Welcome to Louis (Lou) Dawson's backcountry skiing information & opinion website. Lou's passion for the past 50 years has been alpinism, climbing, mountaineering and skiing -- along with all manner of outdoor recreation. He has authored numerous books and articles about
ski touring and is well known as the first person to ski down all 54 of Colorado's 14,000-foot peaks, otherwise known as the
Fourteeners! Books and free ski touring news and information here.
All material on this website is copyrighted, the name WildSnow is trademarked, permission required for reproduction (electronic or otherwise) and display on other websites. PLEASE SEE OUR COPYRIGHT and TRADEMARK INFORMATION.
We include "affiliate sales" links with most of our blog posts. This means we receive a percentage of a sale if you click over from our site (at no cost to you). None of our affiliate commission links are direct relationships with specific gear companies or shopping carts, instead we remain removed by using a third party who manages all our affiliate sales and relationships. We also sell display "banner" advertising, in this case our relationships are closer to the companies who advertise, but our display advertising income is carefully separated financially and editorially from our blog content, over which we always maintain 100% editorial control -- we make this clear during every advertising deal we work out. Please also notice we do the occasional "sponsored" post, these are under similar financial arrangements as our banner advertising, only the banner or other type of reference to a company are included in the blog post, simply to show they provided financial support to WildSnow.com and provide them with advertising in return. Unlike most other "sponsored content" you find on the internet, our sponsored posts are entirely under our editorial control and created by WildSnow specific writers.See our full disclosures here.
Backcountry skiing is dangerous. You may be killed or severely injured if you do any form of ski mountaineering, skimo randonnee and randonnée skiing. The information and news on this website is intended only as general information. Due to human error and passing time, the information, text and images contained within this website may be inaccurate, false, or out-of-date. By using, reading or viewing the information provided on this website, you agree to absolve the owners of Wild Snow as well as content contributors of any liability for injuries or losses incurred while using such information. Furthermore, you agree to use any of this website's information, maps, photos, or binding mounting instructions templates at your own risk, and waive Wild Snow owners and contributors of liability for use of said items for ski touring or any other use.
What no mods? 🙂
Bummer the Air Puck has been discontinued. Powerful fan, no heat and can dry gloves too. Has an intake for fresh air to push through boots and potentially gloves. Easy for travel because you just back them in the boots.
Love mine. Looks like Dryguy had bought the design and was selling it but has now since discontinued it.
If you can find one – its worth the $20 or so.
HA – Air Puck for sale on EBAY right now. Even NOS status in beat up box. Gotta luv the garage sales!
I like the very slight heating of the DX, come to think of it a stronger fan would obviate the heating effect… Lou
There’s got to be a way to mod an electric-fan-based airbag pack into a boot dryer. Why is this product not on the market yet?
I’ve had a set of these for several years now. Surprised how long the fans have lasted, honestly. I recently used some electrical tape to wrap the cord where it connects to the male 12v component as the rubber had started to fray. And same with the cord where it enters the AC adapter. Comes from coiling them around each other to stuff in my boot bag. I don’t consider it an issue or defect, considering how long I’ve had them.
All in all, a surprisingly solid product in terms of longevity. And they do what they’re supposed to do.
Bought a pair of these on a road trip in Canada a couple of years ago and they have lived in my car ever since. They get the job done with very little noise and pulling up to the trail head in the morning with warm boots is pure luxury. On the down side the cord has become brittle over the years and requires a few patches of electrical tape to stay intact. My main worry is that I won’t be able to find a new pair in Sweden once they finally break.
I used to use these but they started to deform my Instraprint insoles. I’ve since replaced them with simple USB computer fans. They’re cheaper and blow way more air, so they dry out boots quicker.
I have had the same experience as Colin – the cord sheath wears away over time exposing the wires. Happened on mine on both sides of the cigarette lighter coupler from wrapping the cords around the “feet” to store. Just bought a second pair and wrapped the sheath in electrical tape to prevent this.
Lou- My experience with various home and portable dryers has been to not use any that offer a heat element. The thinking centers around not introducing heat with moisture and thereby limiting the potential for mold growth. On a separate note I’ve made two home boot dryers that dry four pairs of boots, from parts and fans available at Home Depot. These dryers cost less than $100 and work for at least five years before the fans fail.
Old school crumpled newspapers stuffed in. The paper sucks up moisture. Works like a charm. Of course, newspapers are rare now.
Another green solution: two old cotton T-shirts: stuff one into each liner (removed from shell) after your outing, remove before going to bed to let residual moisture dry overnight. Works perfectly well at room temperatures.