Zippo Handwarmer - Chrome

I was a bit skeptical at first, I'm a purist, if I have cold hands I'll put on some gloves.However, this is a quality product, it's so good I want to give it a name. Although in my case it did not work properly right out of the box, at the time I suspected this may be because I received a sub standard burner so I ordered a replacement. The hand warmer stayed lit on the first day for about 6 hours, not too warm. 2nd day it went out every hour or so in my pocket and had to be relit. It didn't last the 12 hours its supposed to. The most I got was 9 hours. I'd suggest to anyone thinking they may have acquired a faulty one to order a replacement burner.I didn't have any problems lighting it aside from the time it took to do so with a standard flame. I started using a jet flame lighter, not sure if that's ok but the burner seems to like the blue part of any flame best so it seemed like a good idea and works much quicker. 1 burner is supposed to last up to 70 uses, I'm thinking maybe the jet flame reduces that. Its still experimental right now so I don't know.The fuel delivery system is not too good, you have to be careful or its a messy experience. Some of the reviews of this product on youtube show a different style of opening for putting fuel in, which looks a lot easier than what I have on my hand warmer. I can only assume that these were earlier models.The Peacock hand warmer seems to be the best of the bunch. Essentially its exactly the same as this, even made in the same factory by all accounts, but the delivery system for the fuel is much better. For the Peacock you clip the measuring jug to the opening on the burner, fill the jug and then when you rotate it this opens a little valve at the bottom of the jug which releases the fuel, not a drop spilled. I can only assume its patented or something and that's why Zippo can't do the same thing. Also on the box for the Peacock it clearly states that you should light this with a match, I did try about 10 matches and to be honest they were utterly useless.There is one video on youtube where the lid on the Zippo hand warmer has a little strip attached to it which you can press against the burner when lit, the strip turns red to indicate that its properly lit. This is something I do not have on mine, didn't work too well for the guy in the video so I assume Zippo have dropped the idea.By the time my replacement burner turned up, the original was refusing to light at all. I could see the difference just looking at them together. Since I attached the new one the hand warmer has been working fine. Infact it's working better than advertised. I'm getting 20hrs of heat for a 12 hr refill, about 12 hours for a 6 hour fill. My Zippo fuel canister which holds enough to fill a lighter will give out 6 hours of heat. I am not sure exactly how quickly fuel evaporates when its not being used. It would be great if there were some sort of seal which prevented it from doing so when not in use.1 standard 100ml can of fuel will fill this 5.5 times to the max, for the 6 hour burn that's 11 fills per can.I'd recommend this product if you live in a cold climate, or if you enjoy outdoor wintery activities such as snowboarding, or even if you find yourself all too often freezing at a bus stop, not much use anywhere hot though.

The ideal Handwarmer, Why?-It last you all day, fill it up in the morning and you are warm all day.-The heat is easy to control, just open or close the little bag.-Cheap to run, you can use £ 1.20 per can Lighterfuell from any Super Market- don't bother with the expensive stuff.Any problems?No, not realy. You just have to learn how to get the best out of it.-The first time it takes a while until it starts up. Just fill it up with 2 jugs as seen in the instruction. And give it some time, it will work.-The best way to light is using a Zippo-Lighter, it takes around a minute to fire up.Don't use gas-lighters, they run out and overheat to quickly. Avoid the catalytic burner to get wet of fuel, it shortens the lifespan. Don't fiddle with the catalytic burner, the element breaks quickly down.Don't use a mini blow torch,the burner get damaged. Or gas hob, the fuel tips out and you can burn your fingers.Always keep the handwarmer upright when starting up and wipe off any spillage from the fuel. Otherwise you set your hands a light.-Keep it upright for example shirt-pocket. If it is in your trouser pocket while driving, it will go off.-Make sure you keep it in the bag, otherwise it gets to hot (risk of burning) and the burner won't last long.Try it out yourself, you will love it.It is ideal when you work outdoors, or anywhere in cold and drafty areas.I wish I bought mine years ago.Forget all the cheap chemical handwarmers from garages and bargain shops, they can't keep up with the zippo. And are much more expensive in the long run.

I live in a cold part of the world - Scotland - and so owning one of these has been important. There are a couple of things to say about this product:It is a little funny to light sometimes. You need to hold a flame to the catalytic fibers on the reactor unit for long enough that it becomes able to sustain itself. The thing itself works by fumes from the fuel evaporating into the reactor, where they they burn to release heat. There is no flame - the reaction is contained within the catalytic fibers, and so all you will see is a slight orange glow reminiscient of aurora borealis within the fibers. This orange glow is the only way to tell if the thing is sustaining itself or not - aside from the heat, but this takes a few minutes to get to, so the glow is the thing I look for after lighting it. You need to hold the flame to the fibers for around 10 seconds, but given that flames like to point upwards, you need to hold the handwarmer upside down, meaning you'll get some sooty deposits from the lighter all over the hand warmer if you let the flames lick it too much.Another thing to say is that it guzzles fuel. I've been using this almost every day for around a month, and in that time I've gone through a couple of tins of Zippo lighter fluid, which they (of course) recommend you use. Surprisingly, it also happens to be the best fuel to use - others can be more expensive and harder to get hold of. As long as you have some spare lying around, as I do given I use Zippo lighters too, this really shouldn't be an issue.Lastly, the handwarmer comes with a little fabric pouch. The metal casing of the handwarmer can get fairly hot to the touch, and the pouch helps protect skin. However, I feel like the pouch somehow restricts the amount of heat given off - it really shouldn't, as the same amount of fuel is being burned - but the handwarmer feels less warm when I use it, so I don't bother and just leave the metal unit in my pocket as-is.