Ever heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as bad weather—just bad clothes”? This most definitely applies to hand warmers too.
With the right hand warmer, you can pleasantly recreate in virtually any cold-weather setting and still enjoy toasty-warm digits.
After putting 11 warmers through their paces, taking long, chilly walks and spending longer, snowy days in the mountains, we concluded that the Zippo HeatBank 9s Plus Rechargeable Hand Warmer is the best hand warmer to carry in your pocket.
If you need a slimmer hand warmer to tuck into a glove, we have a recommendation for that as well.
Top pick
The Zippo HeatBank 9s Plus Rechargeable Hand Warmer fits snugly in a coat pocket and stays hot for 5 hours and 40 minutes—that’s multiple back-to-back chilly soccer games, a long evening by the campfire, or any other activity during which your hands can stay protected in your pocket.
The Zippo HeatBank has six heat settings and a slew of helpful features, such as the ability to charge your phone and serve as a flashlight. You need to plan ahead if you want to use the warmer, though, as it takes two hours to charge. It’s also pricey and isn’t sold in pairs.
Budget pick
The Ocoopa UT3 Lite rechargeable hand warmers are sold as a pair, which is useful, since you have two hands and might want them equally warm without paying double.
These stayed warm for a respectable 5 hours and 20 minutes in our testing—just 20 minutes less than our top pick—and come with a forked charging cable, which means you just need one USB-A port to charge both.
Like our top pick, they’re a little too big to fit into mittens comfortably—they’re more suitable for in-pocket use. They have only three temperature settings, making them less adjustable than our top pick, and they offer no extra functions: no flashlight, no power bank.
Best for
HotHands Hand Warmers are inexpensive, effective hand warmers that are small enough for in-glove use.
These are the heaters you want if you need your hands outside your pockets in the cold—for skiing or yard work or the like. (Though you could certainly stash them in your pockets too.)
They heat up quickly to a comfortable temperature, last for about five and half hours, and are readily available at big-box stores, outdoor stores, and even most drugstores in cold climes. However, they’re disposable, which creates waste.