A couple of years ago I purchased some HotSpot reusable hand warmers from Emergency Essentials. Similar reusable hand warmers are available from other sellers and on Amazon. Have you tried these? Here is what they are, how they work, the pros and cons, and some possible uses of reusable hand warmers.
What are reusable hand warmers?
These hand warmers are a plastic pouch filled with liquid (usually sodium acetate) that creates heat as it crystallizes. Wikipedia has a little more information on how the chemical reaction works. The HotSpot warmers are approximately 3 inches by 5 inches and a little over 1/2 inch thick.
Here’s how they work:
Your hand warmer is supposed to be stored in liquid state and it has a little metal disk floating around inside it.
Grab that little disk and flex it (it doesn’t have to flex much) to start the chemical reaction. This part is really cool. It forms crystals starting at the disk and as they spread, the hand warmer heats up. Watch the video below to see how it works.
The hand warmer reaches a peak temperature of about 120 degrees in the first five minutes. It stays warm between an hour and an hour and a half. Kneading the crystals and keeping the hand warmer in an insulated place like a pocket increases the duration of heat output.
When the hand warmer has cooled, it needs to be reactivated so it can be used again. To reactivate your hand warmer, wrap it in a rag and put it in hot water. The rag is so it doesn’t melt touching the side of your pot.
Bring your water to a boil and boil until all the crystals have disappeared.
When the liquid is all clear, take the hand warmer out of the water and let it cool. It stays pretty warm for a while after being boiled, so you could use it to keep warm again while you’re waiting for it to cool.
Pros and Cons of Reusable Hand Warmers
Pros:
–Reusable
–Heats quickly
–Cost over time is less than instant hand warmers
Cons:
–Must be stored above freezing so they can’t be kept in a car kit or emergency kit that will be exposed to extreme temperatures
–Bulky–they won’t slip into your gloves, but they are fine in a pocket
–Have to be boiled or heated to be used again which could cause problems if you’re using them “in the field”
–Heat only lasts 1-2 hours compared to 8-10 hours for disposable hand warmers
–Initial cost (ranging anywhere from $1.99 to much higher depending on the brand and size) is as low as 4 times what the disposable handwarmers cost.
Uses for Reusable Hand Warmers
Reusable handwarmers are fantastic for short outings, trips to the bus stop, yard work, sporting events, etc. If you’re heading out for a longer outdoor excursion, you’ll want to take one for approximately each hour you’ll be out then reactivate them all when you get back.
They also work great as instant heat packs for medical use.
Perfect for a little gift or stocking stuffer.
For me, the bulkiness and boiling requirement preclude them from being included in my emergency kit, but we own them and use them frequently around the house.
So there you have it. Everything you ever wanted to know about reusable hand warmers.
Keep preparing! Angela
***************************************************************
Subscribe to my email newsletter for updates and special deals.
Please be sure to follow Food Storage and Survival on Facebook which is updated every time there is a new article. You can also find me on Pinterest, and purchase my book, Food Storage for Self Sufficiency and Survival on Amazon.
***************************************************************
Shop the Thrive Monthly Specials or my favorites, the freeze dried vegetables and yogurt bites!
***************************************************************
These might work great but when I got one as a gift it froze in transit. I live in New England. It is useless if it freezes at any point.
Thanks for reminding me to get some of the regular, not reusable kind. I discovered that these abound when there is a hunting season coming up.
I am going to get some but thanks to Michele, I’ll keep them from freezing!
You can use them frozen as an ice pack, then reheat them as normal for heating use….at least some of the other brands anyway.
I have used the reusable hand warmers from HotSnapZ.com for several years. They are also sold on Amazon as well. One thing to not about these reusables is that you need to store them in the liquid state if you are not to be using them for a while. I did this and the owner explained what happens and sent me out replacements after having them for two years! Their prices also seem pretty good and have a back belt heat pad that I use a lot.