HotsnapZ Hand Warmers
Reviewed by
Andrew Beattie
+175
January 18, 2016
Looking for a way to prevent frostbite? This might keep those fingers and toes safe for a while longer!
Pros
- Portable and lightweight
- Reusable
- Variety of shapes and sizes
- Heats up in a few seconds
Cons
- A little bit expensive
- Can take up to twelve minutes to boil in order to reuse
- Only lasts about an hour
- Can sometimes activate for no reason
I was looking for a method to keep my hands warm without having to carry fuel or disposable products and found these nifty little hand warmers at a recent survival expo I attended. A variety of shapes and sizes are available, ranging from these circular ones that are perfect for gloves or pockets, all the way up to larger pads that are about the size of a small heating pad.
They contain water, a small metal disc, and sodium acetate, a safe food grade salt ingredient. When you flex the metal disc, it activates a chemical reaction that heats the pack up to somewhere between 120 and 130 degrees in just a few seconds. As the pack heats up, it becomes more rigid, but still flexes a bit.
What is most impressive about these things is that they are reusable, and I've read many a review where the owner got hundreds (if not thousands) of uses out of them before they finally stopped working. In order to "renew" or "restore" them back to their original liquid state, simply boil them for five to twelve minutes, and presto! Like new again!!!
While the set that I got cost me about $35, it came with eight packs (four round ones and four green rectangular ones that were slightly larger), and in my opinion, the "reusable" aspect made them a better product than other alternatives. Since they're non-toxic (and technically "food grade"), my thoughts are that I could boil them on my Solo stove, then use the water to prepare food or drink afterwards. I've done some research on this, and it appears to be safe to do since there are no toxins involved.
My only complaint so far is that the website for this product claims that you can get up to two hours of heat out of each use. I've not been that lucky so far, with each use lasting a little over an hour for me. Still though, that's more than I've frequently experienced with disposable hand warmers, and that's saying something!
If you're looking for a reusable, non-toxic, lightweight alternative to hand warmers, you may want to check these out!
Source: bought it new
Price Paid: $35
