Review: DryGuy Forced-Air Boot & Glove Dryer
Russ Chastain 04.10.18
During the past deer season and into spring turkey, I’ve been enjoying the use of a great little appliance in my hunt camp, and although space is limited in that little trailer I’m happy to make room for the DryGuy Force Dry DX boot and glove dryer.
This handy little appliance isn’t all that large by itself, only about 10″ wide by 7″ deep by 11-1/2″ tall. There’s a fan inside the central part, and it blows air (heated or unheated) through the four smaller upright portions. The photo at the top of the page shows the bare unit on the right-hand side, and you can easily use the dryer in this configuration to really save space.
The Force Dry DX comes with a pair of removable extension tubes for use with tall boots, as seen in this photo. You can dry a pair of boots on the tubes while still using the other two outlets to dry your gloves, socks, or whatever.
I also got a wader adapter extension kit for mine, part of which is on my dryer in the left side of the photo at the top of this page.
The wide bottom part of each side captures the air from two of the outlets, so you’ll get more air through your boots or waders. I like to use this setup when I’m drying just my boots, so I’m not wasting air flow. I have draped my sweat-soaked shirt over the wader adapter during a break from working in the Florida heat, and it was nice to have a good dry shirt when it was time to go back out there.
The front dial of the Force Dry DX is a timer that goes up to 180 minutes, to set the length of time for the fan to run. Turn it to the desired time, and that’s it.
Below the dial is a switch to turn the heat on or off. I found that the heat dries my boots a little faster, but during hot weather when I’m running the air conditioner, it’s nice to just blow room-temperature air through my boots. On the flip side, during cold weather it’s handy for my boot dryer to also be helping to warm the place a little bit.
Force Dry DX Manufacturer Specs
- Model: 02129
- Forced air dryer with rotary fan
- Dries 4 garments simultaneously
- Helps Eliminate Odors Caused by Bacteria in Sweat
- Dry time: Approximately 1-2 Hours
- Heat/No Heat Switch
- 3 Hour Timer
- Two Removable Extension Tubes for Taller Boots
- Power: 120V AC Household Outlet
- Dimensions: 12″ D x 7.5″ H x 15″ W
- Max. Temperature: 105° F / 40.5° C (Won’t harm liners or garments)
- Cord: 6′ Length
- Quiet: 80,000 Hour-rated Whisper Quiet Rotary Blower
- 1 Year Warranty
The Sound
It’s not loud, but it’s not ultra-quiet either. You definitely know it’s on if you’re in the same room, but at the same time, it’s not bad. My small electric space heater makes about twice as much noise.
Odor Eater?
My feet sweat a lot, and if my boots don’t dry out well, that leads to stinky boots. That’s no good for the guys I’m camping with, and least of all the critters I’m hunting. Drying my boots each evening definitely kept them smelling a lot nicer, but a few minutes after putting my boots on the dryer after a long day of hiking the turkey woods, there was a definite, um, tang in the air as the drying began. Once they were dry, no problem. So unless you’re hunting solo or your buddies don’t mind sniffing up your toejam, you might want to sequester the DryGuy to the porch or another room.
The Bottom Line
I like this thing a lot. I’ve wanted an electric boot dryer for years, and I’m glad I got this one. About the only caveats I have are that the extra extension tubes take up a good bit of space if you’re not using the wader adapter at full height, and the timer dial sometimes comes off easily. More than once, I’ve gone to turn it on and the dial came off in my hand.
As for what it’s designed for, it does the job well. I can hunt or work all day and have dry boots to wear in the morning.
The DryGuy Force Dry DX lists for $79.95, but right now you can get it at Amazon (Prime) for $55. The wader adapter lists for $29.95 but I didn’t see it on Amazon and it’s currently out of stock at DryGuy’s site.
I’m a fan (no pun intended).
