Field Report: Heat Treat Warmers
TESTER BIO
Name: Jennifer Williams
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m)
Weight: 120 lbs (56 kg)
Shoe size: 10 women (US)
Email: jensmail78 (at) yahoo.com
Sunnyvale, CA, USA
Date: July 11, 2005
Backpacking Background:
I grew up camping and snowboarding, but I just started backpacking about two years ago. All of my trips have been one or two night stays. My trips normally range from coastal trails in the redwoods to mountainous terrain in the Sierra Nevadas. I tend to hike where I encounter rain and dampness. This year, I am looking forward to making some longer trips in northern California and gaining more experience. I am not a lightweight backpacker yet, but would like to reduce my current pack weight significantly.
PRODUCT INFORMATION:
Manufacturer: Grabber Mycoal
Year of manufacture: 2005
URL:www.warmers.com
Heat Treat Hand Warmers:
Weight as delivered: 1.5 oz (43 g)
Dimensions: 2 in x 3.5 in (5 cm x 9 cm)
Average Temp: 135 F (57 C)
Maximum Temp: 156 F (69 C)
Heat Duration: 7+ hours
Ingredients: Iron, water, cellulose, vermiculite, activated carbon, and salt
MSRP: $16.99 (US) for 10 pair
Heat Treat Body Warmers:
Weight as delivered: 1.5 oz (43 g)
Dimensions: 4 in x 5 in (10 cm x 13 cm)
Average Temp: 127 F (53 C)
Maximum Temp: 154 (68 C)
Heat Duration: 12+ hours
Ingredients: Iron, water, cellulose, vermiculite, activated carbon, and salt
MSRP: $10.99 (US) for 6 warmers
Heat Treat Foot Warmers:
Weight as delivered: 1.7 oz (48 g)
Size: M/L (Women's US shoe size 9+, Men's US shoe size 8+)
Average Temp: 95 F (35 C)
Maximum Temp: 102 F (39 C)
Heat Duration: 5+ hours
Ingredients: Iron, water, cellulose, activated carbon, and salt
MSRP: $34.99 (US) for 10 pair
FIELD INFORMATION
I used one body warmer at home after a long hike. The temperature was 75 F (24 C) and the elevation was 130 ft (40 m). All of the other warmers were used on a two night backpacking trip in Henry Coe State Park in central California. The elevation at both camps was 1200 ft (360 m), and overnight temperatures were around 40 F (4 C).
FIELD TEST
Hand Warmers:
I used each pair of hand warmers around camp each night of my backpacking trip. Despite warm temperatures during the day, the evenings were quite cool. The packaging was easy to open with a pre-cut notch at either end of the packet. I noticed that the hand warmers are packaged as a pair, but are sealed in separate sections of the packet. This allowed me to just open one hand warmer and save the other one for later. I tried this out and the remaining hand warmer did stay sealed in the package without heating up. The hand warmers themselves fit in the palms of my hands and were made out of a soft mesh cloth. They were flexible and could be folded inside a closed fist if necessary.
I used the warmers in the pockets of my fleece jacket and fleece vest. They fit well inside the pockets and left plenty of room in the pockets for my hands. During both tests, the hand warmers heated up in about 10 minutes and remained very warm for about 6 hours. One set of warmers still gave off detectable heat for an additional 2 hours, but it was not enough heat to warm my hands. In general, the hand warmers were very useful in keeping my hands warm in between camp chores. I also put one of the hand warmers in the chest pocket of my vest and it added an extra bit of warmth for my body. One thing I noticed was that the warmers that I used in my vest pockets seemed to get a little warmer but cooled off sooner. I think this might be because the pockets in the vest are mesh and allowed more oxygen to get to the warmers. After returning home, I weighed the used warmers and their packaging and they both increased from 1.5 oz to 1.75 oz (42 to 50 g). They also felt grainy inside and sounded as though the material inside had become sandy and gritty. The warmers did not give off any odor or residue at any time.
Body Warmers:
I used the first body warmer at home to soothe a sore leg muscle after a hike. Again, the packaging was easy to open and the instructions were easy to follow. To apply the body warmer I just peeled off the backing and stuck it inside the leg of my track pants. The adhesive stuck very well even after I repositioned the warmer. The side of the body warmer that goes against the skin had a very soft fabric that was flexible and formed to the shape of my leg. The warmer took about 20 minutes to heat up and emitted at least some heat for 13 hours. However, it never really got very warm. After a couple hours I did notice that it had gotten warmer, but I do not think it heated up to the advertised temperature of 127 F (53 C). Regardless of how hot it was, it did not feel warm enough to soothe my sore muscles.
I used the second body warmer on my backpacking trip to again soothe sore leg muscles. This warmer did seem to get warmer than the other body warmer, but I still did not find it warm enough to ease my muscle aches. I initially put this warmer inside my pant leg, but once I realized it was not that soothing for my sore muscles I moved it to my back for extra warmth. The adhesive stuck well both times, but was a little less sticky after removing it from my fleece pants since they left more lint on the warmer. Once on the inside of my shirt the warmer provided a comfortable warmth for at least 12 hours and was still warm when I woke up the next morning (the packaging advises against sleeping while using the warmers, but I had another layer between the warmer and my skin and did not have any problems). I noticed that both warmers did not feel very warm unless they were right next to my skin. I found this problematic since most of my camp clothing is not that tight and I found myself having to press the clothing close to my skin in order to get much warmth. Like the hand warmers, the used body warmers increased from 1.5 oz to 1.75 oz (42 to 50 g) and felt grainy inside.
Foot Warmers:
I used one pair of the foot warmers at night while setting up camp and the other pair in the morning while eating and packing up. I inserted them in my hiking boots on top of the Superfeet insoles. The bottoms of the foot warmers are a shiny, slick material that slid easily into the shoes. The tops of the warmers are a beige mesh that was very smooth and did not bunch up when sliding my feet into the shoes. The foot warmers I used were the M/L size and fit well in my size 10 hiking boots. The warmers heated up in about 10 minutes and got very warm within 30 minutes. They provided consistent heat for about 4 hours and then cooled off and gave off a little heat for another hour. During both uses the foot warmers became very stiff after a couple hours and made the boots feel stiffer. However, I was not walking around a lot and it did not bother me much. I definitely appreciated the foot warmers at night because they let me hang out longer since I did not need to go to bed to get warm. Plus, when I got into bed, my feet were already warm and I was able to heat up my sleeping bag that much faster. Usually it takes a long time for my feet to get warm in my bag because they start out very cold. The foot warmers also made getting out of the tent a lot less daunting because I had nice warm boots to slip on. My only complaint about the foot warmers was that they gave off a foul odor when I first opened them. The odor did not remain in the boots after use and the warmers themselves did not smell after they cooled off. After use, one pair of foot warmers weighed the same as before, while the other pair actually decreased from 1.7 oz to 1.5 oz (48 to 42 g).
Summary:
I found both the hand warmers and foot warmers very warm and useful. They both made me more comfortable during cool weather camping and were worth the small amount of extra weight. I would use them again while backpacking or snowboarding.
I did not find the body warmers that useful. While the adhesive worked well, the warmers did not heat up enough to provide much comfort and often did not feel warm at all because they were not near my skin. I do not think I would use them again.
Likes:
*Hand warmers very versatile and comfortable
*Foot warmers helped warm feet up in sleeping bag
*Body warmers easy to place on clothing
Dislikes:
*Hand warmers did not heat up very well
*Foot warmers got a little stiff inside the shoes
*Foot warmers gave off slight odor
Thanks to Grabber Mycoal and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test these products.
Read more reviews of Grabber Performance Group gear
Read more gear reviews by Jennifer Williams
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