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| Name: Tony Biebl |
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| E-mail: tonybiebl@yahoo.com |
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Experience:
40+ years of angling, over 20 years flyfishing, including trips to Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, Alaska, British Columbia, Belize, Bahamas, Florida Keys, most Canadian provinces and western United States. Now retired and living within a few miles of a blue-ribbon trout and steelhead river in far northern Wisconsin, which I fish frequently. |
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Product Being Tested:
Dry Guy Long Ranger boot and wader drying system, list price $129.95 at www.dryguy.net. The system consists of a thermoplastic base into which you snap a powerhead and two vertical columns that hold your waders feet-up while ambient or heated air is circulated through them. |
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Snapshot of your experience with products of this sort:
I've used several powered boot dryers. Most were designed for ski or hunting boots, and had to be "jury rigged" to get them to work on waders. The biggest problem was always how to suspend the waders so the air could circulate all the way up into the feet. |
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Date of Test:
late October 2006 |
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Place of Test:
Steelhead fishing, northern Wisconsin, river wading in very cold conditions. |
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Test Condition:
Nighttime temperatures into the teens, daytime temps rising to freezing at best. Mix of clear, cloudy, and snowy conditions. |
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Relevant related equipment or products:
Simms breathable waders; Hodgman insulated rubber hipboots. |
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Your experience with the product:
This unit is easy to assemble and operate. The base sits directly on the floor, and is large enough to be stable even with waders on it. The power unit is a thermoplastic housing which contains a rotary fan and heating element, timer and switches; it snaps into place on the center of the base. The leg extensions, 2 each per side, snap into the base on either side of the power unit, creating a twin tower effect that is 48" tall. Vented foot anvils sit atop each set of leg extensions. Waders or hip boots slide over each leg extension so that the foot is over the anvils, and air is drawn through the base and forced up each leg extension into the foot of the wader, and out the leg. As complicated as this may sound, it is really very simple. Assembly takes about two minutes, and it takes only seconds to hang your waders or hip boots over the unit to start the drying process. If you fish frequently, or are on a multi-day trip, this unit becomes a very convenient place to store your waders when you are not wearing them, even if they are not wet. |
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Qualities you liked about the product:
There is a lot to like about this unit. It is very stable, and very efficient as a dryer because of the way that the waders or boots are are suspended foot-up. The blower is whisper quiet. You can choose "heat" or "no heat" by flipping a simple rocker switch, and the timer is a simple spin dial that can be set for up to three hours. If used in a heated room there is really no need for heated drying, but if you have to use it, it is a very gentle heat. It doesn't seem to have any adverse affect on the inner or outer fabric or the Gore-Tex in the waders, and it certainly speeds up the drying process. I went over-the-top of a pair of hipboots one evening, completely soaking both, and they were bone dry after several hours of heated drying on the Dry Guy. |
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Qualities you didn't liked about the product:
Portability; at 8.5 pounds, and with the leg extensions and base unit size, this is not a unit made for the air traveller. It is bulky and takes up a lot of room in a duffle bag.
Overall height: at 48", this is probably as big as most anglers would want, but the body of my waders drapes all over the base unit, and can restrict the inflow of air. I found a way to turn them inside-out at the waist and suspend the body by the suspenders, but another 14" extension would be nice, and the unit is stable enough to handle it. |
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Summary Comments
This is a great unit for drying a variety of boots, from knee highs to waders. It is quiet, efficient, and very effective. It is probably best as a stay-at-home unit due to it's size, but would be great for the travelling angler who drives to a fishing location and stays in a motel or cabin where there is never a good place to hang and dry angling footware. |
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