Review - Electronic Handwarmer - Ultimate Survival Technologies

zespectre

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Review UST Electronic Handwarmer - Ultimate Survival Technologies

Unfortunately I have developed a mild but uncomfortable case of Primary Raynaud's disease so as the weather turns colder, driving to work has become increasingly uncomfortable.
Gloves/Mittens alone don't seem to solve the issue as they don't provide the additional heat I need to stave off an attack. Therefore I've been looking at different solutions for keeping my hands warm in the car.

I have your classic "ZIPPO" hand warmer which I have used for many years while camping and so forth, but my wife can smell the naptha/white gas when it is in use and she doesn't like it so if she's in the car with me that is a non-starter.

I tried the "hot hands" packs, but when you need them every day that can add up to an awful lot of waste and that bothered me too. Ultimately I really wanted something that could be turned on and off as needed.

But I've used both of those items enough to be able to make a valid comparison to this electronic hand warmer.
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What you get:
A unit about the exact same dimensions as an iPod Touch with a very nice aluminum surface
A short USB charging cord that can be used to charge the heater, or from the heater to a phone to charge a phone. (it can act as a battery pack)

I plugged my unit in and the led lit RED to indicate charging. It must have been at least a little pre-charged because in an hour it was ready for testing.

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Once charged I ran it on HIGH and used an IR thermometer to evaluate temperatures.

Results:
Initially I had planned to just set the unit up on end, let it run on high, and do various temperature measurements while it stood there. I did so and very quickly thought I had a bum unit because it just wouldn't heat up.

Ah Physics....What was happening is that the aluminum case is such a good heat sink that if you do that the unit will never get more than a few degrees warmer than ambient (much like our flashlights) because it's trying to heat the air with its entire surface.

So I stuck it in a sock to simulate a pocket and then things started happening.

Within 5 minutes the unit was up to 95 degrees, eventually topping out at about 115 at the 9 minute mark.
Since human discomfort starts at roughly 120 degrees, this seems like a good cut-off point.
From there the unit maintained between 99 and 115 degrees solidly for the next three hours which is, believe me, plenty to keep your hands warm.
At just over the 3 hour mark the temperature started to drop fairly quickly and the unit turned off 20 minutes later with an empty battery.

Recharging it back to full took 2 hours 27 minutes

The BAD:
  • No waterproofing. If you plan to use this outdoors in rain or snow you better stick it in a ziplock baggie or something similar.
  • I wish the charge ports had covers for moisture and dust protection.
  • My version didn't come with a bag. Fortunately I had a small felt one that is just the right size.

The GOOD:
  • 3 second delay on the power switch means no accidental activation
  • Can be turned on/off as needed
  • Multiple (two) heat levels
  • Ability to use as a power pack for recharging phones
  • Good heat, Good runtime
  • Solidly built
  • No chemical smell
  • Common USB charging (easy to find these days)

Final Opinion:
Stick it in a pocket, let it come up to temperature, and you'll have happy and warm hands for hours! RECOMMENDED!
 
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