Hand Warmers

Mt_Tom

What hand warmers do you all use? Any good reusable options that fit in gloves?

yardsale

I get mine at Ocean State Job Lot at the beginning of each season. They have 10 paks for $5.99 - brand = Narrow River Trading Co. I get like 5 or 6 of these so 50 or 60 pairs. I need these. My hands go cold regardless - mittens, gloves - doesn't matter. Thankfully, I do not have cold feet issues. They are not reusable. They are the charcoal type. They are made in china :(

DrJeff

Warmers Brand 10hr - they're about 2.5" tall by maybe 1.5" wide.

My family has tried basically all the brands out there. We keep buying these by the case. In our opinion they're the best out there based on size, quick activating time and duration they keep providing heat.

They cost a little more than some others, but to my toasty hands all day, they're worth it

MtTom

Anyone else have a preference or suggestions?

TomWhite

I have Raynaud’s Syndrome, poor circulation in the extremities. It’s mostly my right side. I now have battery heated gloves and boot liners. I certainly recommend them over chemical packs. But I did start with the packets.

Mittens are warmer than gloves. Wearing liners in those mittens helps in two ways. First, they’re another layer of insulation, keeping hands warmers. Second, they aid in figuring out, should the packet touch bear skin or not. If the heater is too hot, a liner leaves a thin layer that permits heat conduction. If the packet isn’t too hot, a liner may not be even wanted. The big issue with packets is, keeping them close to the fingertips. Mittens permit this. I placed the packet on the backside of the fingers. Thus, it didn’t inhibit pole handling. If your fingers are really cold, and you don’t want to go inside, curl your fingers around the packet while riding a lift. I don’t know about brands, simply keep track of expiration dates. If I recall, a year after the date is typically the end of its usefulness. If wanted, I can give tips for feet.

Mt_Tom

TomWhite;c-46851 wroteI have Raynaud’s Syndrome, poor circulation in the extremities. It’s mostly my right side. I now have battery heated gloves and boot liners. I certainly recommend them over chemical packs. But I did start with the packets.

Mittens are warmer than gloves. Wearing liners in those mittens helps in two ways. First, they’re another layer of insulation, keeping hands warmers. Second, they aid in figuring out, should the packet touch bear skin or not. If the heater is too hot, a liner leaves a thin layer that permits heat conduction. If the packet isn’t too hot, a liner may not be even wanted. The big issue with packets is, keeping them close to the fingertips. Mittens permit this. I placed the packet on the backside of the fingers. Thus, it didn’t inhibit pole handling. If your fingers are really cold, and you don’t want to go inside, curl your fingers around the packet while riding a lift. I don’t know about brands, simply keep track of expiration dates. If I recall, a year after the date is typically the end of its usefulness. If wanted, I can give tips for feet.

Yeah that would be great as I'm trying to do this for a friend that also has Raynaud's.

TomWhite

For feet I have several tips. First, 30 yrs. ago my wife gave me little soap stone feet that I heat, put in an old sock, then into each boot for the ride. Originally, they were heated on the wood stove. Now I microwave them for 5-6 min. They last two hours. Second, I don’t wear my ski socks for the ride. Starting with clammy feet/socks isn’t good. It’s inconvenient being barefoot in the parking lot during Covid, but I still change. At this point the electric footbeds take over. But the soap stone (of course now removed!) keeps the boots warm for a couple runs before I bother turning on the footbeds.

Years ago, I worked out a couple steps with the heat packets. First, I used the thin ones that have adhesive. I applied these to a silk sock (liner). They are uncomfortable to stand/ski on if they’re on the ball of the foot. So, I moved them forward. My boots have enough room for me to curl them over the front of my four smaller toes. Thus, the underside and front of the toes are heated. Then I careful put on my wool ski sock. By doing this, the packet stays in place while placing one’s foot into the boot. I always take my boots off at lunch to give better circulation. I haven’t done so during Covid, so far days have been warm.

Last week at Loon, I had a liner and thicker Smartwool sock on my right (cold) foot. I had a thin Smartwool sock on my left (normal) foot. That worked fine.

Cannonball

TomWhite;c-46860 wroteI don’t wear my ski socks for the ride. Starting with clammy feet/socks isn’t good.

This is probably the single best tip that almost everyone overlooks. People tend to think that they should put their ski socks on for the drive so they can crank the heat in the car and start out toasty. Worst idea. You have it right!

skelley19

Has anybody tried one of these rechargeable hand warmers? Looks like it's only 1 and not a pair but might be a good thing to have on you that you can drop into mittens for a quick warm up while on the lift. I like that it is also a battery bank in case you need to charge your phone. I might grab one more for the battery bank with the warming function as a nice to have for me.

Luckily my hands very seldom get cold. I use liner gloves and then a pair of mittens. On very active days such as in the woods at Jay I find that the liner glove help to wick sweat away from my hands and keep me warm all day.

My friend that has Raynaud's uses rechargeable heated gloves and boot packs and she says that they help a lot.

We had a super cold day at Loon a few years back and my wife got a pair of these Boot Gloves and she likes them for cold days.

TomWhite

I don’t know about either. But as I looked at the pack on Amazon, I remembered a friend’s pack. It is chemical and gets “recharged” by putting it in boiling water. It is activated by pushing/squeezing it. It’s about 4”x 3” x 1”. It was a warm day, so he didn’t use it. He activated it on the drive home. I guess like what you linked, you would have this in your pocket for the chair ride.
My new Gyde 3 finger gloves/mittens have 3 heat settings. The season has been so warm, I’ve barely used the lowest setting. Tomorrow will be a test for the gloves and foot beds.