If you love Hot Pockets, you know all about the simple joy of sinking your teeth into that crispy outside and then scalding your taste buds on the hot, oozy filling that’s just so delectable you couldn’t possibly wait for it to cool down. But much like the times, Hot Pockets are a-changin’. The brand just announced the official retirement of the Hot Pocket sleeve—and the internet is kind of losing its mind.
In August, when we taste tested the new(ish) BBQ Beef Hot Pockets, we noticed that they came sans crisper sleeves. We thought maybe it was an unfortunate oversight, because, tbh, the Hot Pocket we tried didn’t really get crispy without it. And commenters were disturbed, too. “Omg no I was not aware it no longer has a sleeve!” one user said. Another added, “Since when?? I bought some a couple of months ago and they had the sleeve!” Alas, Hot Pockets are officially going sleeveless—and they have a promotion going on right now to help people warm up to the news (literally).
Really? No more Hot Pocket sleeve? How will they ever make this up to us?
Earlier this month, Hot Pockets launched a campaign to celebrate the official departure of the Hot Pocket sleeve—and it’s a lot more on-theme than expected. The brand announced the release of a holiday sweater with zip-off sleeves, selling for $40 exclusively on their website, “because sleeves are so last year.” There are three more drops you can still get in on, one of them today (October 29), and two more on November 19 and December 3, respectively.
The sweater features a distressed, melting snowman (he’s melting because Hot Pockets are hot, see) and, of course, the detachable zipper sleeves that are intended to ring in this new post-Hot Pocket sleeve era. Still, the sweater is cold comfort to people who loved the sleeve. “They’re not as good, the crust is like waxy almost. The sleeve being a carry case was a huge perk of hot pockets they used in advertising,” one Reddit user wrote. But a lot of Hot Pockets fans have argued the sleeve has become obsolete in the age of the air fryer.
Hot Pockets was offering a reusable, dishwasher-safe holding sleeve for free, but sadly it’s been “sold” out for a while. And anyway, that sleeve isn’t going to help crisp your Hot Pocket if you’re still cooking them in the microwave rather than the air fryer. For those mourning the loss of an iconic part of Hot Pockets culture, we hope the sweater is consolation—though we understand that maybe sleeves belong on some clothing (and some foods, apparently).
