[Stefan]

Scrooge, I am a person who has done multiple weekend trips where I would go out both days on weekends in winter and no matter how much goo I applied to my boots, I would still have wet feet. I have come across this several times in my climbing career. What I found best for me and the cheapest was a fan on the boots in my garage. I propped them open so that the boot opening was faced toward the fan. I usually would have some dampness in the toes still by the next day, but that was no problem because I always keep my boots inside of the car when I drive to a climbing outing making sure my boots are warm. One time I was a little concerned about the dryness of the air, so I put a tub of water in front of the fan making it a “swamp cooler”. Another answer is that you should purchase plastic boots for the winter where the liner comes out and can be dryed without the problem leather has. I knew a friend who bought a pair of plastics for $25 from REI in Lynnwood when they were selling their rental equipment. But you know what the absolute BEST answer is? OWN TWO PAIRS OF BOOTS!

[salish]

[pianodirt]

new here, it's an older thread but... Maybe not good for leather, but for synthetic (such as my train running shoes), in the dishwasher "heated dry" cycle on top rack so laces don't melt/catch fire has worked well. It takes some finessing though, usually a cycle or two to dry out all the water from the last wash cycle (i don't normally use the heat dry) and then a few more cycles to dry them well. Opening between cycles helps release some of the moist air. But I'm checking into the Peet boot dryer so I don't have to be so vigilant and maybe it uses less electricity.

[Voyageur]

I have been using the same peet boot dryer for over 30 years. I have used it to dry logging boots and climbing boots and everything inbetween to trail runners and never had any problem using this method. I always remove the insole when I put the boot on the dryer so that the whole boot can dry out. I have always got a lot of wear out of all my footwear by keeping them dry and applying grease as needed. In fact I just bought my daughter a peet boot dryer now that she is working with the conservation corps and in the mud and wet all the time. I have had the same peet boot dryer for over 30 years and have never had a problem with it, as far as I am concerned you cannot go wrong with one of these if you are concerned about your boots.

[foggy]

Thanks for the terrific tips everyone, I've been pondering how to get my boots dry, not only did they get snow filled, but some dumba$$, I won't mention her name left her boots on the bumper of the truck and went to bed, arised Sunday morning to find about an inch of rain in them.

[Dante]

Timber Cruiser, do you think unlined boots (like many logger style boots) dry faster than lined and padded hiking boots? I do. I had an old pair of Asolo Allegras or Allegros. They were not padded and just had a layer of glove leather in the well sculpted back of the upper. They dried much faster than the padded boots I have owned subsequently. Also, I could dry one-layer combat boots pretty quickly. My feet sweat a lot. I'd love to find something like those old Alegros with a one-pece hiking-style upper. The only unlined boots I see now are work, hunting (moc toe) or combat boots with multi-part uppers. P.S. I think BPJ has a picture of me standing on a sleeping pad in my socks in the snow warming boots that I let (a) get wet and (b) freeze over a stove. I had to thaw them out before I could open them up enough to put them on

[MooseAndSquirrel]

How noisy is the Peets indoor model? Is it... *Quiet as a mouse *Like a summer cooling fan *Or a hair dryer on low *A screaming banshee Or a description of your choice. Thank you.

[Timber Cruiser]

[quote="DJ"]Timber Cruiser, do you think unlined boots (like many logger style boots) dry faster than lined and padded hiking boots? I'm sure they do. The exception would be in warmer weather the lining might wick away moisture (sweat) that otherwise would be soaked up by the leather.

[iron]

digging up an OLDDDD thread here: anyone have any in-field boot drying methods that don't involve using fuel to heat water for nalgenes? would newspaper be "best". i'm picturing something for when you get to camp.

[Bernardo]

One instruction that Dave Page gave me once after I brought in a pair a boots for repair is to remove the insoles after every use. Since then I've obeyed and my boots dry a lot faster. I believe he is right that the increased air circulation protects the leather to sole bond from deteriorating. I usually just leave the insoles standing up in the boots and this seems to work fine.

[George Winters]

This is an easy and cheap DYI boot dryer

room temp fan drive boot drier

one fan blows into boots, one fan circulates outside the boots

I made this boot dryer based on what I had seen at a ski rental business. The large box holds an inner box with forced air through the boots, the second fan forces air through the box. There is no heat. I keep it in the garage and even in cold weather it is very effective overnight drying. The system uses very little energy, the fans are less than 5 watts each, so this will dry four boots with less energy and no danger to the boots compared to a heated dryer. I have seen many boots ruined by heated drying. I can add gloves and socks on the sides, but they don't dry quite as quickly. I take out the insole and place it inside too. When only one pair of boots is drying, I cover the other pipes with gloves or socks.

[iron]

[Schenk]

Saying any heat is bad for boots is a bit off. The adhesives used in boots these days can stand the heat from those little toe warmers or Peet dryers (and similar) and the leather certainly isn't going to be bothered by 120 degrees or lower. I have used those Grabber or Toasty-toes foot warmers inside a sock in my ski boots on overnight BC ski trips. I usually wake up once and replace them towards the morning. It doesn't dry them fully but my boots are drier than the night before and warmed up a little in the morning. The tip about removing insoles is spot on. I wear my socks to bed (in my synthetic sleeping bag) and those dry out nicely.

[jared_j]

Where's BigSteve? He usually has the solution to all of your damp footwear needs (and a few insults to your intelligence free of charge).

[iron]