At first they looked kind of gimmicky or I'd say... artificial to me but since Doug reserves a place for them in his cold weather survival kits as well as many others in this forum like Frenchy and knowing how room is at a premium in a survival kit, I figured they must be efficient.

So does anybody know by any chance how Heat Factory handwarmers compare to Grabber Mycoal handwarmers?

http://www.grabberwarmers.com/index.htm
http://www.heatfactory.com/index.html

Heat Factory, situated in Canada, claims they are the oldest handwarmer company in North America. (founded in 1980)

According to Grabber Mycoal though, the original idea is from Japan.

Anyhow, what really count is to know which brand is the most performant. They are probably very similar but I'm asking anyway. I've never bought and tried them. I will consider them next time I visit outdoor stores and pharmacies. Since they are inexpensive, I will try to buy both brands and test them for myself but I'm curious to know your opinions. I also get a kick out of reading replies sometimes.

Thanks
François

Frankie,

I've carried both brands (and imports, IIRC) but can't say I have any experience with actually using them. My wife uses them occasionally. I probably don't view them correctly: to me, they are a comfort item only. But I try harder to ignore cold hands and feet than my wife does - and prefer to rely on passive measures like good mittens and boots.

The one "experience" that I have with these - any brand - is that they have a short shelf life in the humid MidWest. If they even work after a year, it's not very well. Fresh ones heat up great. I don't even bother anymore - I buy some fresh ones each year and toss the old ones. I speculate, but don't know, that they have a better shelf life in more arid climates.

Back when I did carry handwarmers, I hugely prefered the liquid fuel catalytic ones. I used those to keep my boots from freezing solid - dropped one in each boot at night. It usually worked (sometimes they smothered themselves), but in retrospect I'm not convinced it was worth the trouble. They were too hot to wear over the kidneys and too bulky to stuff into a mitten without burning me, even the small ones. Maybe these chemical ones are better for that???

Regards,

Tom

I think the Grabber ones are the ones I generally get on sale at Walmart, but, at various times I've used a few other kinds, and they all seem to work ok when new.

Funny thing is, I seldom use them for what they are intended. <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> The most common use I've found is putting one next to my Nalgene water bottles, then wrapping the bottle and heater in something like a spare fleece in my pack. It keeps the water from freezing when you're hiking/camping in the winter. One other thing where they are really handy is to periodically rewarm your hands in a pocket when you're doing some fine work where you really need to use exposed hands/fingers.

I've used the Heat Factory product while in my deer stand for many hunting seasons. I am very pleased with their performance.

One of our troop leaders taught us a trick last winter. He boild some water before going to sleep on cold campouts. That's usually no big deal as someone almost always makes some hot chocolate at night. He then fills his nalgene with very hot (not boiling) water to take into his sleeping bag with him. The heat lasts all night as the bottle is usually still warm in the morning.

They both work fine, just try not to put them directly against your skin. If you have glove or mitten liners, you might want to put them outside the liner to protect your hands. The boot ones work well too, particularly for things like extended snowmobiling where you might not be moving around much.

One thing to pay attention to: the heaters really do expire! If you use them too far after their expiration date, they will not generate much, if any, heat and will be pretty useless. If you keep any in an emergency kit, be sure to rotate fresh stock in every year or so.

Never tried the chemical type as I always felt they were too expensive per use factor.

I have (2) Jon-E's (The copies are not as well built as genuine Jon-E's.) catalytic heaters, one the small size, and one the large size. They stink until they get up to speed, and you do have to worry about not smothering them, but they work very well for my primary use which is for my hands.

For my feet, I prefer battery operated socks as I can control when and how much to heat by switching the batteries on and off. I prefer the belt mount battery holder over the sock mounted battery holder style.

For my head, nothing works as well for me as a good wool watch hat supplemented by a tunnel hood for more extreme temperatures. The biggest problem I have is a rather large head (My friends say it is my ego trying to get out, but they are just jealous.) and I have yet to find a good wool watch cap that I can wear for long peionds of time without my head feeling like a lemon being squeezed.

Once safely out ot the elements, nothing like a Jim Beam Bourbon & sour or a couple shots of good Cognac to warm up everything.

Bountyhunter

Speaking of tunnel hood, I know that the justification for fur trimming is that it will prevent moisture in the breath freezing on the face and injuring the skin. Will a faux-fur trim catch the moisture as well as a coyote fur? (Canada-Goose use coyote fur; Helly Hansen have both)

When the temperature was -25° C (-13° F) without windchill and with 35km/h wind during the day on december 20, I wore a cheap fleece balaclava from Misty Mountain that doesn't cover the mouth (I don't like to cover my mouth although it could be a good idea in some circumstances to protect the lungs.) and I'm surprised by its efficacy.

François

Natural fur is superior in performance and environmental soundness. Faux fur is a product of the petrochemical extractive industries. Coyote will be here with the cockroaches and rats long after we leave the stage. Trapping or shooting of individuals is sad, but in Canada they are only taking up the wolve's old ranges.

While watching auroras in Gallivare, Sweden, @ who knows how many degs minus, I had a fleece hood & fleece scarf covering my mouth, both very helpfull with a "warm feel"- only problem was the moisture coming out my breathing turned into ice sitting on my glasses-

"Auroras? huh? where?"

Back to the hot coffe in the thermos inside the warm "Golf"

Also some sort of survival..... <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

You must be right about that.
I bought some last year and they didn't have any expiration date on the packets.
But when I tried to use them, I only get a very small amount of heat, almost nothing : so I guess they were too old...

<< Will a faux-fur trim catch the moisture as well as a coyote fur? >>

Not in my experience. My M1951 Parka hoods were originally coyote fur but the later model ones were/are faux fur. I greatly prefer the coyote fur. My wife has an ancient winter coat that she grabs when the wind is howling because of the (coyote) fur ruff. However, the faux fur does work well enough and I can usually brush most of the frost off it without getting wet.

Wolverine fur is the best. From what I have seen, wolf neck fur is almost as good and feels even better, but I guess I'd have to be completely out of alternatives to choose wolf - just personal; I enjoy the rare glimpses of wolves I've had.

It would not surprise me to hear from folks in the Yukon/NW Territory/Alaska that some other fur is great.

Tom

I "did a year" in Greenland, compliments of the US Air Force. A friend that had preceeded me there, told me to make sure that when I got issued a parka to get the one with the stiff ugly fur, not the nice soft fur.

For the next year, I was able to knock the frost off my snorkle parka with a quick slap. Others with the soft fur had to pull the parka over their heads and thaw them out before they could open the frozen fur snorkle. Wolverine fur works MUCH better than anything else.

Do you know which commercially available parkas have a wolverine fur trim hood? Wolverine seems more common for leather boots. Its always faux-fur or coyote fur. Would I have to ask a tailor to change it to wolverine? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Coyote works fine and is not endangered.The Wolverine is to rare an animal to stitch to a parka.

And Wolverine when related to boots is only a brand name... Okay great.

François

And "Wolverines" was the name of the Patriots in the movie "RED DAWN".

Bountyhunter

hehe i still get odd looks when i yell out "WOLVERINES !!"
some people just dont remember that film, that and i guess i shouldnt yell it out randomly in public anymore either....


but on topic i have a question, if i was to buy a parka how can i tell if the fur was badger or coyote and not some crappy synthetic fur?

or is that even an option for non-military parkas?

edit: sorry for repeating basically the same question frankie posted earlie, didnt see it listed there for some reason.