Heat Factory Hand and Body Heat Warmers

One thing that is very important to note up front:If you want something you can hold in your hands on a cold day and warm them up, these ARE NOT what you are looking for. Even once they've reached full heating power, these will barely be above ambient temperature if you have them out in the open air (ie: holding them in your hand).Again, if you buy these thinking you'll be able to pop them open and hold them in your hands to fight off the cold, you will be very disappointed.Where these things shine is as that little extra boost you need to keep your already-bundled-up-bits toasty on a bitterly cold day, or keep your feet warm in the bottom of your sleeping bag. Stash them in a chest pocket of your base layer and then bundle up on top of it, and you'll feel a nice little furnace in your core all day long. In enclosed spaces (bottom of your sleeping bag, in a pocket, under your coat) these things get pleasantly warm, and their size means they can really add to the overall heat of your body.The last thing to mention - and where these things earn their stars - is that they really do last all day long, and I've had a few still going well past 24 hours. You throw one of these under your jacket in the morning, hike all day, and then take it into the sleeping bag with you that night... it'll still be chugging when you wake up the next day. They're that good.

It's a good thing you get 10 warmers because it's taken me 3 to find get one that put out any decent amount of heat. The first has been opened for 18 minutes and is already cooling down. The outside of the pack (where it's stitched together) is cold. It's been sitting on my desk and when I pick it up, it's cold where it was touching the desk. The second was slightly better but still no warmer than putting my hands against my core. The third warmed up much faster and stung for a split second when I put it against the back of my neck. An acceptable amount of heat.Bottom line is if you buy these, bring several with you when you plan on using them. I recommend Bodiheat pads for muscle and joint pain instead. I've been using those for years and they never fail to heat up.Edited: Additional star added with following comments.I took the remaining 7 packs with me to Cape Town, South Africa in August and they came in pretty handy. My travel buddy suffered a case of hypothermia after shark cage diving in Gansbaai and 5 of these packs kept her warm on the boat ride back to shore. I opened 5 of them because I wasn't sure how many would actually heat up but all 5 did. I guess my first was a dud which still sucks if you are paying for 10 and only 9 work but the size is great and when they work, they work pretty well and stay hot for a full 24 hours.

I bought this larger version of Heat Factory warmers at the same time as the smaller size (exactly half) and the Grabber brand (small size). These perform better than the smaller sizes. Its not surprising that it lasts much longer than the smaller ones, but it wasn't expected that it would reach higher temperatures too. If I compare the small-size versions between Heat Factory and Grabber, the Grabber outputs higher heat but lasts just a tad bit less. The large version Heat Factory is better on both aspects. I haven't used it for 20 hours continuously but I have used it overnight in my sleep and its still at the same temperature in the morning. The small versions already start to become cold to lukewarm by then. One thing I noticed with all three versions is that once it loses its heat you can squeeze a bit more heat out of them by crumpling and shaking the stuff inside again. As they give off heat the insides become hardened or stuck together, so just reversed that process with your hands. Its only good for a little bit longer. If you dont mind the size, I would go for these large ones. But I dont think they fit nicely inside your gloves or boots without a big bulge. Hope this helps!

Editing...after putting in my jacket pocket, it did get warmer about 10 minutes later. Apparently, it needs to be closed in to heat well. This item is great for keeping hands warm in a jacket pocket or something similar. Holding it inEditing once again...I tossed this on the floor outside of the infrared sauna along with my clothes. I picked up my clothes not seeing the warmer. This morning I saw it, picked it up, shook it and stuck it in my pocket just to see what would happen. It got warm again! Not sure of the temp but it's definitely warmer than my body temp. If it would heat up faster, I would give it 5 stars.

I have three kids who hate to be cold and our bags aren't particularly warm ones. I put three in each bag about 2 hours before bedtime. The children were absolutely raving as they slid into the bags. They couldn't stop talking about how warm and toasty and happy they were. When was the last time THAT happened on a camping trip with kids involved? They slept like rocks and were totally comfortable throughout the night.I had a couple in my bag too, but my bag was zipped together with another bag and much of the heat dissapated from having the extra room. Even so, the night was more bearable for me and I was certainly better off than not having anything at all.If you don't like climbing into an ice-cold sleeping bag after being in chilly weather, you will really enjoy these additions. I will never camp in even slightly cool temperatures again without them. Why suffer?

I have used these heat packs for years with no trouble. Unless the package seal has been broken, they should work as advertised. Some notes:(1) The will not work unless they are covered - this is stated on the warmer package.(2) Take care in sleeping bags, put them in a sock so they will not get next to your skin.(3) They will produce heat from 120F-150F, depending how well they are wrapped.I would expect 120F-130F in a coat pocket or the inside pocket on some jackets where your cell phone would normally go, the cell phone pocket should produce around 140F by strict guess work. The coat pocket temps are quite high enough to keep your hands quite warm.Being that they need to be enclosed, it would be nice if a suitable one be enclosed in the box.