cheap petrol hand warmer review

[spandit]

Having got very chilly on my recent deerstalking (I say stalking, it was sitting and waiting in a high seat) it became imperative to have some kind of handwarming device. I had previously bought my wife a genuine Zippo petrol handwarmer, which she'd never used, so I dug that out and have been using it for a bit.

However, I have 2 hands and poor circulation so having one next to my heart and two more in pockets would really help. Being a cheapskate, I decided to buy a couple of these:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

They're under 1/2 the price of a Zippo and look pretty similar. They arrived a couple of days later and I duly filled them with lighter fluid to test. They work exactly the same way as the original. However, the little can of fluid I had only does 5 fills and it wasn't full to begin with. Couldn't find anywhere in town that sold lighter fluid but a local agricultural supplier sells Aspen 4T and as far as I can tell, it's basically the same thing. It's expensive for petrol but half the price of lighter fluid (£5 a litre) and thought it was worth a go.

Suffice to say, my pockets are now both lovely and warm and should remain that way for nearly 24 hours at a cost of 10p each!

Addendum:
Subsequent fillings were less successful as the burner heads don't fit as well as the Zippo ones but a bit of tweaking with pliers and they're burning again...

 

[Polecatsteve]

Panel wipe. Got 5ltrs for 8quid from a garage supply website.

Used it to run my stove, lantern, hand warmers and lighters for over a year. And loads left.

 

[spandit]

Care to provide a link?

 

[HillBill]

Why do you have one next to your heart?

 

[Polecatsteve]

I keep one in my chest pocket too, really does help keep the core cosy. I shall try find you a link mate. Any
Panel wipe / naptha will do same as white gas.

 

[spandit]

Why do you have one next to your heart?

Theory is, it warms the blood which then gets pumped around the body. Most shirts have a chest pocket on that side so it's easy to just put a handwarmer in there.

 

[HillBill]

Fair enough . I used to use the gel ones, i'd loosen by boots and tuck them down the tongue... kept my feet nice and warm... i'd throw them in the sleeping bag about 15 mins before i got it into it too... Warm it up a bit, they are great at retaining the heat.

 

[spandit]

Gel ones don't last very long - these petrol ones will last all day and can be recharge quickly - the gel ones have to be boiled to recharge. For sleeping, though, they're not safe, being a combustion product. I generally fill an Osprey bottle with boiling water and use it as a hot water bottle.

 

[The Lord Poncho]

hmm - these look quite fun - i'll give them a bash!

+1 for the panel wipe link if possible!

Spandit - on a another subject, how are your dutch bags doing? I note that the british army 'modular sleeping system' is now a version of the same two bags, and made by Fesca. You wouldn't risk sticking the handwarmers at the feet of those, as tempting as it is?!

 

[spandit]

Haven't been out for a while but still have the bags. I'm a very cold sleeper and since I like hammockng, it's hard to keep warm in the winter. The hand warmers still need oxygen so they probably wouldn't put out much heat down the bottom of a sleeping bag even if it weren't dangerous to do so!