For those of us who live in cold climates during the winter months, there’s one thing we can all agree on: Wet and cold winter boots are the worst. Whether you ski, hike or prefer to play out in the snow, having a dry pair of boots is imperative, especially since wet boots don’t magically dry on their own overnight. Fortunately though, with the help of a boot dryer, those wet boots can be dry in no time, ready for their next use.
In my household, a boot dryer has a permanent space in the corner of our family room throughout the entire winter. In fact, it sometimes even makes an appearance during the summer after a massive rainstorm. And while it’s great for use at home, it’s heavy and takes up a lot of space. So for our travel-loving family — especially one that frequently visits the mountains — we decided to test a travel-friendly alternative. Enter the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer.
But did this compact dryer actually dry our boots? We ultimately tested this dryer over many wet situations — after a day of skiing, playing in the snow and even on a rainy day. We also compared the drying time against a more heavy-duty (and not as portable) boot dyer, the DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer. So, how did this travel boot dryer work out for this outdoorsy family?
Want to ensure you have dry boots and sneakers after a wet day? This boot dryer packs the power to remove moisture from most damp and cold boots in a travel-friendly, compact size. While it takes longer on soaking wet items, for damp boots, this dryer does the trick.
What we liked about it
The dryer can be used from anywhere
The DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer is comprised of two connected orange units — one for each boot or shoe. Each of the units features a fan at the front, which uses forced air and a convection system to heat to 99 degrees Fahrenheit and remove any moisture from a set of boots. The units can plug into either a 120V AC or 12V DC power adaptor. In other words, you can truly dry your boots from anywhere, either at a hotel from an electrical outlet or from your car’s auxiliary power outlet.
The dryer’s fan is incredibly quiet, to a point where you might not even think the dryer is working. This is perfect if you’re drying your boots in a common shared space, such as a hotel room. And if you need to run the dryer overnight, it shouldn’t keep you awake.
Turning on the boot dryer is easy and intuitive. However, there’s no timer, which means the dryer will continue to run until you manually turn it off. This works well if you’re looking to run the dryer overnight, but not if you’re looking to have it heat up your boots for just a short amount of time while you’re away.
It’s extremely portable
When traveling, the last thing you want to do is have to pay for an extra large and heavy item — especially if you’re checking luggage and trying to avoid baggage fees. But at just 1.25 pounds, with the ability to fit in a gallon-size bag, the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer is easy to throw in a carry-on suitcase, boot bag, backpack or even your pocketbook.
In fact, during a recent ski trip, I was able to store the portable boot dryer in my inside jacket pocket, allowing us to warm up our gloves at the summit lodge during lunch. During this extremely cold and wet day, using the boot dryer for something other than our boots was a life-saver.
Another favorite use of the portable travel dryer we found: giving our ski and snowboard boots some extra warmth before we reached the mountain via our car’s power outlet. And you don’t need to carry a separate adapter with you in order to use the warmer in the car, as it comes as part of the included wiring. We found that turning the dryer on about 30 minutes before we arrived at the mountain was the perfect amount of time to give our boots that extra bit of warmth. And no one can deny that being able to put on toasty boots can get your feet off to the right start — especially on a cold day.
It works in moderate weather conditions
We tested the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer after many days of skiing (in all different weather conditions), playing out in the snow and even in a torrential downpour. We also compared the portable dryer’s functionality with the more heavy-duty DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer.
In one of our tests, we dried one boot using the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer and the other using the DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer after a damp day out in the snow. After the 30-minute mark, both boots were pretty dry, though the one using the travel dryer was just a hair less so. We kept the travel dryer in the boot for another 20 minutes and the final result was a completely moisture-free boot. While the travel dryer didn’t dry the boot as quickly, it only took 50 minutes in total, which we found to be a greatly accelerated speed compared to no dryer at all.
It works on gloves — with a caveat
DryGuy warns that the device isn’t fit for use with gloves; however, we tried it anyway to see if you can get more use out of the portable device than just boots. After a day of skiing, we put the travel dryer in one glove and another glove on the larger, heavy-duty boot dryer. At about the 25-minute mark, the glove on the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer was mostly dry with a slight dampness in the fingertips, though still wearable. The glove on the heavy-duty DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer was also dry, though with less moisture at the fingertips and the glove felt slightly warmer overall. So we were pleased to find that the portable dryer did indeed dry our glove.
We asked DryGuy about the warning for use with gloves and were told that the insulation typically found in gloves isn’t as breathable as with boots. DryGuy warns against glove usage to avoid the device getting too hot, and thus being unsafe. One Amazon reviewer did state that after leaving the dryer in their gloves overnight, it stopped working. In our testing, however, the dryer didn’t ruin our gloves and instead did exactly what we were hoping for — dried them out. If you do elect to use the dryer on your gloves, keep an eye on the device and make sure it doesn’t get overheated.
What we didn’t like about it
It takes forever to dry soaked boots
In our testing, we attempted to dry the inside of my daughter’s soaking-wet snow boots. We put the travel dryer in one boot and the other boot hanging on the heavier-duty dryer that we also brought along.
With so much moisture in the boots, there was a huge difference in the length of time it took to dry the two. We checked the inside of the boots every 30 minutes, and around the three-hour mark, the boot on the heavy-duty DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer was completely dry. Unfortunately, the boot with the travel version of the device was still very wet. As we approached eight hours of drying time, we felt as though most of the moisture was gone, but there was still some dampness. We left the boot to dry overnight and in the morning, the boot was moisture-free and could be worn again with no discomfort.
While the travel dryer did technically work, you’ll want to have time in your favor to ensure the job gets completely done. If you know you’ll be in a rainstorm and need dry boots that same day, I wouldn’t count on the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer. With that being said, being able to remove some of the moisture might still be better than nothing at all.
The drying mechanism is too long
The travel-friendly orange dryers are exactly 7 inches long, and while that is an ideal length for most boots and shoes, they were too long for my son’s boots (a kids’ size 11). This meant that we weren’t able to get the contraption all of the way inside his boot, thus not drying the front of the boots as much as we would have liked.
While this will mostly impact those only up to 5 or 6 years old, it’s something to think about if your main goal is to use the dryer for all members of your family — especially if you have little kids.
Bottom line
After a few winter months of using the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer, we got a great feel for the dryer. We ultimately found that for slightly damp or cold boots, the dryer is quite effective and will get rid of most moisture in less than an hour. It also provided a gentle boost of warmth when we used it prior to putting on dry boots.
However, if your footwear becomes soaked, you’ll need to allocate a good 10 hours — or more — for a fully dry boot or shoe. This works well if you can dry the item overnight, but if you need a more immediate fix, the travel dryer won’t be a miracle solution.
With its portable and lightweight design, the DryGuy Travel DX Boot and Shoe Dryer is a solid pick for your next vacation — or even a day trip, as you can use it in the car. But for your at-home needs, the heavier-duty DryGuy 2207 Force Dry Boot Dryer is a better solution.