On a recent trip to Steamboat, I picked up a doohickey that I can no longer live without. It’s the SNAP Dry Micro Dryer.

As the picture on the box suggests (see photo, left), the SNAP Dry consists of two flexible arms driven by what looks like a tiny hair dryer. The flexible arms slide into a pair of ski boots, one in each boot, and are spring-loaded to keep the boots upright and together. At the bottom of the arms are adjustable deflectors that direct air to the toes of the boots.

The electrical piece holds a small blower, a regulated heater, and a switch. Without the violent action of a standard hair dryer, it operates quietly and gently to circulate fresh, warmed air through the boots. While it’s running, you can barely feel the air coming back out of the boot tops. And the temperature seems low enough that it will not weird out any heat-sensitive boot parts.

So does it work? All week, I used the SNAP Dry on my boots and my wife’s. I would leave it in one pair for a few hours, then put it in the other. Each pair wound up completely dry. I didn’t check at intermediate stages to see what the minimum time really needed to be. (This would depend upon how wet the boots were, and the temperature and humidity of the room.)

The SNAP Dry has other uses, too. The deflectors can be replaced with glove-drying attachments (included) and it also can be used for drying any kind of shoe or boot.

For packing, the SNAP Dry separates between the arm assembly and the electrical portion. Each of these will fit into a ski boot, so that you can travel with the SNAP Dry (as I did) without using any extra space or worrying about breaking it.

I should point out that the SNAP Dry is a bit pricey. Mine cost $69.95. But I think it was worth it. Not only does it do a great job of drying, but it can be used before going out to begin the day with toasty toes.

The SNAP Dry is made by West America Technologies Corporation in Avon, Colorado and I saw it in many ski shops. For more info, see the link below.