Hand warmer – small heating miracles for cold days

It’s that time again. The days are getting darker, temperatures are dropping and the thick winter clothes are coming out of the closetfetched. Of course, too, for cold days glovesannounced, but what to do if you still freezes and wants a little warmth? Then come so-called hand warmer in question, which can quickly provide comfort.

Which models are available?

Heat Packs:
On the one hand there is the widespread and well-known heat cushion in all shapes and colors, which can be activated by the buckling of a contained metal plate. In most cases, for these heat pad, a salt mixture called sodium acetate trihydrate, also known as the sodium salt of acetic acid, is used. By pressing the metal plate, the water molecules crystallize and, in combination with the sodium salt, trigger a chemical reaction that gives off heat. This small handy heat storage keeps its temperature in about one hour. The big advantage is that the heat pads are very light and easy to handle. If you want to use them again, heat the heat pad in a water bath at a temperature of 60 degrees, which melts the salt, and liquefy again.

Disposable hand warmers:
These hand warmer are ready for use immediately after opening an airtight packaging. As soon as oxygen reaches the heat pads, the substances contained in them react iron powder, vermiculite, activated carbon, water and common salt and oxidize. This will give off heat immediately. Up to 40 degrees then heat for a period of about 12 hours, the desired body parts such as hands or feet. Because of this hand warmer are made very thin, you can put them in shoes and use as a heat insert or keep the back warm. Mostly they are pillowequipped with an adhesive surface, so that they can not slip. They are ideal for outdoor activities or travel as they are quick and effective to handle and can also give off heat for a long time. Another advantage is the long shelf life in the packaged state, and that you can repack these pads during use and reuse, you should not consistently 12 hours of heat need. So these are hand warmer for example, for two days each for about 6 hours usable.

Pocket Warmer:
Especially among extreme athletes in the outdoor area is the pocket Warmervery popular as it can be used to dry wet gloves, socks or shoes. Pocket kilns usually have a metallic, fiberglass padded housing with ventilation slots and are either with lighter fluid, carbon rods or charcoaloperated. But also with batteriesoperated pocket ovens are available but can not dissipate heat as long as coal-fired ones. Here a coal rod is ignited, which slowly anneals and so can give off more than 12 hours of heat. The inner lining with fiberglass ensures that the pocket oven does not get too hot on the outside, damaging clothes or skin. To be on the safe side, a lined cloth bag is usually included, in which you can put the pocket oven and make sure that it does not open easily.

Who invented it?

Of course, these resourceful helpers also have their origins. The oldest records of the utensils known as heat balls date back to 756 and, as so often, are from China. In Europe, the first directories from around 800 are found in an abbey in France. Most of the thermal spheres used to date in churches were made of metal such as gold, copper, silver, bronze or iron and were often decorated with decorative patterns and openings. These heat containers consisted of two hinged or aufzuschraubenden hemispheres, in the interior of a small panfilled with charcoal, wax candles or oil and heated. In the Middle Ages, the heat balls were still verified and equipped with a wick, so that they were lit without much effort.
At this time reserved only for the wealthy and powerful, this changed from the 16th century. At this time one finds the first records of heat balls also in Germany. Most of them were equipped with a chain so that they could be worn on the wrist or even on the finger. From the 17th century, wealth moved into households and the thermal sphere became a commodity. Due to the mass production at that time, brass, copper and iron were widely used as material and thus the thermal sphere has been proven to be the historical pioneer of the pocket ovens known today.