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Hand Warmer Pouch

Jammintree

Jammintree

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2021
Messages
2,184
So I’m considering making mysel a nice hand warmer pouch for hunting in and out of a saddle. I was hoping that some of you who have experience using them might offer some critique of the pouches you have used. What design factors made them good or bad for your hunting purposes? Any general observations or experiences from you can help me design myself a perfect pouch. Thanks!
 
I had one a long time ago that I lost. A couple things I’d recommend - make it washable. Use bright colored material so it’s easy to find. Use outer layer material that maybe insulates a bit so it won’t burn your hands.
 
Jammintree said:
So I’m considering making mysel a nice hand warmer pouch for hunting in and out of a saddle. I was hoping that some of you who have experience using them might offer some critique of the pouches you have used. What design factors made them good or bad for your hunting purposes? Any general observations or experiences from you can help me design myself a perfect pouch. Thanks!
Click to expand...
A couple of things.

Make the openings large enough in diameter so that you can jamb your arms in up well into your forearms. (Too many hand warmer muffs have openings that are small and barely large enough to insert to your wrists. This is a reflection of a poor design, since your wrists are a collection of fabric from your base layer to you insulation layer and outer layer, and your release for an archery hunter. Said differently it is a cold spot.).

If you want to use a separate attachment method of the handwarmer, keep the webbing separate from the handwarmer body. (Poor description, I know.). Don’t sew or attach the handwarmer to the webbing. Less likely to rip when you bend over and your handwarmer gets caught on your boots or something near your feet and you stand up and rip the webbing off the handwarmer. It happens. Side benefit it is also easier to wash.

Make the handwarmer in the shape of a V, not a straight tube. Harder to sew. Harder to design. But more ergonomic IMO.

The best handwarmer pouch I have is actually the big bulky ice breaker boot blankets. I use them when it is brutally cold out. Nothing else comes close. They are like sleeping bags for your hands, with 300 grams of insulation. And my fingers have never gotten cold while using them for my hands. (Yes, I am taking about their boot blankets - they are made for boots! I am not taking about their handwarmer!). They have a loop near the top of each boot blanket. I run a piece of webbing through each loop like a belt, and wear if around my waist. They hang on each side of my body. Because of their large opening, I can jamb my arms into them up to my forearms, which keeps my wrists and fingers warm. And when I need to take my hands out for a shot, they fall down to below my waist, out of the way.

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Great suggestions.

I was considering a buckskin pouch lined with bobcat fur, but that wouldn’t be easy to wash.
 
I bought one of the old style Trophyline ones made out of neoprene with a faux fur lining and it can get too warm. It has a zipper pouch for hand warmers but I've rarely needed them down to 0°F temps. I looked on their website and it looks like some other new design now and I can't really say how effective it would be. I do know the neoprene outer definitely helped keep my hands warm in windy and damp conditions so maybe that would be something to look into.
I can take pictures if needed just let me know!
 
My favorite one is a sleeve off of an old sheepshin coat, I ran a cord thru the sleeve and tied it into a loop that I place around my neck , when I take my hands out of the muff it stays put.
 
Bought one this year. My coat pockets are always blocked off by my bridge & saddle. Eager to try it out.Screenshot_20230825-102526_Gallery.jpg
 
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