Product Test: GearDryer

If you spend time out in the snow, you’re going to get wet. After all, snow is just frozen water ready to melt. Once you shed your snowmobile gear you’re dry. But your gear—particularly your boots and gloves—are likely still saturated with moisture.

The editors of SnoWest Magazine have tested a product that works great to dry your snowmobile gear so it’s ready for your next adventure … even if it is only a couple of hours away. GearDryer is a solid built drying system that features 12 drying ports and can accommodate helmets, boots, gloves and anything else that needs some special attention.

            A special self-regulating heat element combined with dual fans delivering 200 CFM of forced air delivers a gentle yet consistent heat to your gear. The heat elements are designed to increase the circulated air temperatures about 25 degrees F. This gentle heat increase is safe on gear yet effectively speeds up dry times.

The GearDryer features five dry cycle settings (15 minute, 30 minute, 1 hour, 2 hour and 24 hour dry cycles). It automatically shuts off after the selected dry time period. It plugs into a standard 120-volt wall outlet.

            The GearDryer comes in two styles—an upright style or a tabletop. We tested the upright wall mount/rolling design. (This design is a little more portable if you choose to move it around but can be quickly converted to a wall mount. It is 25-inches wide, 30-inches tall and 14.5-inches deep. It weighs 30 pounds.

            The upright design retails for $699. The tabletop design retails for $599. For more information contact www.geardryer.com.

Testing Procedures

            The first thing we wanted to do was understand what was involved with the drying process of boots and gloves. After all, time and nature eventually dries everything out. So what assistance is being offered by the GearDryer? We wanted to try to measure how much moisture is absorbed in your winter gear and how long it takes for that moisture to evaporate.

            So the first thing we did was to take a pair of boots and gloves and get an accurate dry weight. Then we threw them in a shower for a few minutes until they were totally saturated with water. Finally, we drained the water and weighed them again (to see how much moisture was retained in the lining and material.

            Knowing the dry weight and the wet weight, the next process was to put the left glove/boot on the GearDryer and the right glove/boot on the floor (like what you would normally do after a ride) and started timing the drying process.

            Things to note: The weights are based in kilograms. I calculated that each kilogram equates to about .035 ounces of water.

• Each boot absorbed about 5 ounces of water
• Each glove absorbed about 1.6 ounces of water
• The rate of drying increased after 60 minutes with heat
• The rate of drying decreased after 60 minutes without heat
• After two hours the boot and glove that were receiving heat felt dry inside with just a little moisture on the openings (farthest from the heat ports)
• After two hours the boot and glove that were not exposed to heat were wet inside.
• After 24 hours the boot and glove with heat were totally dry.
• After 24 hours the boot and glove not exposed to heat were almost dry but still felt slightly damp inside.