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Help Needed: Ski boots/mittens won't dry

4sherms

Certified Ski Diva
Hi, skiers!

2nd year skiing here and first year with lots of planned trips, both long weekends and days. It's also the first year that my family has our own skis and boots. Last weekend, we had a great time at Okemo. It's now a week later and my boot liners are wet! My kids skied Okemo and then again Wednesday night at our local hill and I checked their liners today and they are wet, too. Stuck my hands in their mittens--also wet! I'm guessing it's a combo of sweat and melted snow/precipitation, as it was rainy at times.

Just had my husband start a fire to try to dry everything out before we head to Sugarloaf next weekend. Do you all have boot dryers? How do you make sure boots and everything is dry before heading out the next day? We have backup mittens but no backup boots! Thoughts? I didn't have the gear zipped up in bags--had everything lined up on a boot tray in our heated mudroom.

Thanks for any ideas!
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Welcome to the forum!

Yes, I use a boot dryer. The first thing I do when I come home from the hill is take my boots out of my pack and put in the boot dryer. Mine is a Hotronic, and it works very well.

Re gloves/mittens: mine (Black Diamond Mercury Mitts) have removable liners, so they dry well if you take them out. You can toss the liners in the dryer, too.
 

NewEnglandSkier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I use a boot dryer as well--I have the Hotronic Snapdry. It's small enough to take on trips. Another option is to remove the liners from the boots, as that will speed drying.
 

diymom

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've never had my boot liners get wet before, but for mitts I generally just plop them on the nearest heater if they get damp. And yes, back-ups when possible. Especially on overnight trips, I bring not just spare mitts, but also spare buffs, socks, snow pants (never needed them yet, but hey, we have a mini-van to tote it all in, so why the heck not) and after the time DC broke a pole, spare poles even. (Well, DC just got it bent, I broke it when I tried to bend it back.) Now that the kids are older, I just bring one spare set of poles though- one size fits all.
 

newboots

Angel Diva
I don't own boot dryers, but I have a heated boot bag. I don't generally use it for drying, but people do. A hair dryer (NOT hot, just warm or just air), while tedious, should help. If you have heat-molded liners I've read that you mustn't blow significant heat in there.

Can you turn the mittens inside out? Have you taken the liners out of the boots?

Good luck!
 

altagirl

Moderator
Staff member
Move to Utah. But really, if you're skiing back to back days a boot dryer is a good investment. And if you have one per person, you can stick mittens/gloves on there as well as boots. We just built a rack at home where we have dowels as a shelf to lay gloves/neck gaiters/etc. across so they can dry efficiently. But we typically have extremely dry air, so as long as they have access to circulating air, things dry out extremely fast in our house.
 

Kimmyt

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I used my boot dryer all the time on the east coast. You can use them on your mittens too. Here on the west coast, I don't need them at all.
 

4sherms

Certified Ski Diva
Thank you all for your feedback! I am off to peruse boot dryers. So glad I asked about this!

I am unable to turn the children's mittens inside out. They are so small and I can barely fit part of my hand in there. I looked for liners but those seem to start the Junior size. So we have a backup pair and will use a hair dryer if necessary.

Thank you, again!
 

4sherms

Certified Ski Diva
I've never had my boot liners get wet before, but for mitts I generally just plop them on the nearest heater if they get damp. And yes, back-ups when possible. Especially on overnight trips, I bring not just spare mitts, but also spare buffs, socks, snow pants (never needed them yet, but hey, we have a mini-van to tote it all in, so why the heck not) and after the time DC broke a pole, spare poles even. (Well, DC just got it bent, I broke it when I tried to bend it back.) Now that the kids are older, I just bring one spare set of poles though- one size fits all.

Such a good point--my big Mom SUV is like a purse. I'll fill it, not matter the size--so might as well bring all I need!
 

nopoleskier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I also take my liners out every night but did just purchase boot dryers I used another divas and they worked great for my soggy mittens
works great.. even has a car charger!
Travel Dry DX
18456.jpg

  • Description: Warming your footwear before use and drying it when you are done helps eliminate odors and bacteria. The patented design of this boot dryer/warmer circulates warm air through the inner boot (starting at the toe box) which eliminates moisture from the inside-out without damaging your footwear, boot liners, or footbeds. 12-volt car and 110-volt household adapters are included.

WELCOME to Ski Diva!
 
Last edited:

bounceswoosh

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Move to Utah.

:rotf:

Seriously though, I am in Colorado and use the Snapdry for my boots after every ski day. It's fairly quiet, not like the one I had 20 years ago ... that thing sounded like a helicopter! For everything else, we have a regular wooden drying rack at the condo. But our stuff will almost never get wet enough to be soaked through.

I hate pulling liners out - I always worry I won't get them back in properly again. There's also various boot fitter magic I don't want to displace.
 

MI-skier

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
For our family of 4, we travel with boot driers. I've got several types and none have gotten the boots too hot. As soon as we are done, we dry out the boots and mittens. HUGE difference. Also I'll also preheat the boots in the morning. So nice to slip into a warmed up boot. We have the dryguy, a folding one and a slip in boot one. Got my bases covered.
 

MaineSkiLady

Angel Diva
:welcome: from a weekday Sugarloaf skier!
Yes - dry is critically important, but all the more so where you're headed: one of the coldest, windiest mountains in New England. The snow is great this winter, but the cold air is on its way. Next Saturday looks to be single digits for a HIGH.
This will make dry clothing and boots, etc., all the more important. A hair dryer will suffice in a pinch, but the boot dryers really are better (several kinds).

As important as that will be covering up 100%, meaning face masks, gaiters, etc. - and heeding the call of the cold - watch for white skin spots, get inside.

Agree with @nopoleskier above that Boot Gloves make a difference on very cold days. I'm wearing mine next week.

Also, chemical hand warmers! Get several packs!
 

marymack

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I do have boot dryers but don't use them very often. You can pull out the liners..but kind of a pain.... What are the kids wearing for socks? Minimize sweating with one pair of wool ski socks. As long as I put my boots near the heater they are usually fine in the morning. Yes to keeping ski pants on the OUTSIDE of ski boots.
 

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