Zippo 12 Hour Refillable Hand Warmer

ive tested mine for about a week now and it does the job very well. it doesn’t get too hot where you can’t touch it, but it stays a consistent temperature throughout the day (~110° F which is plenty).i don’t really like the catalyst pads in the new ones, but you can easily modify them with “Platinum Bright Embers” for fireplaces in place of the catalyst pads and it will work a LOT better (~125-135° F).i don’t really notice a smell with it. you can smell a hint the lighter fluid if your nose is up against it, but i doubt you would do that for many reasons LOL.it’s very sturdy and does exactly what it’s supposed to do. lasts for over 12 hours. fits in a pocket very nicely and stays warm.these aren’t supposed to have a visible flame. more like a very dim “ember” (shown in the second photo) that you can’t see during the day. just don’t overfill the hand warmer or it might produce a visible flame which you don’t want. if it does, just wait for a bit of the fluid to evaporate then try again.it’s a great older style hand warmer that lasts a lot longer than the electric ones on the market.update: i used platinum bright embers on top of the old catalyst pad and it seems to burn a lot hotter and more consistent. when it’s in the bag it’s really nice but be careful the metal gets pretty hot. i got mine to run for 18 hours on one fill up and it seems to smell a lot less as well. look up a youtube video on how to modify zippo hand warmer i 100% recommend you do that!update #2: i bought the polished chrome one and it burns a LOT hotter than the modified black one some how. i haven’t tried changing the catalyst, but i don’t think i’ll need to. just purchase the chrome one or the 6 hour version if you want tons of heat.

I am a first time user of a liquid fuel handwarmer and have had a great experience with this 12 hour Zippo.I purchased a pack of Midwest Hearth Platinum Embers (real platinum catalyst, unlike what comes with most warmers these days; available on Amazon) as well as a gallon of Coleman Fuel from a local store ($15/gallon; dramatically cheaper than the small 4 and 8fl oz cans of fuel) for use with this warmer. I put 3 little wads of the Platinum Embers into the burner (catalyst) head (one at each end and one in the middle) and the correct amount of Coleman Fuel. The warmer lasted for about 18.5 hours and was quite toasty warm. Really warm inside a jacket pocket.I know that some folks are using 9-10mm stainless springs to hold the Platinum Embers, but I plan to use a narrow strip of 20 mesh stainless steel mesh across the underside of the head to retain them. A single pack of Platinum Embers will suffice for many hand warmers (easily 20+), and a gallon of Coleman Fuel will also last a very long time. That said, might want one or two of the small cans to make refueling easier.Very positive experience.

I've been using those disposable packet hand warmers for years but when these became available on a "Today's Deal", I decided to get two of them for my wife and I. We are planning for an upcoming cold weather camping trip and I figured that these would be a good idea to have. I remember a buddy of mine having one of these years ago that he took with him on hunting trips and he loved it. I choose the chrome one and my wife picked the blaze orange one. Each one came with a black pouch, plastic filling device, and instructions. The ones that we received are the 2015 models and it appears that Zippo likes to make some adjustments/changes to their products quite often. When I purchased these, I also looked at replacement catalytic burners to see how easily available they were and the prices. Depending on how much you use these, the catalytic burners should last for quite some time. The included instructions state that the "burner lasts for many uses depending on how it is used and duration of use". Researching different sites concerning these hand warmers and the results vary but most seem favorable. One site stated that you should be able to get about 70 uses with one before having to replace the burner. The real culprit is the replacements. Researching for those here on Amazon and other places and you'll see a lot of complaints concerning the quality, price and dependability. Quite honestly, it would seem to be better just to replace the whole unit! Anyway, I guess I'll cross that bridge when it comes.Currently, as of this review, we have used these four times now. I initially just wanted to test them out before the camping trip but it appears that we've found other uses for them as well. We've been going through some pretty cold weather here lately and they make a great companion for those cold days/nights when walking the dog. My wife has even taken her's to work because she complains that the store where she works is always freezing. We had a big freeze last night and I fired them up to walk the dog, take out the trash, and scrape ice off the car. Letting these "cook" inside your jacket pocket provides a nice bit of relief when you stick your hand inside. The first time we used them, it seemed to take a while for them to heat up, but after successive uses they appear to generating heat a bit more quickly. Outside of the pouch, they can be pretty hot after they have been running for a while, so the pouch certainly helps to regulate the heat. We've been getting about 10-12 hours with them depending on how much fuel we put in.Filling them up with fuel is pretty simple with the included dispenser. Pulling the burner off, you'll see a hole to pour the fluid into. Replacing the burner, I followed the instructions by keeping the device upright and allowing the fluid to soak into the burner for about 2 minutes. Holding it at an angle, I held it over a flame for about 10 seconds. I didn't see anything begin to glow red, so I held it for an additional 10 seconds and then noticed the edges of the catalytic burner begin to glow. It's kinda hard to know if you lit it or not in the light. I noticed that if I cup my hand over it, you can see the burner begin to glow red and spread throughout (just be careful not to burn you hands!). Can I tell a difference between the chrome one and the blaze orange? Not really. They both produce quite a bit of heat, especially when they've been going for a while. I'm pretty pleased with their performance thus far and will have to research more concerning replacement catalytic burners for these considering all of the mixed reviews. When compared to the disposable hand packets that I have used, these Zippo warmers do put off more heat and are reusable. So far, they are working great and I think they will work well for us on our upcoming camping trip.