Thermal-Aid Zoo Animals - Happy The Hippo - Heatable Therapeutic Stuffed Animals for Kids - Hot & Cold Therapy - Ice Pack & Heating Pack

We have tried a lot of heating cooling packs over the years, but we really like this one. It's well made and cute, which when you have a sick kid actually goes a long way. We got this when my daughter was having ear aches since it seemed a little more cuddly that a regular hot pack. My daughter fell in love with it and now she warms it up just to cuddle when she goes to bed.The material inside is really unusual, most heat packs are way too hot to start and then cool off really quickly. 45 seconds in the microwave and this one is exactly the right temperature, but the nice thing is that it holds that level of warmth pretty constantly for over a half an hour, and then remains slightly warm for another 15 minutes or so. (Yes I timed it, I am a nerd). So it's a really comfortable temperature for longer than most.I was a little worried about the all cotton covering and whether it would get stained easily. We found out pretty quickly when my daughter put it in the microwave with a little spilled pizza sauce. I hand washed it in the sink with a little soap and it came right out. I'll add pictures of that.Overall solid product, definitely recommend for kids who need a heating pack. I have not yet tried it as a cold pack.

I bought two of these for gifts this year; one for my daughter and one for my niece. They are both in college. My niece sleeps in a cold dorm and I wanted her to know I was thinking of her in regards to the cold. As for my daughter, she is always trying to steal my rice and buckwheat warming bags so I thought this would be cute for her to have at college. Both girls genuinely love this little guy. Who doesn't need a "Happy the Hippo?!" I would say, the body that is warmed is very small. So, it is definitely most appropriate for a small child. I would love to see the company make a bigger version of these.

I am honestly surprised by how great this hippo has been. My six year old LOVES it. He carries it everywhere and says it's his favourite toy. Which, frankly, is weird to me because he has never, ever, literally ever, had a toy he was attached to. And I've tried giving him varying things but he just isn't oriented that way, he spends more of his time running about and being super physical then he does playing with toys. So to see him carrying this hippo everywhere, cuddling it at night etc is kind of amazing. Also, he's able to heat it in the microwave himself, which I think helps. Plus it being warm really is lovely for him. I've found it takes one full minute in our tiny microwave, the recommended 30seconds does nothing. Once microwaved it helps to squish the grains around some to really distribute the heat. It's not super soft and silky like your standard polyester plushy. It has the feel and texture of a soft bath towel. Which is great. I'm also just so happy it's made of cotton. The arms, head and legs are stuffed with what I assume is polyester fiberfill (they're soft/squishy) and the main body has the corn grains. I like that my children are cuddling something mostly natural (I got the little one for my 3month old).It's also easy to spot clean. I honestly do wish it was totally washable, as that would be easier. But cleaning as they recommend (using a wet soapy cloth, then wiping soap off with a wet not soapy cloth, then hanging to dry) works quite well.So far it's been microwaved every morning and evening for a while, and we have had no issues with smoldering or weird smells. Though I'm checking it regularly due to some of the other reviews. Instructions also say to leave time in-between heating it, I assume to help prevent the fire issues, so we've been doing that.I'm planning to buy a second hipppo to keep as backup in case anything happens to our current one, as my son is so happy with it. I really recommend this toy. It's all round so useful. And the heating function really works, I've totally used it myself to soothe a sore neck!

This was a Christmas gift for my granddaughter. She absolutely loved it. She’s already named her and her parents heat up the unicorn in the microwave and my granddaughter takes her in the car to help fight off the chill.

This holds heat very well. Was much bigger than I expected; Super cute too! Loved that I could use my HSA for this.