What are your thoughts on whether Hot Hands warmers, toe, hand or body, are effective in use while winter hammock camping? Last through the night? Too warm?
I will be camping with less than ideal equipment, but, above 30 degrees I'm fine. Temps could very easily dip to ten degrees or below. Please limit comments, if possible, to whether Hot Hands will help. I can read thousands of threads on HF about what equipment will allow me to avoid hand warmers.
Thanks
Tim
While out Friday I wished I had exactly that (ones I brought were expired by quite a few years I realized when I got home). My gear was rated plenty low but I think having a hand warmer to toss in my foot box would have made a big difference with cold toes. Basically it would have helped make up the warmth I lost due to inexperience (lack of ideal layers and tucking of my top quilt). Another suggestion people often make is boiling water and putting it in a Nalgene. Think it would have the same result if you have one around, I do not.
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Tim, I'm guessing you are referring to those packets you shake up a little. If so, it's my experience that they like a little airflow to work best. That is, you activate them and they get warm, and you put them inside your glove. But somewhere along the way, they benefit from being taken out and kneaded a bit - to remix and such. I've only used the hand models and they were enough for me. Lasted between 6 and 8 hours.
ONE CAUTION: some of them leak a little and get black debris on surrounding surfaces. So the inside of your glove can get a little black that's transferred to your hands. So maybe a little cloth bag, or wrap lightly in one layer of a handkerchief, would be protection against that. Or just try them out normally and if what you have doesn't leak - no worries.
As they will have plenty of airflow in the hammock and under the TQ, that shouldn't be a problem.
I would NOT use the kind that require added fuel. In fact, after reading the instructions for a few, I asked - because it seemed implied - if they had to be kept more of less vertical; like in your pocket. I never received a reply from the manufacturer.
So if you want a little extra something to warm up your TQ environment, or just keep your hand warm, those little packets do the job. Just be careful about any of the material seeping out and getting their surrounding dirty. And some just fail. I don't recall if it happens when they get too old or if the failure was part of the same batch that had packets that worked. My point there is to not assume every warmer packet will work 100% of the time.
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
Yeah, I've had similar results with years old packs. I think I'll buy new before my trip as I cannot remember when I bought the ones in my closetOriginally Posted by Adroa
Yup, those are the ones. I have used them extensively (I live in NE Wisco on the UP Michigan border) but have no experience with them in a hammock. I have read the 6 to 8 hours burn time and I know they last a while, but, I have not really spent that amount of time where I noticed when they no longer are working. Typically I use them for various activities outdoors, but, when I'm moving around I stay warm. When I notice them warming my hands or feet its usually until my activity warms me, then I don't notice them much.
I'm not too concerned about the black dust. I'm thinking it's mostly charcoal seeping out. I do wonder if it is acceptable to burn the used packs up in a campfire. Ingredients are fairly natural... Iron, water, vermiculite, charcoal, salt and polymer. The ingredients I would be concerned about discarding is the vermiculite (trace amounts of asbestos) and polymer, which from my knowledge is a compound made up of various ingredients, commonly but not limited to plastics. That is very non-specific, right? Anyway, they are light enough that if I only needed one per night for toasty toes I wouldn't sweat it carrying them back to a proper disposal container.
The expiration date is on the package - most hand warmers have a four-year shelf life. Just make sure you're not buying hand warmers that are expired or near expiring.
"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." Ralph Waldo Emerson
Absolutely get them and use them in cold weather hanging. These can be a life saver and really work well for hanging and taking down the next morining.
This is a really great call out. When I pulled the first pair out I was not thinking and started slapping it above my hammock, a rain of dark grey dust. Looked at the back of the hand warmer and realized there was a pencil sized hole right in the back. Fortunately it was early and a RR is easy to just flip over and dump it all out. Still, slap it away from the hammock and give it a once over before putting it in.
I had a positive experience with them a few months ago. 13* overnight and only had my 20* HG TQ. Had layers for my core and my head - but my toes were frozen. Took off my socks (for better circulation and remove any moisture). Threw 2 UNEXPIRED hand warmers in the foot box of my quilt and my toes warmed nicely in about 45 min and stayed good all night. The hand warmers were still warmish after about 8 hours
Would have liked to had a second quilt to stack, though!
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Because it was suggested ... if you are going to do the hot water in the Nalgene bottle thing, many find it best if you put the bottle in a "Nalgene cozy" - like a thin felt bag so the bottle side isn't directly against your skin. However ... heat can alter things like thread tightness/fit and change when cooled. In my case, I have one bottle that takes a real cranking to seal it completely water tight. It's okay with "normal" tightness in the vertical side pocket of a pack. And water will not come pouring out if it is on it's side for a minute or two. But over a few hours, if it is not cranked as tight as can be, it will leak - the last thing you want to have happen in your hammock. Maybe the Platypus style bags with the smaller caps (and flexible sides) would be better. If possible, check that the bottle is rated for boiling water.
But those little heat bags are part of my emergency supplies. They are light, take little space. And most important - they work (usually).
In order to see what few have seen, you must go where few have gone. And DO what few have done.
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