Zippo Hand Warmer

Here I mentioned receiving a Yule gift that lights things. This past Yule I received a gift that can be lit.

I’ve had little chemical, one off hand warmers in my kit when I head off for a hike in cold conditions for years. They work, they’re light and small, but the whole aspect of their being disposable is not so appealing.

So I was delighted when I received a Zippo Hand Warmer for Yule.

It looks like a sleeker, oversized Zippo lighter. 10cm (4") high by 7cm (2¾") wide by 15cm (½") thick and 66 grams (2.32 ounce) in weight. It’s not only functional, but I think it’s quite aesthetically pleasing as well.

It comes with a fleece pouch. This acts as both a buffer between the warm metal and the users skin, but also to help keep the hand warmer warm. This sounds counter-intuitive, but if you were to take it out of the pouch on a cold day, after a while the warmer would go out. The fuel would stop evaporating and the catalytic reaction would stop. It’s warm, but not so hot that the cold air around it wouldn’t stop it functioning. A friend who has one says that the more insulation you wrap around it, the hotter it gets.

It uses a platinum catalyzed glass fibre burner.

The package came with a bottle of Zippo lighter fluid, which I believe is naptha based, rather than butane based. When lit it has a very slight smell of lighter fluid, but not that noticeable. I suspect that you might not want to use one when hunting deer. Ducks shouldn’t be a problem though.

It also comes with a cute little measuring unit with two lines on the side. One line is for 12 hours of burn time, and the second indicates 24 hours of burn time. Obviously it can be filled directly from the can of fluid, but if you want to be more precise, you can use this.

To fill the unit, the catalytic burner is removed. 

Inside the burner is what looks like cotton batting, the same as you would find in a Zippo lighter.

Pour the liquid in there, replace the burner, make sure that there isn’t any lighter fluid on the outside casing (wait for it to evaporate or wipe off) then hold a match or a lighter to the burner for a few seconds. There’s a small orange indicator bar on the side of the lid, which you can hold over the burner and will turn yellow to indicate whether it is indeed lit or not. I tried it once or twice, but holding it in my hands for a few seconds will also indicate whether it is getting warm or not.

All in all, great device, and definitely serves a niche. I don’t see a need for it when I’m on the move, as I generate enough heat that way. But if I stop for a while, or if I was sitting in a blind for hours on end, this would be a very welcome item to have.

One item I’m going to make for it is another pouch, one with a cord on it which I can adjust to hang in different spots. As it stands now I can only place it in a pocket. Having it against my chest is nice, but it’s not a good idea to keep it in one spot for hours on end. Being able to hang it higher or lower, or move it from side to side will prevent burns from happening. And it would still allow me to put it inside mittens to warm my hands.

And as cute as that little measuring spout is, having to carry it and the can of fuel isn’t something I’m going to do. Quite often I really have no desire to have the thing burn for twelve hours. Sometimes just an hour or two is all I require. What I’m going to do is use a dropper bottle and put lines on it to indicate what fill level will give me 1, 2, 3, and so on, hours of burn time. Self contained and a bit more economical.

I wonder if this has potential as a hammock warmer. Not to sleep with it in there, as leaving it in one spot might cause a burn. But to toss it among the quilt, move it around every half hour and let it make the quilt toasty warm for when I climb in. 

Pros

• Light
• Small
• Durable
• Reusable
• Nice design
• Toasty warm
• Smell I find hardly noticeable
• Burn time is adjustable
• Can be “turned off” by exposing it to the cold or by carefully prying the burner off with the edge of a knife
• Will run for 24 hours on 11.829 ml (0.4 ounces) of fuel

Cons

• Burner lasts for 5000 hours (admittedly a long time), but it appears Zippo doesn’t offer replacement burners
• Smell I personally find negligible, but it might be enough of an issue for someone who hunts deer or anything else with a sensitive nose
• Warranty is only 1 year
• Has the potential to burn if you’re stupid or inattentive

To me none of the “cons” are insurmountable and the “pros” more than make up for it.

Very happy with this item, even if the winter we’ve had this year hasn’t really allowed for much use. Many more cold seasons to come.