Customer Reviews

Platinum Catalyst Flameless Metal Hand Warmer

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

On the upside this provides considerable warmth, for a very long period of time. You start it in the morning, and turn it off (remove the catalytic cap for 2 seconds) in the evening. It only has 3 parts - the base, which holds the fuel, the catalytic cap, and the top, which slides onto the base to make a single unit you can put in a pocket.

I wasn't sure if you could actually put it in a pocket, but you sure can. It uses a catalytic reaction, not a flame, so it doesn't get so hot that you have to worry about it. When I need warmth I actually hang mine from a lanyard around my neck with the unit down the front of my shirt.

Fuel is cheap too - just lighter fluid. A 12 Oz bottle runs this thing everyday for over a week!

I also use small, fluid based, warmer for my emergency kit. It's cool, but I'd have to carry over 12 of them to have the same heating available as one of these units.

There is also a smaller version of this Hand Warmer. It's good if you don't need quite as much warmth.

No complaints with this one, and I've used it everyday for over a week.

Oh - it comes with 2 catalytic caps. They don't appear to be consumed at all while making heat - I'm sure they will last for several years of heavy use, but I'm just basing that on the advertising.


Issues - It takes some art to fill these properly. Some similar products come with a measuring cup so it's a no-brainer. With these you just fill them till you can see saturation at the top of the cotton packing in the fuel tank. I have overfilled on occasion and had to use a napkin to sop up the excess fuel. Overfilling results in a small flame in the cap when you are starting it. This is bad. Blow out the flame (as easy as blowing out a birthday candle) sop up some fuel, and try again.

Also - the catalytic reaction produces a slight odor. Out of doors it's impossible to detect, but if you use it indoors you can sometimes get a slight whiff of it.

All in all - if you need a personal heater that you can wear on your person - this will do the job.

The heater element is a slightly different design from traditional heaters like this that haven't changed in thirty years. It's flat and lights easier. The burner is a friction fit like all the others and can come loose if you shake the unit hard. You must use care in handling the liquid fuel for these things. This heater is smaller than the big Jon-E and it would make more sense to have one of these in each pocket. One big Jon-E in an inner breast pocket will warm your whole body.
My tip for lighting the heater is to run hot water over the base of the heater to preheat and volatize the fuel. Once running these heaters rely on heat feedback through the case to stay lit.

The temperature of this heater varies from toasty warm to barely lukewarm for no apparent reason relating to fuel level or ambient temperature. The catalytic cap fits so precariously on the body I suspect that variation in heat transfer between the cap and body is the reason. The slightest bump will cause the catalytic cap to pop off, regardless of how hard it has been pressed on. All in all this is not a dependable device.

I bought this hand-warmer to use during the cold Kansas winter when our infantry company was out for weeks at a time training. I found that when it was in a warm setting, indoors for example, it was hot to the touch, however, as soon as it was actually needed, it was useless.

As soon as I got out in the cold, it was barely warmer than just putting my hands in my pockets, and only then, for a brief time. When I actually held it in my hands, it lost all its heat in a matter of seconds.

I used premium fluid and followed the directions to the letter, measuring the fluid carefully. I'm quite sure it is working at its full potential, but it just doesn't get very warm when you need it most. I won't be bringing this out with me in the future. Waste of money.

The hand warmer was a very poor copy of the 'Peacock hand warmer'. Almost impossible to get it to work properly as the top keeps on pinging off. The catalyst element was in parts when it arrived and needed re-assembling but didn't want to stay in place. Mine has already been consigned to the waste bin. Save your money, if you want one of these buy a Peacock Warmer, it may cost a little more but it is a world apart.

I was in the Infantry in Afghanistan last year. My Brother sent me one of these hand warmers and it was great. It got really cold in the mountains ,and this hand warmer made it bearable. Before got this my fingers got cold and numb and hurt like hell. I put the warmer in my pocket and it kept my hands nice and warm. It really cut down on the misery factor. If you have family or friends in the service, this would be a great gift.

Works great. Had problems at first trying to light them but once I found the secret they work fine.
Secret: Hold flame to wick at least for 10 seconds then before you put the metal top on let set for a few minutes.

I bought mine at [...]
It came with a spare burner and a pouch.
When I used it for the first time, it worked even though it didn't heat up really warm, not the way I wanted it to be. Positive side of this was that it lasted a long time, over 30 hrs. on full tank. Next time, I had hard time starting it. I finally light it up by holding the lighter flame for 15 or 20 seconds. Even then, warmth was barely there that I had to convince myself that it was working. It could have been the warmth from my body temp. The spare burner it came with didn't even work once.
After that, it just stopped working no matter how I tried it. I'm guessing they tried to save the cost of platinum, which is the most costly material on this.
I read all the reviews and comments in here and tried all the suggestions but no use, I have come to believe those suggestions were made by people work for the company sells this product. Isn't it strange that majority of reviewers rated 5 stars reviewed only this product? I invite you to look at all my reviews, so that you'll know I'm not a troll.
This is definitely not a subsitute for Hakukin(Peacock) hand warmers. Since it's not available in US, I'll try a Zippo next time.
If that doesn't work, there's a store operates in China on eBay which sells genuine Hakukin but the shippment costs a lot.

I would not recommend this to my worst enemy, much less my friends.

I bought both this version and the electric start version. Both work as claimed with no problems using either one. The electric start is a convenience if you are not a smoker or if you are trying to get it going in the wind. Otherwise, the manual start is just as good and a little less expensive.

I would/have recommend to a friend.

I got the handwarmer as a Christmas gift to help keep warm while fly fishing. Unfortunately it works great indoors but as soon as I'm outside it goes cold. I'm sure I've got it filled properly and that it's started. It's very warm before I put it in my pocket. But once I put it outside it just goes cold. As soon as I bring it indoors it starts to heat up again. It's a real bummer because it's a great idea if only it would work.