. That probably accounts for the variability more than anything else. There are some military suppliers that are really good but you will pay for them. Probably cheaper and easier just to live with the variability.
I buy whatever is on sale. I personally think they do have a shelf life. If I'm not sure of their quality....I take a bunch.
Hot Hands work great for me. However for some reason the ones left over from last season do not get as hot. bought some at dollar general do not remember the brand and they only heat for about 1.5 hrs ( pkg says 8).
I like Grabber. I have had problems with hot hands.
The Heat Factory brand is the one I prefer. All the ones I have used this year had an '08 expiration date, and there have been zero duds.
Expiration date? They expire, dang so the ones I been saving for 5 yrs probably will fizzle.
Guess I should use them when I have cold hands instead of waiting for when I think I really need them. Usually pick up a case when Wally World has them on sale. Keep them in elk camp for everyone to dip into.
Mike
Do any of you guys remember the reusable ones?
They were a plastic envelope with clear liquid in them and a dime sized piece of metal floating around. You simply grabbed the metal piece through the bag and "popped" it by bending and it started a chemical reaction that solidified the liquid and generated a LOT of heat.
To re use, you just put in the microwave for a certain time and it all went back to clear liquid again. I don't remember the name but would sure like to find some. My dad had them and loaned me two one time and I thought they really worked well.
FYI, my description above may be off a little...it's been about ten years or better and I never owned any myself, just got loaned some and liked them a lot.
Yep Dave I think I still have a couple around here. Trouble was they only lasted about 5 minutes and were very hot.
Mike
Just answered my own question via Google....
They are called HotSnapZ. Look it up. They have a video showing the activation and reactivation. Pretty cool.
I haven't experimented with enough different brands to develop a preference. I do know though that they need enough air to get really warm. If they're starved for oxygen, say in an inside pocket,they won't get as warm as if they're in a pocket exposed to the outside that occasionally lets a little air in. I think the foot packets are formulated to work with less oxygen because they get really hot when exposed to the air.
I remember my Grandpa used a little metal hand warmer that was covered with red felt I think. He used to light a little bar and place it inside the warmer, which would smolder for hours and keep your hands toasty.
I don't remember who made that hand warmer, or if that type is even manufactured anymore, but they sure did do their job well...
I have had good luck with the Grabber brand
I use them all with no problems! I just finished up some that were 2 years old and worked perfect! I take them out of the wrappers for 15 minutes prior to putting them in my pockets! I'll take them out of my pockets every once in a while, shake them up and let them get some fresh air and they warm right back up! Air is the key!
i just bought a couple of the old style handwarmers off ****, i got the one j.adams is talking about, the fuel bars are kinda hard to find but i did pick some up on there. I bought one of the old jon-e g.i. handwarmers that uses lighter fuel, its probably from the 1960 from the looks of the packaging it came in, it works great but it does smell so dont think i'll be taking that one to the stand. I like the small disposable warmers from wally world to put in my mittens,i get mixed results from all brands of those.
Another type of warmers I found to be very helpful during the late season.
http://www.youtube.com/user/W8N4FALL#p/u/17/76tufK6wglM
I use the Grabber about all the time now. I think I had some not so good ones a while back. I think they were hot hands. I have just used up about the last of my stock pile I got two years ago after the season closed. They all worked great. I just got loaded up on them for Christmas. I got three 10 packs of hand and toe warmers. Now I am set for a couple more seasons. I also always carry them in a sealed freezer bag just to keep them organized and maybe it helps them last.
I carry around a small plastic bag to put them in when hunting. Often when the weather is a little cold, but not really cold yet I only need them for a couple hours early in the morning or at night. I can seal them up to stop them from working and then use them a gain a second or even a third time.
I also love those Thermacare back wraps. I normally only use them when my back is a little achy from long hours hunting, but they sure to heat you up. They are supposed to last 8 hours, but I get an easy 10 or little more. I can put them in a plastic bag also and get a couple hunts out of them if I only hunt half days.
I still have a couple old metal lighter fluid style. They work great, but smell a lot. I have not used them for years. Just too much fussing around.
I remember taking a nail apron and a couple Jon-E hand warmers along when I'd hunt in cold weather. I'd wear them under a one-piece camo suit and slip my hands inside to stay warm. Half the time those things would stop working within an hour (which I'm sure was somehow my fault). The one and only time I got frostbite was after both of my Jon-E hand warmers went out on a sub-zero afternoon hunt. I also used the charcoal warmers for years, but they were also notorious for not staying lit.
These days I wait until I see the dry chemical hand and toe warmers on sale and then buy a bow of each for the following season. Only once have I ever had them not work, and that was probably because I didn't expose the toe warmers to air long enough before putting them in my boots.
I've had good results with the HotHands - on shorter hunts I vacuum seal them- and get up to 3-4 uses out of them. This year I used some given to me last Christmas - seemed to work as well as the ones I bought this year. Last year I had some of the larger ones - that had adhesive on one side - I stuck them to my t-shirt - over my kidneys and seemed that really helped - anyway, this year I haven't been able to find the ones with the adhesive.
I like the idea of the Thermacare back wraps, will have to give them a try.
Hot hands,body warmers,dont leave home without them.
QuoteOriginally posted by J. Adams:
I remember my Grandpa used a little metal hand warmer that was covered with red felt I think. He used to light a little bar and place it inside the warmer, which would smolder for hours and keep your hands toasty.
I don't remember who made that hand warmer, or if that type is even manufactured anymore, but they sure did do their job well...
You can still find them at Wally World. Those things use some kind of charcoal stick or something for fuel. They work but they smell a bit.
J Adams I used the same thing in the Corps It's a charcoal hand warmer and they are great Also go to shnydas closet.com and you can get a case of the grabbers or hot hands for like 30.00.
HotHands from the local WallyWorld seem to work well for me. They last from 8-10 hours in my KOM muff.
I use one of those insulated hand muffs and no chemical warmer. I found the chemical warmers generated a lot of moisture which made it hard to keep my hands warm if chemical warmer started cooling off.
I have a zippered pouch on my muff that I put a pair of wool gloves in to increase the insulation factor. I can also wrap a wool scarf around the muff to further increase the insulation. I never need the hand warmers with my set-up.
Of course it only gets down to the high teens where I live and is usually in the mid twenties.
I use some that are called "little hotties" and they work quite well and last around 8 hours-I have found that if you shake them every once in awhile that they seem to work better and last a bit longer.
Don
Bulla--yeah I remember the ones you're talking about, except I boiled them back to life again. I have no idea whatever happened to mine, and use the HotHands mostly now.
I do remember the old handwarmers that you had to light the little charcoal bars, etc. I never could get those to work right.
QuoteOriginally posted by J. Adams:
I remember my Grandpa used a little metal hand warmer that was covered with red felt I think. He used to light a little bar and place it inside the warmer, which would smolder for hours and keep your hands toasty.
I don't remember who made that hand warmer, or if that type is even manufactured anymore, but they sure did do their job well...
I got a few burns from those when I would put them in my cargo pants and forget them. Not serious, probably not quite a first degree, but a burn for sure.
I would like to find one and the sticks if for nothing else but to remember "when". I am also not old enough for that to be an uncommon memory.
I just ordered a windproof cabelas hand muff for my upcoming arizona hunt on sale for 9.99 in Mossy Oak Treestand (the best MO pattern and a really good one for ground hunting the West in my opinion)
QuoteOriginally posted by waiting4fall:
Another type of warmers I found to be very helpful during the late season.
http://www.youtube.com/user/W8N4FALL#p/u/17/76tufK6wglM
Ohhhh.....to have the hand wraps the last time I was out.
Nice idea as I am limited on cold weather clothing. I still have one more time out before the Texas season ends. Body-wise I'm good, but my hands (even with Grabbers) freeze up.
I've used several different brands that have worked very well, I sure don't like to venture out on a cold day without them. Keep them in an Insulated pocket though! I went out a couple of weeks ago, I had on my reversible snow camo coveralls. My hands wouldn't warm up. I had the hand warmers in my pocket of the coveralls, but the pocket wasn't insulated, warmers didn't work while hunting. When I got done and was in my truck, I wrapped the warmers in my hat. When I completed the 7 mile drive home, those hand warmers were as hot as they could be, so I guess that if you overexpose them to oxygen they won't work as well.
I still have some of the type that J Adams mentioned. They can sure get hot- you really have to be careful. Though they have a burning charcoal type smell- I am not sure deer even care. I would be curious as to others experience on the odor.
I've still got a couple of the charcoal stick warmers laying around. They smell a bit like a kerosene heater but sure do work. I found that lighting both ends when it's really cold helps boost the heat output. The trick to keeping them lit in my experience was to let them burn down till the at least 1/2" of the stick is glowing. 3/4" is better. Then put it in the case and keep it closed.
I use the ones made here in the good'ol USA I think it is Hot Hands. All the rest are made in China. Check the label.
The metal hand warmers some of you are mentioning are called "Jon-e" hand warmers and they use lighter fluid (same as a Zippo lighter) they sell there own brand but I'm sure it's just lighter fluid. They do smell a bit and I have three, I used them the last time me and the kids went sledding. I'm sure you can still buy them, you can buy anything now. I would not use them for deer hunting (as my father did) but if any critter didn't use his nose your good to go
By the way. . . just a TIP. Those Jon-e hand warmers mentioned throughout the post sure stink- but they are great for drying out boots and gloves overnight. I know guys running dogs in the north country have used them for years.
I have a pair of "Wooly Boogers" that were sold by Too Short when he had the Screaming Eagle business. They are unshorn sheep hide turned fur side in and no thumbs--just big old pouches to slide your hands into. They have a cord to slip through your belt loops and you just gently slide them off when a shot presents itself. I never have needed any hand warmer inside them to keep fingers toasty warm.
I use whatever brand is available, but do think that they have a shelf-life of a couple years. The best combination for extreme cold is the larger "body warmer" inside a hand muff. Just be sure to swing the muff off to your non-bow side as an animal approaches, so you don't have string clearance problems with it.
I used the charcoal sticks many years ago, until I once had the container open up on me as I was walking in for an afternoon stand. I didn't realize it until I could smell something burning. I eventually looked down and saw the smoke was coming from my jacket pocket. We're talking "stop, drop and roll" in the December snow. After it was over ,I sheepishly looked around, hoping no one else saw me, then started laughing at myself and continued on my way. (With a new hole in my pocket.) Just another day at the office...
The charcoal stick warmers are what I've used for the last 10 years. You can either light one end or both ends and they do keep your hands warm. I also use the Toe warmers , one on the top and one on the bottem................Old and I need all the help I can get to stay warm......
The hot hands left over from last year do not last very long.
I was out hunting yesterday in the cold and heavy wind. I used one of my hot hands where the neck and shoulders meet, held in place by my neck gaitor. It made all the difference.
The Heat Factory & Grabbers work well for me.
I recently found my old metal lighter fuid powered warmer I used when I was a kid. It still works, although a little stinky. But, if the deer is gonna smell that, its gonna smell you so I think the smell is a mute point. I remember one time the little wick cap came off, and it got upside-down in my pocket. The lighter fluid seeped out, and caused a chemical burn on my leg. Other than that, it really cranks ou the heat. I used it a lot while ice fishing.
The chemical warmers that you can stick to your shirt over your kidneys are awesome. As ghost Dancer mentioned, you can also tuck one of the body warmer sized pouches in your collar. It will make a huge difference. I did just that this weekend, I was starting to geta chill, and tossed my heater in my collar on the back of my neck, and in minutes I was very comfortable and warm. It was 20 degrees out, windy and snowing to beat the band.
For cold weather outings, they are great. Nothing ruins a hunt faster than cold toes.
I think the Grabber brand are the best.When I'm done with a a.m. hunt I put them in a ziplock baggie and cut off the oxygen then they go out. That way I can also get a evening hunt out of them..sometimes more.
Yea Dave I remember those, I think I bought them from ECO Ent.
I have never had any issues with Hot Hands, Grabber seems to take way to long to heat up for me.