HEAT WAVE Instant Reusable Heat Pack - LARGE (8 x 12 inches)

Delivered within the promised time. good job.Product is also working fine.

I bought this product after having purchased a similar and smaller heart-shaped product which I love. This is a large size which I need to fold in half and put into a large pot to restore it before the next use. I have used this product about 6 times so far with no problems at all. I do worry slightly that the product must be folded in order to insert it into a large pot. The vinyl case seems to stretch and has not torn; but I worry that repeated stretching might eventually cause a leak. The small disk which floats inside is much more difficult to activate the chemical reaction which causes the heat. I think this is a good feature rather than a bad one. My other heat pack (small heart shape) has a metal disk which does not have the supporting plastic like this one. I would say that this one is better because there is much less chance to activate this one due to accidentally bending the disk. Overall, this has been a great product so far even though I do worry about bending it to boil it. I never worry about the vinyl case of this one or my smaller one melting in the pot due to the boiling water. I typically use these to heat my bed in the wintertime. I would say the heat lasts at least 2 hours, so it works great to keep me warm and I am always sleeping by the time it cools down at which time I don't need it any more. The time to boil and recover this is shorter than stated - about 20 minutes.

I bought this heat pack specifically to keep melted chocolate (in a bowl) at the proper temperature while dishing the chocolate into molds. It works well, although I still need to work quickly before the chocolate goes out of 'temper'. Overall though, the pack doesn't keep it's warmth for more than a few hours at the most.To return the pack to it's pre-heated condition for reuse, you must follow precise instructions regarding boiling the pack. It is ESSENTIAL you follow the instructions properly. If you try 'boiling' it in a frying pan or some such ridiculous way, it is going to burst.If you can follow instructions and use some patience, this pack will help fulfill short-term heat pack needs over and over.

I bought these for camping. We camp in the Rockie Mountains from early spring throughout late fall and with Colorado weather being fickle, we've been snowed on multiple times. I am always freezing, I'm often unable to heat my sleeping bag because my wonderful body just doesn't produce warmth. So, I bought a heat wave pack, crack it and drop it into the bottom of my bag & it keeps me warm for at least two hours if not longer. By the time it cools I've created enough heat in the bag to keep me warm through the night.Update - 03.16.17 - I was resetting the packs as a I normally do, in a pot of boiling water and both set of seams burst and destroyed the heat pads. They were only in the water for 7 mins and I had reset them this method 20 times before. Super disappointed. I will buy to more because I need them for camping but maybe not from the same company. The smaller version I have from a different company has lasted me two years with no issue so I wonder if these two had a manufacture defect.

It started off working great. However, after a few uses the liquid would start turn into an odd "jelly"-like form on its own after about the fourth use, and I have only used it five or six times. It wouldn't heat up by itself, but it appeared as if I didn't boil it long enough. I usually boiled the pack for the amount of time suggested in the directions, and later I tried boiling it for longer to no avail. It would appear fine after I finished boiling it, but the next day it starts to jelly up again. The heat pack still heats up just fine, but I'm worried that the lifespan is shortened.If not for the odd change, then it would have gotten the full five stars because it feels great. If it does lose its lifespan, then I will remove a star.

My husband has severe back pain and uses this as a portable and reusable option to provide comfort.The recharge isn't -hard- but it takes long enough that you can't just do it before running out the door in the morning; you have to think ahead. That said, it achieves a very nice heat output and duration, is durably made, and has recharged perfectly every time. While it's initially much more expensive than even a box of disposable instant heat pads, the ability to reuse it makes it worth it.Make sure you recharge it in a heavy duty pan where heat is well distributed and you're less likely to have intense heat spots that might melt the outer shell; also make sure the water is already hot before you put the pad in it.I haven't tried with this one, but I have been able to recharge a small handwarmer version (same brand) with hot water heated in a microwave while I didn't have access to a stove. It might not work as well with a larger pad, but if you want to try, the method is basically to have two microwave-safe containers large enough to cover the pad with water, heat one (WITHOUT THE PAD - NEVER PUT THE PAD IN THE MICROWAVE), then heat the other while the pad soaks in the first, and keep switching and reheating the 'off' container's water until all the crystals have melted and the gel is entirely opaque again. Note that if the pad begins to cool before -all- the crystals are 'melted', it will reharden and you'll have to start all over; I do not recommend this method.