Being able to head out exploring with the peace of mind that comes with knowing your battered gear will dry fast and well in the time it takes for you to rest up is of paramount importance.

Another reason why fast-drying action is so desired is because of the odds of gear molding and degrading and the speed at which that happens increases exponentially with drying time. The sooner your boots are restored to their toasty goodness, the better. Many boots are multilayered and have corners that are hard to clean. If these areas aren’t dealt with as soon as possible after moisture enters, they are subject to the highest risk of detriment. Using a dependable boot dryer is important for this very reason. Air drying may alleviate moisture from the open areas of boots, but it will most certainly be ineffective in reaching all affected regions.

Factors that affect drying time include how evenly heat is dispersed as well as the force with which the air is dispelled. This varies among the models included in the above list as some use warmer air and some use convection rather than motorized air release for example, but the fundamental drive to dry fast is present in all of the dryers. In user comments on all of the product pages, drying time tended to take top priority and bias the feedback of the product heavily. The most commonly seen complaints had to do with lengthy or inconsistent drying times.

Whether you live in a city that gets a lot of rain or you enjoy adventuring in the mountains, drying your favorite equipment fast should be on your mind as you search for a consumer solution. For the sake of both your comfort and the lifetime of your footwear, pick your dryer carefully and ensure that its designers had drying speed at a high value on their minds.

Unfortunately, resilient pathogens remain unaffected by the dampness of its environment, making them quite difficult to eradicate. Furthermore, they multiply at an alarming rate, so leaving your boots untreated will rapidly make a bad situation worse.

Moist boot interiors can attract all sorts of bad characters, including bacteria, viruses and just plain old mold. Bacteria can cause infection if a person is left exposed to it for long enough. Viruses result in sickness and colds. Mold releases bad chemicals that react with skin, causing irritation or in some severe cases, mild poisoning. Why risk these discomforts when a reliable shoe dryer can have your back?

The boot dryers on this list deal with sanitization in different ways, but some of the common mechanics involve UV light or the use of small amounts of chemicals. The former is a non-invasive way to clean out boot interiors in tandem with heat, while the latter is a comprehensive and time-tested disinfection method.

No matter the machine or type of footwear or garment being dried, it is important to consider the elimination of moisture and sanitization as separate issues of equal importance. It is a problem that is often glossed over by consumers in their reviews of boot drying products, simply because it is something less measurable than dryness. Don’t make the same mistake as most people and save both your own health as well as that of your hallowed equipment.

Most people probably aren’t too concerned with thoroughly cleaning their footwear before shipping it off for transferred use. You, however, should be, especially seeing as you’re a continual use of your gear.

This section is related to the previous one in many ways, and there is a definite correlation between the two. Odor usually comes about due to untreated sweat or the mold residue formed inside the shoe from excess moisture. Odor development doesn’t necessarily depend on the intensity of footwear use. Anyone from casual walkers to hardcore mountaineers has to be wary.

That being said, odor is an enemy that acts both quietly and relatively slowly. Leaving sweat in your boots may not incur noticeable effects after a dozen uses, but after a few months, it will become apparent and extremely hard to eliminate. Regulating your footwear from the start is the wisest course of action for this very reason.

Odor doesn’t just affect the well being of your footwear. It can also transfer over to your socks and even clothing, depending on how large the boots are and how their opening is shaped. A good rule of thumb is to clean your boots as regularly and properly as you do the rest of your wardrobe. Since it’s impractical and harmful to put your boots through a washer and dryer every week, it’s well worth the investment to grab a trusty boot dryer and deodorizer that you can use as often as you need to.

It’s a good feeling knowing that you have complete control over the mechanisms of the machines you use, big or small. Boot dryers aren’t as complex as cars, but they still have multiple features that need to be adjustable to user needs. These mainly include heat level, drying time and drying tube shape, among other lesser significant settings.

The heat level is crucial to the drying process, as minute as it may seem. Too hot and your boot insides will get damaged or even burned. Too cold and it will take forever to dry your goods. Being able to toggle the heat level to a certain degree allows you to tailor the drying experience exactly to your needs. Are your shoes completely waterlogged? Then perhaps a higher temperature is necessary to get the job done successfully. Are they only partially damp? Then you might want to tread a little bit more carefully to ensure that they dry completely but not excessively.

Being able to time the drying process is important for similar reasons as stated in the above paragraph. Sticking your footwear on a dryer and leaving it without being able to set an alarm announcing the finished process can be downright dangerous if you wander to another room or occupy yourself with another task. Consequences ranging from damaged boot interiors to the whole setup catching fire are best left avoided. By simply implementing a timer dial, many of the top 10 shoe dryer units make your life easier and worry-free, at least in the footwear drying department.

A detachable drying tube extension is a luxury, but not a necessity. It comes in handy when dealing with footwear of odd shapes and sizes that need every one of their nooks and crannies thoroughly dried and cleaned. A few of the models on our list are proud to offer this feature. Spoiler alert: one of them is in the first place.

The last thing you should have to concern yourself with when it comes to drying boots is trust. A good dryer bypasses any doubt and places the essential features in your hands. Dry your items exactly how you want them dried.

It’s of extreme importance for individuals who are always on the move. As functional and powerful as some of the large size boot dryers on this list are, they would never fit into a suitcase. A bulky dryer would generally not be worth its weight to lug around when on a trip, simply due to its specificity of use. However, for the hiker or explorer who’s constantly surrounded by changing weather and elements, having a portable boot dryer is a life saver. This is where the balance of product design comes into play.

Compactness and versatility are pretty self-explanatory concepts, but there’s room for elaboration thanks to some of the well designed small size products on this list. One of the downfalls of size compromise is often the lack of other essential features. A pocket-sized boot dryer would be easy to have on hand, but if its drying power was significantly weaker than its normal-sized counterparts, it would be of no use.

Luckily, the compact units presented on our list don’t skimp on any of the above four essential features, namely, speed, sanitization, odor elimination, and user controls. Some of these concepts are less intricate or fleshed out as in the larger models, but justifiably so. Being on the move means rationing energy in every sense of the word, so a compact fully functional dryer that may lack a few bells and whistles will do no harm in the eyes of its target user demographic.

All in all, portability is, for the most part, a perk rather than a must-have, but for some people, it is invaluable and for that reason, it’s worth mentioning.