drying boots

When you do fieldwork regularly, chances are you will end up with wet boots. It seems like everybody has their own method for dealing with wet boots, but here are a few:

1. Hairdryer: most hotels have them, right?

2. Crank up the heat in your vehicle and hope for the best.

3. Find a reason to stand in or otherwise maneuver your feet into the exhaust stream of the largest piece of heavy equipment you can find.

4. In your hotel room, dangle, balance, or otherwise position the boots so that they are in front of the fan for the room's HVAC system.

5. Stuff absorbent materials (paper towels, dry socks, hotel washcloths) into the toes.

6. Cart around an unwieldy and expensive boot dryer (example below is from Cabela's - I couldn't resist the camo).

7. Just wear waterproof boots! Oh, right. Sweat.

8. I'm not afraid of a little moisture! Bring on the trench foot!

I tend to use a combination of 4 and 5 because I'm afraid that using a more aggressive heating option will damage the leather. They work pretty well for me, as long as I have a full overnight to dry them. Option 8 is a no-go for me because I ended up with a nasty infection (as discussed here) when I spent a week living in wet boots. I would prefer to keep my toenails, thanks.