On many a spring day I've come home from an epic day up on the mountain only to find that my boots are nothing but a spongy bucket of sweat. On multi day ski trips, when you need to use your boots multiple days in a row, this is a huge problem. Those commercial boot dryers, you know, the heated cylinders, are interminably slow and you usually just end up with a hot spongy mess instead of a cold spongy mess come morning. Not a fun way to start an epic day on the mountain!

Well, my experience has taught me that airflow will do a lot more to evaporate water than heat. So, to get your boots as dry as possible, try using a little forced air instead of heat. The best way to accomplish this is to just grab a couple of case fans and an old AC adapter that outputs 12 volts.

Step 1: First Connect the Wires

Use those little cylindrical crimp style connectors. They give you the fastest, safest, and most robust connection. First touching the adapter wires to the fan wires and see which way makes them spin. Then just stuff everything into the connectors and go for it!

Step 2: Plug It In, Stick 'em in the Boots

Try to place the fans in such a way that you can feel air escaping. These will have the boots dry as a bone overnight. They also work for shoes, hiking boots, xx boots, and any other wet footwear you might have.