Originally Posted by
gauvins
Anyone has used them? Tips?
---
We plan to ride from St. George UT to the Grand Canyon Village (south rim) next May, through Zion, Bryce and Page.
We expect below freezing temperatures at night in the Bryce area, maybe as low as 25F. Living in Quebec, I am familiar with cold temperatures (it's been -20C for more than a week now...) but have no experience with extended periods of time spent outdoors in fairly cold weather. I just know that after a day of cross country skiing, I wouldn't feel like spending the night out in a tent...
I plan to use one or 2 Zippo hand warmers to generate heat and avoid the unpleasant cold feeling that one experiences after a full day in the outdoors while the temperature plummets.
Would be glad to hear about experiences with such system, or other strategies as well.
This is not a major concern, as we can always ride to a lower altitude location if things get seriously unpleasant. But that would be a bummer, frankly, to race through such a beautiful place...
I've used the Zippo warmers, the chemical warmers, and the ones that you boil to re-charge with the metal disk in them. The Zippo's always worked best for me and lasted the longest. The only thing I will recommend with them is to keep them somewhere relatively windproof, and dry. IE: if you keep them in a pocket, don't put them in one that is prone to getting wet with sweat. I've had them go out on me under both conditions.