Riverwalker's Gear Test - Hand Warmers

With the arrival of colder weather, many people will rely on hand warmers and foot warmers for an additional measure of protection against the elements. Knowing your gear will perform as necessary is essential to your survival. Here’s a simple test that was done on a random sample of hand warmers and foot warmers to see if they would actually perform as stated on the package. These came from the local “Wally World” and were a package that was lying on the floor. So there was a possibility of the packaging being damaged, although there was none that was obvious.

The ingredients in the foot warmers was basically the same and consisted of iron powder, water, salt, activated charcoal and vermiculite. One package of foot warmers (Toastie Toes) did list potassium chloride as an ingredient instead of salt. The warmers are packaged inside a small Mylar bag and the pouch was extremely sturdy as well. It didn't tear easily but did puncture quite easily with a sharp pointy object, my Gerber STL.

The temperature range for the foot warmers was listed as 100 to 105 degrees and the temperature range for the hand warmers was listed as 126 to 144 degrees. There was also a warning that the temperatures may get as high as 165 degrees but none of the packages tested exceeded 145 degrees. The packages listed a date code that gave them approximately a two (2) year shelf life. Pretty good for something that only cost $1.97 for a package of six foot warmers.

The claim of up to 10 hours of heat from a package was affirmed. All the packages that were tested lasted in excess of 10 hours and a couple of packages were still reading temperatures in the 110 to 115 degree range after more than 10 hours.

The warmers were also tested for actual warming ability by using a boot lace that was handy (can boot laces be handy?) and tying a couple of pouches on a container of water that was 55 degrees which was the current ambient temperature outside. After several hours, the water in the bottle had warmed up to 100 degrees. To simulate the effects of clothing, the bottle was wrapped with an elastic bandage.

A simulation of being in a pocket was done by placing a candy thermometer (supplied courtesy of Mrs. RW) in a a bag with a warmer. It maintained a fairly steady temperature of about 100 degrees.

They were then tested by simple exposure to the surrounding air and maintained a temperature of about 125 degrees.

The packaging also warned of exposure to oxygen rich environments. In order to test this, a hair dryer (again courtesy of Mrs. RW) set on low speed and cool was used to simulate an oxygen-rich environment. The temperature climbed to 140 degrees pretty quickly.

A package was opened and the contents were checked. It was very gritty to the touch. Except for some discoloration on my fingers due to the iron powder and the activated charcoal, the ingredients were safe when handled. Ingestion of this powder though would be a very bad idea and a warning in this regards is stated clearly on the package.

With sturdy packaging, safe ingredients, temperature ranges that were in accordance with those listed on the packaging, a decent shelf life and a price of pennies per hour for heat make these hand warmers a great gear item. As an added bonus, they are an American made product.

Got hand warmers?

Riverwalker