Last updated on November 7th, 2023 at 09:57 am
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Taking good care of your ski boots is vital if you want to keep them for many years. And the most important thing is to stay warm and dry after a day on the pistes.
If you don’t dry your boots completely each night, the humidity will enter the liner and shorten its lifespan. Add a few bacteria from your feet or socks, and you’ll have the perfect witches cauldron for mold, mildew, and, ultimately, a terrible odor.
If you don’t have access to heating racks in the hotel, hut, apartment, or chalet, or you’re packing up your gear and driving home right after the slopes, then you’re going to need a ski boot heater to dry your boots as soon as possible.
Here is a list of great ski boot heaters for all situations, shapes, and sizes. Some you can use in your car, and some need a power source, while others don’t. Some can dry more than one pair of boots at once. And when the season ends, you can use them for your regular shoes and boots as well.
So, let’s look at some great options for drying your boots and making them last for years.
Boot Bananas. Best non-powered ski boot dryer for traveling (Moisture Absorber)
Boot Bananas uses no electricity or batteries. Instead, it relies on silica oxide beads to naturally absorb the moisture from your ski boots.
The outer shell of the dryer helps to keep the fabric bag with the beads in its shape so that it will not collapse in your ski boots.
The dryers are highly portable, and you can bring them with you everywhere you want to go
They are not as efficient as some of the bigger-powered options on this list. But they’re the most versatile option available, and they’re not as hard on your boots.
DryGuy Travel Dry DX Boot Dryer. Best compact ski boot dryer with a fan
DryGuy Travel Dry DX Boot Dryer and Shoe Dryer is a pair of compact boot dryers you stick in your boots (you get one for each boot).
The dryers use a combination of heat and air to dry the insides of your ski boot liners and shells so they are warm and dry the next morning.
Because of the compact size, these heaters are great for traveling – you can even put them in your hand luggage on an airplane. The tradeoff is that they are less powerful than some of the bigger boot dryers on this list. So if you need to dry your boots in a couple of hours, these are not for you.
They are compact, light-weight (907 Grams/1.25 pounds), and even include an AC/DC power adaptor to dry your boots in the car.
PEET Dryer. Best dryer for a single pair of ski boots
PEET Dryer is an excellent high-quality heater if you only need to dry a
The PEET dryer uses a system with silent thermal convection to dry your ski boots, which is very efficient!
The PEET dryer is also suitable for traveling. Even though the base and air chambers aren’t designed to be collapsible, the system as a whole doesn’t take up much room and will fit in a large suitcase if you pack it carefully. However, if you can put it in a car, that is better than stuffing it with a lot of other stuff and handing it over to the baggage handlers.
It is even available for both in the US and EU/UK (though you can’t use a single unit for both 110-120 Volts and 220 Volts without a power converter).
What stands out to me, though, is the build quality of this particular unit. Where other manufacturers offer maybe one or two years of warranty, PEET offers 25! That’s saying something!
What I think is missing is an on-off switch on the base itself (you need to plug it in to use it and unplug it to switch it off). Extenders for very long boots (knee boots) are extra. If you need to dry gloves, you can buy these, though I don’t think they’re necessary for mittens.
DryGuy Force Dry Boot Dryer. Best collapsible ski boot dryer for a single pair of boots
DryGuy Force Dry Boot Dryer is a collapsible and portable ski boot dryer meant for traveling.
The base isn’t huge, and the air chambers aren’t tall. And the chambers collapse into the base for traveling.
Because of this compact design, the boot dryer won’t hold your ski boots in an upward position. The way DryGuy has solved this is to make the air chambers rotate 180 degrees. Then, you lay your boots flat on the floor and place them on the chambers—a brilliant solution that allows for a compact yet powerful ski boot dryer.
DryGuy DX Forced Air Boot Dryer. Best ski boot dryer for two people
DryGuy DX Forced Air Boot Dryer and Garment Dryer is an awesome little machine that will dry up to four boots at a time, which is great if you’re two people sharing one.
But because the boot dryer has four single tubes, you can use the boot dryer in several different ways. E.g., you can dry your ski boots and gloves simultaneously. Or you can dry your ski boots with your walking boots when you get home from aprés ski.
The dryer also comes with two extension tubes for taller boots.
What I like about the DryGuy DX is that it is silent and efficient. It will dry two pairs of ski boots in a couple of hours, and then you can put your gloves on afterward. In other words, with this, you’re sure that all your gloves and boots are ready for the next day.
One of the
The other downside is that it can’t be used in the US and EU/UK. However, an equivalent dryer is available in the EU and UK, but under a different name, MaxxDry Forced air boot dryer, shoe dryer, and glove dryer work simultaneously on up to four garments.
You can’t just bring it across the pond, so ensure you get the right one based on your location.
Kulkea Thermal Trekker. Best heated ski boot bag
KULKEA Thermal Trekker – Heated ski/Snowboard Boot Bag is a heated ski boot bag for drying your boots on the go.
One of the worst things you can do is throw your damp boots in a closed ski boot bag. A heated ski boot bag is an excellent option if you’re traveling a lot in a car between different resorts or if you are traveling after a day on the slopes.
Even though you can plug it into a wall socket, it’s the ability to use it in a car that makes heated ski boot bags shine. After a day on the slopes, you can go to your car and throw your ski boots, pants, baselayer, and other apparel into the bag (the bag comes with several sorted compartments). Then, plug the bag into the power outlet of your car with the included automobile plug and dial in the heat setting (low/mid/high).
By using a heated ski boot bag, you will keep the humidity from entering the ski boot liner and allow the bacteria to grow while you are on the road. This is important if you want to keep your boots for many years.
The Kulkea Thermal Trekker is quite bulky. If you’re looking for a more compact option, I suggest the HEAD Rebels.
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