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Reusable click-to-heat hand warmers sound great, but do they beat the cheap air-activated packs? I taped thermometers between them and found out.
I tested Insta Heat reusable hand warmers against HotHands air-activated warmers. Spoiler: for long-lasting heat, HotHands won easily, and that’s the one I’d point you to. Here’s how each one works, how I tested them, and what I found.
- Long-lasting heat: still going strong after an hour-plus
- Steady, comfortable warmth
- No boiling or resetting
- Heat fades quickly once the crystals set
- Small, so not much heat
- One disc wouldn’t activate after several tries
- You have to boil them to reuse them
▶ Watch the full review on YouTube
How the two types of hand warmers work
Air-activated warmers like HotHands have iron and salt inside. When you open them, the iron starts to rust, and that slow reaction makes heat. It’s not super hot, but it lasts a long time.
Insta Heat warmers are reusable. They hold a dissolved saline solution, and when you flex the little metal disc until it clicks, it kicks off a chain reaction that crystallizes the salt and gives off heat. They can get hotter than the air-activated kind, but once everything crystallizes, they cool down quickly.
Activating and resetting Insta Heat
Once you find the disc and click it, you can watch the reaction spread across the whole pack. It gets warm fast and turns stiff, almost like a bag of sand.
To reset it, put it in boiling water for about 3 to 5 minutes until every crystal dissolves. If any crystal is left, it’ll just start the reaction again. I put a towel in the pot so the pack isn’t sitting right on hot metal over a flame.
My side-by-side temperature test
I activated two Insta Heat warmers and put a food thermometer between them, then taped them together. I did the same with two HotHands and an identical thermometer. Then both went outside in about 40°F weather and I started a stopwatch.
After a little over an hour it was getting dark, so I brought them in. The Insta Heat pads had been only mildly warmer than the air within about 20 minutes, and the one from my demo was hard and cool long before that. Their thermometer read about 80°F indoors, which is basically room temperature plus a little insulation.
The HotHands were still going strong, at about 118 to almost 120°F.
Verdict: which hand warmer should you buy?
Insta Heat gives you instant heat and it’s reusable, but it doesn’t last. They’re small, and one of my discs never activated even after several tries. I wouldn’t buy more, and I wouldn’t endorse this brand. If you want reusable, I’d look at larger ones.
For long-lasting heat, go with the air-activated HotHands. You have to shake them and give them a little time to activate, but they keep working long after the gel packs give up.
FAQ
Do reusable hand warmers last as long as HotHands?
Not in my test. The Insta Heat packs cooled off fast, while HotHands were still about 118°F after more than an hour.
How do you reset Insta Heat hand warmers?
Boil them for about 3 to 5 minutes until no crystals are left.
Do reusable hand warmers get hotter?
They can produce more heat at first, but only for a short time.
Would you buy Insta Heat again?
No. For long-lasting warmth, I’d buy HotHands.
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