Winter Cycling - reusing hand or toe warmers

if the hand warmer is labeled as being good for 7 hours but I only use it for 1 hour on my ride to work this morning - can I wrap it in plastic (depriving it of air) for 8 hours and then use it again for another hour for my trip home tonight?

Yes, stick it in a ziplock and suck all the air out.

Yes, stick it in a ziplock and suck all the air out.

ok??? let us know how this actually worked out.

the type I like are the rechargeable type. boil in water after use to split the chemicals back into their parts and reuse. those that are oxygen dependent are not rechargeable.

it's in 2 bags now and when I checked before they didn't feel warm at all (through the bags). I didn't suck on the bags but they're pretty much void of air spaces. I will certainly let you know how this all turns out. (later tonight most likely)

It works quite well putting "Grabber MyCoal" non-rechargable handwarmers into a
baby food jar to starve them of oxygen and turn them off. I never knew there were
boil-to-recharge warmers, do you have a brand name or link to a supplier?

I've done it with a heat sealer we had where I work. Sealed them up when I got there and opened again the next morning. I got about 10 uses (10 days) at 30 min each before they start degrading... even then they still work, just not as warm.

It works quite well putting "Grabber MyCoal" non-rechargable handwarmers into a
baby food jar to starve them of oxygen and turn them off. I never knew there were
boil-to-recharge warmers, do you have a brand name or link to a supplier?

it's been a few years since I used them. REI had them at the time. will search.....

http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/home/product-information/magic-gel-reusable-handwarmer.html

something like this...

or here.... http://cgi.ebay.com.my/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380185943642

I just bought a bunch of Hot Hands 2 hand warmers. On amazon you can get 40 sets (80 total) for under $25. Not much need to reuse at that price.

conversely - not much need for a whole case if I can reuse them! -)

re-using a regular hand warmer works. I wrapped it up again and I may be able to use it again later in the week. I'm driving the car for a work assignment tomorrow.

Yes, it works, can stay inactive for a good while if the container is very well sealed. The boil type handwarmers can be reused for longer, but i find they only give 15-20 minutes of usable heat, while working however, they do give out more heat.

Also, it is important to note, if you treat the pouch roughly before opening, ( the original pouch the pack was sold in ) then when you come to use it, you'll find it hard and lumpy, all used up.

Lee Valley Tools sells reusable ones:
Lee Valley (http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=52295&cat=2,40725,45454)

I can't recommend them though: like coldfeet, I find they don't stay warm long enough.... plus, one of the ones I had broke while I was boiling it to recharge it, so I took them back.

They might be okay in a climate a bit warmer than Ottawa's.

I got some reusable ones off ebay for the princely sum of £4 for 4! They work well and fit nicely into the pocket on my gloves.

yep! got two more uses out of it - a ride and a ride home. so I think that makes 6 uses? each use was about an hour or an hour and 20 minutes.

not having baby-food jars handy, I put them in an empty Tylenol container