Boot Dryers
December 22, 2004
17 posts
10 users
7k+ views
Any recommendations for boot and glove dryers (single pair dryer would be sufficient)
Thanks
Peet's boot/glove dryers.
http://www.peetshoedryer.com/ Quiet, packs down to a small box for travel, no super/overheating of liners, available at hunting/camping shops. $cheap$
Build your own with a hair dryer, pvc pipe, hose, and clamps. You could probably dry 4 pairs of boots on one hair dryer if you had enough PVC pipe. Note that Unniversal Duck tape may be used in place of ruber hose and clamps.
Catskills, that's just great. Last weak you cudn't even spell injunier, now you are one
. Did you dry fit it together so it could be taken apart for transport?
One suggestion, if anyone decides to go the Duck tape route, be sure to use the fireproof variety.
jimmy
Can you damge the heat moldable boot liners by drying them with a hot item like a hair dryer?
I have one of those "passive" systems that just heats up some tubes that you drop into your shoes/boots. They seem to work ok as far as i can tell and pack easily -- they do need several hours to work however (possibly slower than the forced air dryers...)
KevR,
I have a very similar set of boot dryers. The salesman (store in Vermont) claimed that they weren't drying out (and damaging) your boots via heat, but the heating was causing air circulation. Since the tubes are relatively hot to the touch, I've always wondered about that claim...
I know a couple of people who take their liners out each night to dry. That's not workable for me, since with custom insoles in the bottom of my boot, it is extremely difficult to get my liners back into the shell. Every single ski shop employee who has tried to do so has struggle immensely, so it's not just my lack of coordination.
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Can you damge the heat moldable boot liners by drying them with a hot item like a hair dryer?
A little bit of that depends on the specific liner you speak of- The Salomon XWave liners for instance have a limited number of moulds to them before you pack them out irreparably. Heating softens the foam, allowing you to compact it. I wouldn't even think of using a hair dryer on these or my Tecnica Hot Forms. Fortunately, with the Peets I don't have to since the heat is just enough to generate convective flow. (They are barely perceptibly warm to the touch).
My Thermoflexes are designed to be remoulded entirely at something like 195-210F and heating them -expands- the foam. I wouldn't really worry about them on a hair dryer.
In any case, a handheld hair dryer is actually a pretty bad choice for drying anything except maybe hair. Ever wonder why sit-in-place hood-style hair dryers were invented? Because a hand hair dryer is primarily a styling/brushing tool.
I just got the Salamon Ellipse 9.0 boots this season. I noticed that after drying them over night with the liner out of the boots it still was slightly damp in the morning. Hmm...
Fill 'em up with wadded newspaper.
I guess the passive system works by heating the surrounding air in the boot high enough to speed up evaporation, whereas the active systems pull air across the surface of the interior of the boot for the same effect. The other way would be to push air into the boot, perhaps heated for the same effect again.
To me they all seem (rather intuitively I might add) like they SHOULD do the job and its not clear one method is superior to the other.
Of the systems I've used however, I felt the active (pull) wa a bit faster than the passive.
But sitting here thinking about it -- does the passive system actually speed up evaporation?
I have the "Passive Boot" driers, they work fairly well. I also use them to warm up my ski boots on super cold mornings so that my boots don't crush my arches on the first couple of runs.
I have never taken the on an airplane, as I would worry that the TSA might mistake them for a couple of sticks of TNT. Just think of the hassle that would cause.
I have flown with them no problem in the last 2 yrs. Thought the same thing but they are just hollow plastic tubes, I don't think they look like anything interesting much under an x-ray machine
I have a pair of Thermoair Plus driers. The look like a very large hockey puck with an expandable flex tube on one side and a shorter, stiffer tube on the other. The longer flex tube fits inside my boot and angle out towards the toe. The cuff of the boot then clamps around the hockey puck. Slightly warmed air (about 90-95 F) is blown into the boot by a fan mounted in the puck and it circulates down the boot and out the flexible tube. The air exits the short tube where you can stick a glove for drying.
I find they work extremely well in that the air is warmed, but not too warm (less than body temperature) so the liner does not deform and the circulation really dries things up. The only draw back is that the fan gets a bit noisy - two of them are very noticeable noise wise. When I take them out west, they usually sit in the hall furthest from the bedroom! Otherwise, they are great.
I would echo sentiments NOT to use a hair dryer (with or without PVC set ups). Hair driers are meant for very short term use and can easily overheat. There are heat sensing shut off switches to prevent operation when they get that hot, but if the switch fails, you can very easily have a fire. Ever wonder why there's a warning on the label of some hairdryers NOT to use them overnight or as a standing drier? Don't do it when you can buy specially made boot driers for what you need. Yes, the cost a bit more than a hair drier and PVC, but is the real risk of fire really worth the $20 difference?
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Catskills, that's just great. Last weak you cudn't even spell injunier, now you are one . Did you dry fit it together so it could be taken apart for transport?
One suggestion, if anyone decides to go the Duck tape route, be sure to use the fireproof variety.
jimmy
Hey Jimmy, Good point. I didn't even know they made fireproof duck tape. I will have to update my duck tape knowledge data base. If duck tape is good enough to save Apollo 13, then its good enough for a boot dryer. BTW I did not build that hair dryer boot dryer above. I found it and thought I would have some fun with it. I do agree that the hair dryer would probably be too hot for ski boots.
I do have the Caframo boot dryer shown in the picture above, which only heats the air ever so slightly. For $50 for this commercial quality boot dryer its a great deal. It works great but at the end of the season I still pull my foot bed and liner out because there is still water in there that NO boot dryer will get to.
I also have a small Therm-ic boot dryer I take in my luggage on long ski trips.
BTW don't be surprised if you boot dryer is taken appart by airport personel. My freinds was in peices when he opened his luggage at Jackson Hole. For you spell checkers out there enjoy the previous too sentences. :-)
