No Matter how much I love camping and the outdoors, the one thing I can do without is the cold.
Years ago I was at the doctors’ office having a checkup and telling the doctor all my little issues. One of the things I brought up was that my hands and feet are always cold. We discussed the issue and he suggested that I may have a form of Raynaud’s disease. Raynaud’s disease cause is unknown and causes blood vessels to narrow when you get cold or stressed. Then when blood flow returns to your hands they tend to throb and my even tingle a bit.
When I started camping on a regular basis with scouts I had a hard time sleeping because my hands and feet would get so cold that I was not having a very good time. One time I was getting supplies for our next outing and found some hand warmers at Big 5, I wondered they were worth getting. So, of course a got a few of them.
Not knowing how long they would last, I tried not to use them until I actually got cold one night. I opened the plastic packaging and thought, I hope this works. Within a few minutes they started to get warm. I held onto them all night, FINALLY, I got good nights rest. I should have found these a long time ago!
Now I buy them in bulk, I even keep one in my purse for emergencies. I purchase the Grabber Warmers brand of hand warmer and have not been disappointed. In fact, I get the 7+ hours hand warmers and they will last all night, and usually into the morning through breakfast.
The hand warmers have made my camping experiences that much better. Now I don’t ever worry about getting cold.
The Grabber Warmers brand of hand warmer is air activated. It contains iron, vermiculite, carbon, cellulose and salt. When air hits the iron, oxidation begins creating rust which releases heat. Some other chemicals in the warmer help to distribute the heat evenly. That is why it is important not to puncture the plastic surrounding the hand warmer until you are ready to use them.
Grabber makes warmers for hands, toe warmers with adhesive, so they stay where you put them, soul warmers for the whole foot, and a large body warmer – these even come with adhesive too. Most of their warmers come in 7, 10 and 24 hours worth of warm time. I have also noticed that the Grabber brand has no odor at all, nothing on my hands or clothing. The warmers I get are about 3″ X 2″, just the right size for my hand. They also fit nicely inside a glove, either in my palm or on the back of my hand.
I have found that I can buy the Grabber warmers in a box with 40 pairs for under $20.00 at Amazon.
When camping with “Newbies”…
(people who are new to camping) they see me as quite content even when it really cold out. Then I show them my secret hand warmers in my pockets. I always bring all that I have so I can share with those who are not prepared. When I check on the new and young scouts, to see how they are doing, I make sure that they are warm enough, its amazing how many scouts forget their jackets when we are on outings. When needed I give them a few hand warmers and tell them next time they need to bring some for me! They are always thankful and take care of me on the next outing
If the scouts do not have a pleasurable experience their first few times camping, it will be really hard to get them to go on other outings. I find this especially true with backpacking, if you are taking scouts or anyone backpacks for the first time, try to make it as fun and comfortable as possible so they will want to have that experience again.
As always I love to share! Please tell me if you have every tried hand warmers and the brand you like best.
Yours in Scouting,
Mrs. Scoutmaster, Irene
PS. Check out my story here!