At first I was leery of an $8 heating pad (I mean, come on I can run on over to Amazon and get a three pack for about 10 to 15 bucks, though they're certainly not shaped very lovingly), and once it arrived... well, my attitude didn't change. But, we ordered them because they're "cute", so we'll see if the appearance and the function are anywhere close to each other.





First of all, out of the box the pad just looks like a red-gel filled, heart shaped plastic pouch. While it is soft (thank the gel), the plastic is fairly smooth. It's not soft like silicone, but it's not bad against the skin. The seams along the edges is typical of plastic joined... it could slice you up if you run it across your skin. In whole, it's a little more than 5" across, and about an inch thick.



So what makes it so special? When you "click" the metal disc inside, the gel rapidly begins its transformation from a gel, to a fairly solid material. While it's transforming (and heating up), it looks like a rolling white cloud, slowly expanding inside the pouch. There was a little confusion initially about "activating" the metal disc. The directions say to bend the disc, however, it's much more of a snap of the disc; the goal here is to literally snap the disc almost completely in half. You'll know it's right when you hear the disc actually snap, and then the rapid growth of the white material inside.

So how about using it? Typically I also put a paper towel between the plastic surface of any chemical heating or cooling pouch, as the temperature can cause burns (hot or cold) when in direct contact with the skin. The heat is actually decent. It gets warm enough to help relieve any muscle pain, and it lasts (at nearly full temperature) for close to an hour. So for $8 you get a single hour of heat? Oh no... it reheats easily... sort of. You can reheat the pouch in hot water (not boiling), but according to the directions (and heed their warning) you should put a small towel/wash cloth in the bottom of the pot, since the pad will likely sink to the bottom and then... melt, which would render it pretty useless (not to mention the mess in the pot).

It was great for the moment, but reheating these things gets old after a while. Sure, the heart is cute (quite the novelty), but after the few I bought from Eden, I've decided to stick with the drug store brand instant heat packs instead. Save me the headache of heating a pot of water with a small towel at the bottom of the pot to prevent melting of the plastic.