Winterproof Your Digits With the Best Hand Warmers

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While some of us welcome the colder months of the year, especially runners looking forward to a fall race, it’s hard to ignore the downsides that come with below-freezing temps. It can be a sharp transition from rocking a tank top and five-inch inseams to multiple layers of merino, but there’s no reason to let your hands and fingers suffer during this shift—and a good pair of gloves doesn’t always cut it. Enter hand warmers, the small but mighty companions that offer some extra relief for us cold-handed runners.

Whether you’re looking for something reusable that’ll withstand a winter’s worth of miles or you need an emergency backup just in case you get lost on the trail, there are plenty of options available to keep you frostbite-free on icy days. We’ve spent time with several models, which we’ve listed below to help you on your search for some snowstorm salvation.

The Best Hand Warmers

• Best Rechargeable: Ocoopa Quick Charge Hand Warmer

• Best Disposable: HotHands Hand Warmers

• Best for Backpacking: HotSnapZ Reusable Hand Warmers

• Best Non-Electric Fuel: Zippo Hand Warmer

• Best Biodegradable: Ignik Compostable Hand Warmers

What to Consider

Reusable Versus Disposable Hand Warmers

The most common type of hand warmer is the single-use shake pack, most popularly produced by HotHands—these are great for storing in your car, jacket, or backpack in case of an ice-cold emergency. They’re lightweight, low-profile, and stay warm for up to 10 hours—but once they cool back down, they won’t warm up again.

If you’re looking for something you don’t have to restock—our recommendation if you plan on using hand warmers on a daily or even weekly basis—you can invest in a reusable, refillable, or rechargeable hand warmer. These tend to be a bit pricer, but you’ll (crucially) only pay for them once. They also tend to be a bit bulky, so you can’t shove them in a glove or shoes the same ways you can with a single-use, but they tend to emit enough heat that you don’t need to contain them anyway.

Fuel Sources

For all disposable (and some reusable) hand warmers, you’re relying on the energy stored in a chemical reaction to generate heat. Often, all you need to activate this reaction is to give your warmers a few firm shakes. While this keeps things simple, it’s also typically irreversible—once the reaction starts, it’ll use up most or all of the energy until it’s gone.

Similarly, lighter fluid-based hand warmers like this Zippo model will only stop emitting heat when they’re out of fuel, but there’s an easy workaround in this case: Only put as much fluid as you want to use in the cartridge. Most rechargeable units, on the other hand, can be toggled off on a whim regardless of how much juice is left. These options sometimes have a shorter runtime than chemical or fuel-based models, but you can use what heat you have more judiciously.

How We Selected

I’m quite fickle in the cold, as are my hands, regardless of what I’m doing outside. After several winters of running in the cold, as well as more than eight years of commuting by bike, I no longer underestimate the potency of a quality hand warmer. The majority of the picks we’ve compiled have kept my fingers intact across a wide range of wintry conditions, and they did so without compromising ease of use, heat consistency and intensity, or portability. They’re all reasonably priced for what you’re getting, too.

For the picks I haven’t tested myself, I talked to other members of the Runner’s World team about their go-to hand-warmers, and I also researched top-performing models available online (and their customer reviews) to paint a more holistic picture of what works for others. And while we’ve collected a fairly wide range of unique designs for this roundup, their duration, max temperature, and cost-effectiveness can quantifiably show that these hand warmers will surely live up to their name.

Quick Charge Hand Warmer

While a little too large to stuff in your gloves, this rechargeable hand warmer from Ocoopa is great for packing along for a day-long adventure in the cold and pulling out when you need some extra heat. It’s rechargeable, has three heat settings ranging from 91 to 131 degrees Fahrenheit, and lasts up to 15 hours.

On top of that, not only is this a hand warmer, but it also functions as a portable charger—it’s capable of fully charging your phone up to three times on a single charge.

Hand Warmers

If you ran cross country or participated in marching band in high school, chances are you’ve come in contact with some HotHands before. Heck, you can pretty easily find them at a gas station or hardware store, too. Despite looking cheap, they’re a great introduction to hand warmers, and they’re indispensable if you need something you can stuff in your gloves. I should know—I largely credit these puppies as the reason I can still feel my hands after all my years of biking to school and work.

These hand warmers are single-use, but they can stay hot for up to 10 hours. Plus, since they’re individually wrapped and have a slim profile, they’re great for taking with you while camping, storing in your glove compartment, or stashing in a jacket for some extra insurance.

Reusable Hand Warmers

Despite the love I have for HotHands, I don’t love throwing them out after every use. For a similarly low-profile option that you can recharge by boiling for 10 minutes, check out these hand warmers from HotSnapZ. After these pods finish recharging and return to room temperature, all you need to do to reactivate the chemical reaction within is snap a small button and wait a few minutes.

Do keep in mind, though, that these don’t last incredibly long—only about 40 minutes—so they’re best suited for quick runs, commutes, or dog walks. But if you have the means to boil water on the go, as you might during a camping trip, you’ll never run out of heat—once you boil these for about 10 minutes, they’re as good as new.

Hand Warmer

No need to recharge this Zippo hand warmer—it runs on lighter fluid, and it’s ready to go as quick as you can refill it. While it may seem a bit sketchy to have something actively combusting in your hand or pocket, it’s perfectly safe when used properly. It uses a catalytic burner which provides a warm, consistent, flame-free heat.

The cartridge is easy to refill, and the whole package can burn continuously for up to 12 hours. The one downside is that, once turned on, you can’t turn it off, and you have to wait for it to burn out; however, you can shorten the burn time by adding less fluid in the beginning.

Compostable Hand Warmers

These packets from Ignik may be single use warmers, but they come with one eco-friendly advantage: They’re filled with 98 percent biodegradable material, which you can easily compost by snipping a hole in the outside liner. When activated, these packs provide heat for up to 10 hours, and they use natural minerals and oxygen to ensure that their byproducts are entirely non-toxic.

Heated Gloves

If you’re a fan of heated blankets, you’ll love these gloves from Day Wolf just as much. They’re rechargeable through a battery pack stored in the wrists, and they provide electric heat for up to 6 hours. They have three heat settings to keep you dialed into a sweat-free temperature, and they’re surprisingly lightweight and maneuverable—they even have touchscreen-friendly fingers.

Unlike most hand warmers, which you have to hold, these are designed to keep your hands completely free, making them great for cycling, skiing, or shoveling snow. But, let’s be real, it’s also just nice to go for a run without holding something the whole time.

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