Drying skates between tournament/playoff games

[Davetronz 109]

Due to a fluke in scheduling, I'm somehow playing ~7 games this weekend between a tournament and my league playoffs.

2 Friday night

2 Saturday morning/afternoon 1 Saturday night

1 Sunday morning/afternoon 1 Sunday night

My biggest concern is soaking wet skates - the rest, aside from sloppy gloves, I can live with.

My EQ50's get pretty wet after one game, and after two games they're a swimming pool.

I played a pair of games this past Sunday and my skates started to irritate me early on in the second game. No blisters, but I definitely wasn't "comfortable" and felt myself cranking down my skates more and more as they got wetter. To clarify, I have no problems with these skates otherwise, only when they're soaking wet from multiple ice times in a day.

So let's hear some of your suggestions for drying these skates out between games this weekend.

My ideas so far:

- Fresh skate socks after each game (but they're still going to sop up the sweat from the wet skates)

- A hair dryer on the coolest setting (don't want the skates to get too hot - I'd have to go buy a hair dryer - will use it on gloves regardless)

- Baby/talc powder (not sure about this one, might help the feet, but not necessarily the skates - used w hair dryer on gloves)

- Friday should be decent weather in Calgary, but Saturday is going to rain/snow and Sunday is going to rain (can't dry them outside)

Help me out MSH! (Oh, and if you don't hear from me after this weekend, assume that the beer gardens at the tournament got the best of me).

[Amiroo39 121]

Do not put a blow dryer directly in the boot. Specially if its blowing hot air. This is common sense, but i did it to my TOs and it ended up damaging both the moulding and how the boot fit me (had to get it remoulded) and the blade holder was bent and wouldn't hold the blade properly. I do however still use the blow dryer on my gloves, but i have it blowing the room temp air. I don't know if u should do it with your skates though..

[doublemajor 0]

I've always went with a boot dryer that I can get at my local sporting store or farm/ranch store. I always set it on low and never have a problem with my skates. Your looking at about $20 to $30 for them normally.

[Davetronz 109]

I've always went with a boot dryer that I can get at my local sporting store or farm/ranch store. I always set it on low and never have a problem with my skates. Your looking at about $20 to $30 for them normally.

Are these specific to hockey? Or like a generic Winter boot dryer? Happen to have a link to one that you've used?

My biggest concern with anything that gets too hot (ie hair dryer) is that it will nuke the boot, as Amiroo39 mentioned. I've seen hair dryers with a "cold/cool" setting. That would have been the only thing I would have considered trying.

[HockeySavants 5]

Do you have a pair of backup skates? Sounds like you'll need a pair

[Davetronz 109]

I found this at Canadian Tire, it has hockey gloves on it in the second picture, but I'm hesitant to put skates on it without an expert opinion.

http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/Apparel/2/ApparelAccessories/DryersWarmers/PRD~0870003P/Thermal+Dryer.jsp?locale=en

Do you have a pair of backup skates? Sounds like you'll need a pair

Yeah, I have 3 pairs right now, but I'd prefer to use only the EQ50's because they fit and perform the best.

Blademaster has this:

http://blademaster.ca/products.asp?id=48

They say it's a high-temperature dryer, but:

a). I wouldn't get it in time

b). Looks expensive

c). Pro's can afford to replace their skates if they are ruined

I consider Blademaster a fairly reputable company, so one would assume that the technology itself is safe for skates and gloves.

[gosinger 122]

Well, from my 7+-days-festival experience I'd suggest you try stuffing an old sock with cat-litter and then place that inside your boot. The litter soaks up all the moisture (plus smells) and the sock keeps the "debris" from staying in your boot. If you haven't got any other options at hand I'd give it a go, maybe it can do the job.

[bnr032 11]

on Gosingers idea cat liter should work..

But so would rice?

as i know if you put a water damaged mobile phone(cell phone) you sometimes can make it work again after sitting in ziplock bag full of rice.. usually you leave it overnight?

[ambro 0]

Anything that acts as a desiccant inside the skate should help a lot. I like the kitty litter inside a sock idea, but silica gel (the stuff in the "do not eat" packets in beef jerky and whatnot... it's used to soak up any water in the bag) should work even better. Also I'd use it in some other packaging than a sock, maybe bundled up inside a coffee filter (which would allow more water from the skates through to be soaked up by the silica gel) that is taped shut so the silica gel pieces don't fall into the skate.

According to the site below, you can get silica gel pretty cheap at craft stores. It also talks about how to dry or "regenerate" the silica gel when it has absorbed all the water that it is able to hold. Basically heat it in an oven at 300 deg. F for 3 hours to drive out the water. It is then as good as new, and personally I would recommend doing that each night in order to have it completely dry before the next day's games. It will absorb water faster if it is totally dry.

Link: http://www.ehow.com/way_5312158_create-homemade-desiccants.html

[BenderHockey 127]

I have a Dry Guy dryer. Put my skates and gloves on it after every game to dry them out. Helps the life expectancy of the gear. It has a setting with heat and without, so its personal preference. It's small enough to take with me to tournaments.

[nisselrm 21]

the dry Guy Dryer is excellent.

[coryroth24 15]

You can use any source of moving air, as long as it's not heated! I bought one of these a few years ago and it works great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Glove-Shoe-Sneaker-Boot-Dryer-Dry-Out-Those-Wet-Boots-/221013883598?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3375743ace

[leftwinger37 43]

+1 on the boot dryer. My fiance laughed at me when I asked for one for my birthday last year, but I often tell her it's the best investment she's ever made. I got the glove and boot dryer so I can dry my gloves and skates... Give it an hour and they're dry as a bone.

[Davetronz 109]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. Lots of great ideas!

Does anyone know if one of these PEET boot dryers would work? (They might be the only thing I'll be able to find semi-locally before Friday).

They look similar to the Dry Guy Dryers. If so, which one do you think would work best and not ruin skates/gloves?

http://www.basspro.c...Term=boot+dryer

• Family safe. Utilizing natural thermal convection, PEET Dryers do not get hot-to-the-touch, so they do not pose a hazard to children (or pets for that matter).
  
• Material safe. Natural thermal convection and the other technologies upon which PEET Dryer functionality is based will not damage your footwear or gear, and are safe for all kinds of materials such as leather, canvas, rubber, PVC, synthetics, cloth, fleece, felt, neoprene and micro fabrics. PEET Dry extends the life of the most technologically advanced waterproof membranes as it gently removes the wetness and perspiration that can cause these expensive materials to deteriorate.
  

The Advantage PEET dryer mentions drying skates with heat OR no heat on their website:

http://www.peetshoedryer.com/product_advantage.html

I'm sure I could fit skates on two of the pillars and gloves on the other two pillars.

I guess my next problem is going to be power at the rink. Not a lot of dressing rooms around here have power outlets and I'm not going to be that close to home. Hahaha.

[Jim A 4]

Things dry out pretty quick here in CO, but when I was in NY I had a dehumidifier that I kept in a room and would run it on a lower setting, worked great....something like this http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mini-Dehumidifier/10750086

[Tapiolaboy13 0]

been using peet boot dryer on my skates for about 5 years now and have had no problems at all. still have the same skates. takes maybe 2 hours or less for the skates to be bone dry. also you could get a power adapter for your cars cigarette lighter and plug the boot dryer in there.

[Davetronz 109]

been using peet boot dryer on my skates for about 5 years now and have had no problems at all. still have the same skates. takes maybe 2 hours or less for the skates to be bone dry. also you could get a power adapter for your cars cigarette lighter and plug the boot dryer in there.

Awesome idea! I actually have one of the cigarette lighter inverters for my truck, so that will work. I never thought of that!

Thanks MSH - I love this site!

[ibeck 38]

Take out the insoles so you don't have a mini swimming pool underneath the insoles and the boot. This will also help prevent your holders from rusting around rivets.

[Davetronz 109]

Take out the insoles so you don't have a mini swimming pool underneath the insoles and the boot. This will also help prevent your holders from rusting around rivets.

This is something I do all the time. Immediately after skating the footbeds come out. The Graf SIDAS footbeds don't "breath" so the sweat just gets trapped under them!

[doublemajor 0]

I just bought this one two weeks ago it has just forced air so you it just dries the skate out. Its a bit more but ten times better then the $20 or 30 ones. http://www.seaproductsonline.com/index81.html