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Silica gel sachets for drying boots?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Has anyone successfully used silica gel sachets to dry their ski or board boots? If so, do you need to use a new sachet each night or can you re-use them?

My liners seldom get more than a little damp but on the occasion that they do I would like to make sure they are dry by morning.

I normaly use DryZone boot dryers because the boot fitter who made my footbeds advised against using heated dryers. However, they weigh almost a kilo, so are not suitable for weekend trips when I'm travelling light with everything (including ski boots) packed into hand luggage.
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Zero-G, Dampire boot dryer are exactly that, bags filled with silica, they work very well.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Ooh really, they just use bog standard silica gel? Excellent...
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Zero-G,One question would be if you can dry out the bog standard stuff, or would it be use and throw away???
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Yes, you can dry that stuff out. Just stick it on a hot radiator for a while.

If you buy a new sofa, they tend to chuck two or more big bags of the stuff in the big plastic bag. Keep them, empty one bag into each foot of a pair of tights. Tie a knot in the ankle, reverse them and tie another knot. Drop them into your boots each night, pull them out and they conveniently hang over towel rails, radiators etc. while you're out for the day. The tights allow moisture through, but keep the granules in there nicely.
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Rather an unusual suggestion, but ...

... how about just picking up some cat litter at a nearby supermarket while at the resort? That's often made of silica gel, and certainly has similar properties. Maybe pack an old lace-curtain in your suitcase to use as a liner for the boot before pouring it in?

Should be fairly inexpensive Smile
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
? Just take the liners out ?
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Zero-G, I wonder if the advice applied just to driers above a certain heat. I use a Thermic electric fan drier and they don't get more than just nicely warm. It might be worth PMing CEM and asking - I could be wrong, but I've got a vague notion that he posted (fairly recently) about the thermic driers being OK with most boots, but industrial driers perhaps not being OK. He is usually to oracle on such things and it might be worth asking the question of him and telling him what sort of footbeds you have, because if you could use a Thermic drier they are really excellent little gadgets.
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Update: The vague notion was just that - CEM was talking about boot heaters at the time, not what you are interested in:

http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=1148677&highlight=heat+commercial#1148677

However, I would expect he could still advise on something like the use of the Thermic boot driers with your insoles if you needed him to.
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Megamum, the aim is to travel light (everything, including boots, in hand luggage). I have perfectly good boot dryers (DryZone) but they will push my hand luggage over the 8kg weight limit.

kitenski wrote:
Zero-G,One question would be if you can dry out the bog standard stuff, or would it be use and throw away???

That's what I'd like to know. Have ordered some 10g silica sachets from Amazon. Will test them out (1 sachet per boot, used multiple times) and report back on how effective they are.

DaKid, Laughing
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Zero-G, have you ever had your hand luggage weighed???
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Zero-G, have you ever had your hand luggage weighed???
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kitenski, a few times.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I have a pair of the Dry Zone gel boot dryers (also good on gloves). I stick 'em in hand luggage, they pack pretty tight around my lid base, and just either stick them on a radiator each morning or hang them in the sun until I return from the days skiing. Love them to bits, they really do make a difference.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Zero-G, wow, never had mine weighed despite many, many flights!!
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Scarpa, You can Microwave the Dry Zone Dampires also to dry them out.
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Zero-G wrote:
DaKid, Laughing


wink
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I love the thought of emptying a bag of cat litter into ski boots, id come down the next morning with something similar to a plastercast of a foot jammed in my boots and unable to get it out, worse still the local strays would have a field day. Laughing
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Cat litter is NOT silica gel......................
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Take the liners out, then remove footbeds and stick liners upside down on radiator. In morning put footbeds back in, put feet in liners and stick back into boots.
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Maersk wrote:
Cat litter is NOT silica gel......................


If you say so ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Litter_box#Silica_gel_litter
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ledge wrote:
I love the thought of emptying a bag of cat litter into ski boots, id come down the next morning with something similar to a plastercast of a foot jammed in my boots and unable to get it out, worse still the local strays would have a field day. Laughing


I hadn't necessarily intended, when light-heartedly suggesting cat litter, for someone to fill the boot with it!!!
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
DaKid, You should add a disclaimer to your post or you might find a few cat litter-filled ski boots flung at your head wink

Right, I said I'd report back on the silica gel sachets:

I said before that my liners seldom get more than a little damp but this past weekend in Chamonix was hot (I stripped down to a thin base layer, and hard shell and even then was too warm), so my liners were more than a little damp this time, mostly around my calves!

I used 2x10g sachets in each boot, repeatedly for 3 days (i.e. the same sachets) and they worked a treat. I put the sachets on the radiator in the mornings during breakfast, just to dry them out, then sealed them in a little plastic bag when not in use. So, I will be using these for all of my future weekend ski breaks.
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Zero-G, This sounds like a great tip - I'll try it out. Thanks
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