Dryguy Travel Dry DX
Love hate, that’s our decades long affair with boot dryers. Too loud, break, can’t operate in vehicle. Pain points never end. I can’t say the Dryguy Travel DX is perfect, but I’m liking the quiet fans that move just enough air, and the minimalist amount of heat designed to help obviate moisture but not overload your vehicle electrical system. Lightweight for your traveling luggage as well. Only complaint so far is we’d prefer a slightly stronger fan. Nothing is perfect.
In any case, the nicely thought out Dry DX power system acquires electrons off a wall-wart at home (both 110v or 240v), or your automobile connector on the road. Caveat, not for use with gloves, probably because limited air circulation burns out the fan or heater. They’re designed to slip down into the toe area of your boots (keep tongue and other obstructions open to enhance circulation). That’s about it.
WildSnow.com publisher emeritus and founder Lou (Louis Dawson) has a 50+ years career in climbing, backcountry skiing and ski mountaineering. He was the first person in history to ski down all 54 Colorado 14,000-foot peaks, has authored numerous books about about backcountry skiing, and has skied from the summit of Denali in Alaska, North America’s highest mountain. For more about Lou, please see his personal website at https://www.loudawson.com/ (Blogger stats: 5 foot 10 inches (178 cm) tall, 160 lbs (72574.8 grams).
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lou.dawson.writer
12 comments
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.
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