Zippo 12-Hour Hand Warmer High Polish Chrome

I have been using the Zippo Hand Warmer about a dozen times and have found that it provides ~20 hours of warmth with one filling -- significantly longer than the advertised 12 hours! Trust me, I have no complaints there! I would have been quite happy with 12 hours, but the longer-than-expected operating times are a very, very pleasant surprise.- FunctionI use the Ronsonol brand of lighter fluid and it works just fine. I have not encountered any problems with lighting the catalytic burner. Important note: the catalytic burner doesn't actually burn; it merely smolders with BARELY a glow. So you can't really tell when it's lit. The only way you can tell it's lit is by the warmth it radiates. I always place it in the flame for 5-6 seconds while I moving it around to avoid hot spots -- and it's never failed to light.I can't help but wonder if the complaints about the hand warmer "not lighting" are due to users expecting to actually *see* it burning. Like I said earler, you won't see it burning, but all the same it IS lit. The way you tell is by the warmth it emits. It starts off emitting a very faint amount of heat and gradually heats up.The catalytic burner will last about 70 uses, after which it has to be replaced with a New Catalytic Burner Replacement.After the hand warmer is lit and capped, it goes into an included pouch. The pouch is quite essential as helps avoid bare skin coming into direct contact with the metal exterior of the hand warmer (and the hand warmer does get quite hot!).I have used the warmer in my sleeping bag and it made my sleeping bag nice and toasty all through the night. This is definitely one item that I'll be packing along on my hiking and backpacking trips. Here's a tip: to bring along extra fuel, I use an empty nasal spray bottle (the squeeze type, not the metered pump type). The top pops off, so you can refill it with your favorite lighter fluid (don't forget to thoroughly wash the nasal spray bottle first!). If you look closely on most of these squeeze-type nasal spray bottles, you can see a seam where the tip is joined to the rest of the bottle. To remove the tip, pry open the seam slightly with your fingernail and pull the top completely off (you can try using a pair of pliers too). Remove the inner tubing attached to the tip. The tapered tip helps to dispense lighter fluid in a very narrow and precise stream, so there won't be any spillage.- Measuring Out Lighter FluidThe lighter fluid is measured out using an included small plastic measure/dispenser. The measure has two marks on it. The top mark on the measure is "one filling" (~ 3/4 oz) and the bottom mark is half that amount (~3/8 oz). The hand warmer consistently gives me ~20 hours of warmth when I fill it with lighter fluid measured to the top mark and ~10 hours of warmth when I fill it with lighter fluid measured to the bottom mark. As you can see, a little goes a long way. DO NOT overfill the hand warmer; use only the recommended amount of lighter fluid or you'll have a fire hazard on your hands! If there is an apt use of the "more doesn't mean better" cliche, this is it.- ConstructionThe construction of the hand warmer is quite solid. It is constructed of brass and chrome plated. The cover yields a little when pressure is applied on its broad sides, but it's nothing to be concerned about. When the cover is capped over the body, the whole unit is quite sturdy. One very minor complaint is the cover is a little loose and pops off easily. My solution was to very gently squeeze the cover to close up the opening ever so slightly. Now I have cover that fits snugly.- AestheticsThe curvaceous design of the hand warmer and its all-chrome exterior make it very striking. It's a beautiful piece that I enjoy looking at as much as I enjoy using.- Putting Out The "Flame"Zippo tells you once the burning has started, it has to burn itself out (when the fuel is exhausted). Not so. A simple way to stop the catalytic burning is to simply place the hand warmer in an airtight ziplock bag. The burner will be snuffed out in a matter of minutes and the hand warmer becomes stone cold again.---The reports on the substandard construction and performance of this hand warmer really have me scratching my head. The only complaint that I'm inclined to agree with is the loose cover (which I found a simple solution to). Maybe I got a good working unit. It burns hot and it has never prematurely gone out.There are a couple of hand warmers I suggest you look into too (they have very good ratings). These are the Japanese Peacock Giant Size Platinum Catalyst Metal Hand Warmer and the Deluxe Electric Ignite Metal Pocket Hand Warmer. The Peacock comes in two other sizes besides "giant" -- mini and standard. But these are not available on Amazon (AOTW) but they are available on that big auction site. The other hand warmer uses lighter fluid too, but it is electric and requires no naked flame for ignition.Good luck finding the hand warmer that suits your needs.

In terms of size, this warmer is just about right for my medium sized hands. The unit comes with a warning sticker attached that does not come off cleanly, leaving behind a sticky residue, so you might want to have some adhesive remover handy. The burner on mine had a nice snug fit. The fit on the lid was decent, but by squeezing it a bit to bend the metal, I was able to make it tighter.I used Ronsonol lighter fluid as it is available in local stores in my area. Although it is much more expensive in my area ($5.29 for 12 oz) than others have reported, it still comes out cheaper than the disposable hand warmers in terms of cost per hour of heat. For the first use, I filled the included dispenser to the halfway point, which is supposed to be enough for 6 hours. I found nothing in the instructions about filling it twice the first time as some people have mentioned, so maybe they've changed that. The instructions do say, however, that the burner and absorbent material need to be broken in, and so the warmer might not work as long the first time. In spite of this, it did last almost exactly 6 hours even with the warmer out of the bag for a good portion of that time. If I'd kept it in the bag, it probably would have lasted much longer.I had no problem filling the warmer using the included dispenser or in lighting it. I let it run a few minutes before putting it in the bag. When first lit, I could smell the fluid even when it was held a foot or two away. Once placed in the bag, however, it could only be smelled if I put my nose right up to it. I could feel a low amount of heat through the bag with my bare hands, but with gloves on I doubt you would be able to feel it. If I raised it halfway out of the bag to give it more air, it got much warmer. As others have reported, therefore, I don't think the included bag lets in enough air. I next tried the warmer out of the bag, but in a loose pants pocket. I think this is the probably the best way to use it, as a pocket seems to restrict the amount of air just enough. In my case, I could put my bare hand in my pocket and directly touch the metal without it being too hot. I also tried having the warmer out in the open with full access to air, but wearing cotton gloves. This works good as well, as long as you don't need your hands free.After about 3 hours, I could no longer smell the fumes from the fluid even with my nose right up to it. It was also just slightly warm to the touch even out in the open, so I thought it was running out of fuel. By 4 hours, however, it was too hot to touch with bare hands even in a pocket and continued to be hot until almost the very end. I'm hoping that the variability in the amount of heat produced is just due to the break-in process and that it will be more consistent with further use.Overall, I'm quite happy with this hand warmer, although the included bag doesn't seem to be very useful. I might try a cotton bag as some have suggested to see if that lets in more air, or just stuff it in a sock. The bag is a perfect fit for my phone, however, so it won't go to waste.