The single-use packets are inexpensive and simple to use: Just expose them to air and shake them. With their telltale orange packaging, HotHands is arguably the most recognizable hand-warmer brand - and they’re the favorite of four of our experts. To find the most effective and reliable options, I asked Burns and six other experts who have dealt extensively with cold hands in their careers and personal lives to share their recommendations. Most traditional hand warmers contain a mix of chemicals (like iron, salt, and activated carbon) that react when exposed to oxygen, though there are plenty of battery-operated options available as well. Hand warmers work in a few different ways, depending on the specific product. Perhaps most commonly marketed toward winter-sports enthusiasts, these palm-size heat packs can also come in handy when you’re sitting in the stands of an outdoor football stadium, working an outdoor job (or an indoor job in a chilly environment, like a poorly insulated building), or just commuting to and from work during a polar vortex. Burns says even the bulkiest mittens won’t cut it, so she supplements them with hand warmers. “Once winter hits, I can’t get by with gloves my frozen fingers just turn blue,” says Stacey Burns, a reproductive-rights advocate in Minneapolis who has Raynaud’s. It’s even tougher if you have a condition like Raynaud’s, which further limits blood flow to fingers and toes. But why is it that even after you’ve bundled up in layers of thermals and sweaters under a heavy-duty coat, your hands are still freezing? That’s because your body prioritizes keeping your most important organs warm, sending more blood flow to your core and less to your extremities. On frigid winter days, keeping yourself warm can be something of an art form. Photo-Illustration: The Strategist Photos: Retailers

Where to buy grabber hand warmers