How to dry shoes while hiking. Dry shoes are good shoes

Often on hikes it happens that you step into a puddle, stumble while crossing a stream, or even fall knee-deep into a swamp. With the arrival of autumn, the problem of wet boots on hikes is more acute than ever. Let's look at several ways to dry boots on autumn hikes.

The first thing we do is clean the shoes from dirt and remove excess moisture using the absorption method. Socks can be used as an absorbent. You get into the boot, the socks absorb moisture, take it off, wring it out and put it back in the boot. Socks can be periodically dried over a burner (we remind you about the safety precautions for using an open fire in a tent). A special microfiber towel is better than socks.

It is compact, lightweight and perfectly absorbs moisture in a matter of seconds. In any case, it will be useful on a hike, and it dries faster than socks. Perfectly absorbs moisture classic kitchen napkin. For achievement best result you can use toilet paper. Just don’t forget to calculate the amount for your squad. If you are in the forest, you can dry your trekking boots with dry moss. It absorbs moisture like a sponge.

Shoes are dried without insoles and laces, and this rule is universal for all drying methods. Insoles retain moisture and increase drying time, so they are much easier to dry after removing them from the shoe. The laces, in turn, simply get in the way when drying, tend to fall into the fire and do not allow the neck of the shoe to fully open.

1. How to dry trekking boots by the fire

Let's start with the first and most logical method that comes to mind for the owner of wet shoes. This method is not only the most popular, but also the most dangerous: how many tourists it left without shoes!
Not all hiking boots can be dried by the fire. Most modern materials do not tolerate high temperatures. Membrane shoes can completely lose their properties; it is recommended to dry them away from direct heat sources.

What will happen to trekking boots when drying them by the fire:

• Your shoes may shrink and you simply won’t be able to get them on your feet.
• Boots can get burned by fire sparks, which can easily leave holes in synthetic fabric.
• Your shoes will burn entirely if you leave them unattended for a long time after chatting with a friend.

If you decide, at your own risk, to put into practice the method of drying hiking boots by the fire, You need to remember a few rules:

• Shoes are dried in the hands by the fire, and are not displayed nearby or perched on a pebble or log. It should be taken into account that careless movement, a gust of wind or a fire that flares up more strongly can leave you without shoes.
• The most effective way to dry boots is by pointing their neck towards a heat source, that is, towards a fire.

By following these rules, the risk of being left without shoes is reduced. Nevertheless, it is worth thinking several times before resorting to this method of drying hiking boots, because walking in wet shoes is much better than walking without them at all.

2. Drying in the sun or wind

This is one of the safest ways to dry shoes. If, after a wet trek, nature decided to please you with good weather, then all you have to do is unlace your boots and put them in a sunny place, and the sun will do all the work for you. This method gives you the opportunity not to watch your shoes and go about your business.
In addition, the sun will hardly harm your shoes. The only thing you will need to worry about is the change in the position of the shade during the day - boots that were recently exposed to the sun may end up in the shade, and then their chances of drying out are noticeably reduced.

It is worth remembering that if your hike takes place in an area inhabited by all sorts of poisonous reptiles, after such drying you should check your shoes for the presence of any evil spirits, for example, scorpions and spiders, which are attracted by the shadow of the neck of the shoe.

3. Dry your boots on yourself

This drying option is also effective and safe. It is enough to pour out the water that has accumulated there, wring out the insoles, wring out the socks and put the boots back on your feet.
The body, warmed up by physical activity, becomes an excellent “battery” and dries out wet shoes over time. This is the method that the author of the article uses on summer hikes. But there is an obvious disadvantage here: walking in wet shoes is unlikely to have a positive effect on your health.
Of course, it is better not to use this method when low temperatures to avoid frostbite on your extremities.

4. How to dry your hiking boots with stones

For this method, we need small pebbles, which are placed in a pot or in an old tin can and placed on a fire or burner.
When the stones are well heated, but not yet white-hot, we pour them into the shoe. If you are afraid of getting the inside of your shoes dirty, you can wrap the stones in a scarf. A shoe with stones must be constantly and vigorously shaken so that the stones roll all the time.
It is important that the stones are not left in one place for a long time, otherwise they can damage the shoe. When the stones have cooled, you can repeat the procedure several times until the boot is dry. This method is very effective and allows you to dry even very wet boots in a few tens of minutes. But you need to understand that this method is not suitable for shoes with a thin synthetic lining and membrane - the stones will simply melt through the delicate synthetic material.

5. Drying boots with sand while hiking

For this method you will need sand. We pour it into a pot or any other container, which is then placed on the fire. After this, the heated sand is poured into a worn sock. The sock with heated sand is sent inside the boot. This sand warmer dries boots perfectly, as it occupies the maximum area. For better results, the operation should be repeated several times.

6. Drying with water heaters

For this method we will need two half liter bottles. If you dry your shoes one at a time, then one bottle of this will be enough. Cool boiling water is poured into the bottles, after which the bottle is placed in the shoe. This method requires quite a lot of time, since the water cools down quite quickly and in order to dry the boots, the heating pad will have to be filled more than once.

7. How to dry boots in a sleeping bag

This method is suitable for the most rugged tourists and climbers - wet boots are placed directly inside the sleeping bag and dried, again using the heat of the human body. This is rather an extreme method of drying, because you can forget about sleeping comfortably with wet boots in a sleeping bag.

8. Classic drying of shoes with newspaper

Drying with newspaper is a method known and widely practiced since the time of our grandmothers. Until now, some tourists carry newspaper on their hikes precisely to dry their shoes. Newspaper really absorbs moisture very well and can dry damp boots - you just need to put a sufficient amount inside the boots. The disadvantage of this method is obvious: excess weight newspapers in your backpack.
Obviously, taking a newspaper with you on long hikes is not very rational. In some cases, the newspaper can be replaced with some dry and absorbent natural material that can be found directly on a hike, for example, dry leaves, moss or grass.

9. Dry your boots with thermal fluids and salt warmers

Teploids and salt warmers Typically used to warm cold hands, they are also great for drying shoes. There are even special models of heating pads in the form of insoles. Typically thermoids are small bags filled with chemical composition. When it reacts with oxygen, this composition releases heat. The downside is that thermoids are a disposable item, and therefore not very practical.

Salt heating pads, in turn, are usually a silicone container filled with a supersaturated salt solution, inside which a small metal element floats. It is this element that “launches” the heating pad - just bend this metal part a little, and the saline solution leaves the state of calm, beginning the crystallization process. During this process, heat is also released.

After using and cooling such a “crystallized” heating pad, you can put it in boiling water for ten minutes, and it will again return to its original liquid state and be ready for reuse. Such a heating pad is a reusable item, due to which this element of equipment significantly outperforms thermoids. But again, this is extra weight in your backpack.

10. Drying Hiking Boots with Silica Gel

This method is not often used in tourism, but it should also be included in the list to complete the picture. In this case, moisture is removed from the shoe using silica gel. Most likely, you know this substance in the form of small paper bags with transparent balls that are placed in boxes with new shoes. The task of silica gel in this case is to absorb excess moisture and prevent the boots from getting damp.

Usually the following phrase is written on these bags: “Throw away. “Do not eat” (“Throw away. Do not eat.”), but tourists often neglect the first of these two rules, saving these bags for hiking purposes. Of course, it is not at all necessary to try to accumulate the required amount of silica gel by buying shoes.

Silica gel can be purchased in any quantity online or in shoe stores. Our experiments with drying shoes with silica gel showed that this method is more suitable for slightly damp shoes, and it is extremely difficult to dry truly wet shoes with silica gel. In addition, such drying takes a lot of time, and the presence of silica gel in the backpack again increases its weight.

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Let's turn to the shoe manufacturers' recommendations on the best way to dry your boots while hiking and at home. Most manufacturers indicate in their care instructions that even direct sunlight can damage shoes, not to mention drying them by a fire or using heated stones. They recommend drying your shoes in the wind. Some manufacturers do not recommend speeding up the drying process. Each tourist finds his own balance between the desire to definitely walk in dry shoes and the desire to extend their service life for as long as possible and, depending on their priorities, chooses the most suitable drying method for themselves.

Moscow

Hiking in the mountains - where to start
Drying things by the fire

What’s interesting is that years pass, then more years, and in tourism, with all the external diversity, many eternal “rakes” remain in the path of newcomers who regularly stumble upon them every year.
And that is why today I would like to talk about such a problem as camping life around the fire, and how to make it safe and enjoyable.
So, one of the main troubles that almost all beginners, without exception, face is the destruction of their clothes and equipment when drying by the fire.
How to deal with this?
Yes, very simple!
Here are some tips that have been tested many times on yourself and others. One of the main rules is to never leave your things to dry by the fire without personal supervision. Almost every year I see the same picture - despite all my warnings, people hang up and lay out their wet clothes by the fire, after which they go about their business. As a result, after a while we have the same wet clothes, only now they stink of smoke, or some kind of cloth colander, delighting its owner with the cheerful shine of holes of different sizes. :))) The fact is that wet things can safely dry by the fire only in one place - on the side of it, and in close proximity to the fire. To do this, you need to hold them in your hands while being close to the fire.
You cannot dry them over the fire itself, because... If you hang it low over the fire, they will burn; if you hang it high, they will remain damp.
For example, here my tourists failed to really dry anything. But all the things acquired an indescribably strong “aroma”. :)

The reason is that the height of the flame cannot be guessed (this is not a gas burner), and therefore an ownerless thing hanging lonely over the fire, as a rule, either remains wet, or the second option - under the sorrowful howls of its former owner, is sent as a gift to Khan Altai. :) If you still need to dry something quickly, then this is done as follows (we are not talking about synthetics) - take your wet clothes (socks, T-shirt, diaper, tie, etc.) and carry them with a slight rocking movement through the flame. Due to the fact that the fabric will be in the flame itself for a split second, it will not have time to burn. But due to constant high heating, it will dry very quickly.
(this is how I dried my socks very quickly here) When drying synthetics, the situation is somewhat different:
Take it in your hands and sit on the side of the fire. After this, bring it to the flame at such a distance that the fire only heats it. Next, you need to constantly check the surface of the fabric with your hand - it should be very hot, but not to such an extent that it starts to melt. If necessary, you need to literally move away from the fire for a couple of seconds (which will allow the overly heated fabric to cool down), and then continue drying again in the same way.
(this is exactly what my interlocutor demonstrates in the previous photo). In addition, remember that sparks and flying embers are much more dangerous for synthetics than for cotton - a hole appears instantly. Therefore, be careful. And perhaps it’s worth mentioning one more, enough safe way- drying over the hot coals of a just extinguished fire. But, this method is applicable only for long, leisurely stops and day trips. Continuing this topic, we logically move on to another problem - how to protect the clothes you wear from being burned while near a fire. Well, first of all, there is discord between fire and fire. It’s one thing to have a real taiga fire (made of cedar, fir and larch), and quite another thing to have one made from lowland forests (aspen, fir trees and other sticks). In the first case, we get a fire with an even and hot flame, almost without sparks or shooting. In the second case, our fire can easily turn into some kind of festive fireworks. This must also be taken into account and behave accordingly around fire.
You can be quite close to a normal taiga fire without fear. Although, of course, sometimes some small red-hot abomination flies out of it. :)
But next to the fire, from where sparks fly like a fountain, you need to be very careful and not sit too close.
And in both cases, I want to say that an excellent reaction and quick hands will always help you get your favorite jacket or T-shirt. Over time, this skill will become automatic, but at first you will have to keep yourself on guard around a “shooting” fire, ready to throw a split coal off your clothes in a split second. Another thing worth mentioning separately is shoe drying. Let's start with the fact that boots should be dried by the fire only as a last resort, and also, constantly monitoring this process.
Let me explain the first part of this phrase.
If the boots are leather, then quickly dried by the fire they can shrink so much that you will start crying before you even put them on, just looking at this wretchedness. The second part of the drama will begin after putting them on. And most likely after that you will again run to the river to soak them, realizing that damp shoes in this case are not the worst evil.
I would also like to warn you that some leather shoes, if dried quickly, can shrink significantly and irrevocably. Tested on my own skin, when after one such drying, my shoes began to look quite funny - from under quite normal-looking shoes, the soles stuck out almost a centimeter forward, because... the boots have shriveled and shrunk, but the soles have not. In general, boots are usually not specially dried. They just put up tents under the awning at the end of the day, where they slowly return to normal. And although they will still be wet in the morning, this is not a problem, because... in this form they will fit even better on the leg. And then, it all depends on the area. For example, in Altai there are very frequent fords, incl. even well-dried shoes will still go for a swim quickly enough. And that's not to mention rainy days. Here there is sushi - not sushi, just horseradish - you left the parking lot, and you are again up to your ears in mud and water.
Therefore, there is no need to fight so fanatically with moisture on your shoes. After all, no one has ever died from damp shoes, but it’s easy to kill your feet with boots that have shriveled and become stiff by the fire. Not to mention the risk of simply burning them, and generally being left barefoot in the middle of the hike. However, there is another fairly safe way of drying - in the sun (if there is any). In this case, the shoes do not dry as quickly as near a fire, and therefore do not lose their shape. Well, of course, there is no risk of burning it. And in general, in this matter the sun is the safest dryer, not requiring control and constant monitoring. All other methods are only possible with the personal participation of the owner of the wet clothes. Another thing that tourists sometimes have to deal with is drying a wet sleeping bag or down jacket by the fire. Since this is the most valuable thing you have, you need to treat this process very responsibly.
Dry only personally and only in your own hands!

Place the mixture, for example, in an empty tin can and, stirring thoroughly with a stick, heat it in a water bath until a homogeneous mass of liquid consistency is obtained. Then, heating an area of ​​the skin with hot air from a hairdryer or sitting near an open stove so that the skin warms up to a temperature of 40-45 degrees, we successively treat the heated areas of the shoe with a hot compound, including the seams and the connection between the outsole and the upper, applying the compound with a brush. Warming up the skin is necessary to open the pores of the skin. After the mixture is absorbed by the skin, dry the shoes and repeat the procedure several more times (2-3 times at least). It depends on the leather of your boots. The remaining composition can be used as regular shoe polish in a cold form or heated again in a water bath and treated the shoes “hot”.

IMPORTANT! Don't overdo it! You cannot saturate the leather completely, the pores will become completely clogged and it will not breathe, it will become too elastic, and the boot will lose its rigidity. Do not overheat the skin too much, as this can damage it.

There are many options for the composition of the water-repellent mixture; you can search for it yourself on the Internet or in books.

IMPORTANT! Before going on a hike, new shoes must be broken in. To do this, it is usually enough just to walk around the city in them several times for 2-5 km. As soon as you feel that there is no discomfort, the boots are completely ready for combat testing. If you want to check how well the shoes now hold water, test the “upgraded” boots by immersion in water, say, put them on and stand in them for several minutes in a bath filled with water somewhere at the level of the tongue. To enhance the water-repellent effect, you can additionally smear your boots with the remainder of the mixture you took with you (when cooled, it resembles regular shoe polish). The impregnation will need to be repeated before a new trip. You should not perform a similar hot soaking procedure with expensive trekking boots with a membrane (you will clog their pores); at most, you can spread them with a small layer of shoe wax and dry them with a hairdryer.

Advantages. The boots are quite suitable for use on a hike, with or without impregnation. The legs are quite comfortable, because Genuine Leather breathes well, thick sole absorbs shock. Even if moisture gets inside the boots, they are much easier to dry than multi-layer membrane shoes. Ankle boots are several times cheaper than trekking boots. In addition, with active use, the membrane lining inside the boot can wear out in a couple of seasons, and expensive shoes will begin to leak. In the case of ankle boots, even if they become worn out, it would not be a shame to write them off for other purposes (to the dacha, picking mushrooms in the forest, etc.).

Flaws. Berts, of course, are not as comfortable as trekking shoes; they take a long time to lace up, and they wear out much faster.

Conclusion: if funds allow, it is better to buy good trekking boots and care for them in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations.

Who has their own impregnation recipes or others? useful tips on water protection and shoe care, write in the comments!

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Dimas
Posts: 9

Reply #10 on: Mon January 21, 2019, 00:20:29

For me, as a lazy person who has not gone on long hikes, the main advantage of budget boots is just their budget :)) I bought it and drove it when the slush was ankle-deep, I didn’t clean it, didn’t lubricate it, didn’t treat it with anything, it took a season or two or three - I threw it out and bought new ones. At a price of 2000-3000 tr. + discounts/bonuses, you can buy new ones every season :))

admin
Posts: 1

Re: Choosing shoes for hiking. A budget option for hiking boots, or the experience of improving ankle boots
Reply #9 on: Wed August 10, 2016, 19:51:38

It depends on what crosses and what route.

Anonymous
Posts: 9

Re: Choosing shoes for hiking. A budget option for hiking boots, or the experience of improving ankle boots
Reply #8 on: Tue August 09, 2016, 23:11:13

can you just put on sneakers and walk across the open spaces and mountains?? :-)1:-)

Artem
Posts: 9

Re: Choosing shoes for hiking. A budget option for hiking boots, or the experience of improving ankle boots
Reply #7 on: Sun August 12, 2012, 18:30:31

Regarding the ankle boots, I can add the following: not long ago we went hiking, I was wearing boots from Exstreem, my companion was wearing trekking boots (I don’t know the brand), I had to walk in the rain through a clearing with tall grass. After a couple of hours, his boots were completely wet...the boots were 1.5 hours later...But in the parking lot I dried the boots even without fire, but my companion continued to suffer in his damp boots. Draw your own conclusions...

Anonymous
Posts: 9

Re: Choosing shoes for hiking. A budget option for hiking boots, or the experience of improving ankle boots
Reply #6 on: Sat April 14, 2012, 17:14:00

Well, personally, I would like to mention not specific ankle boots, but rather army ointment for ankle boots. 3 years ago I was drafted into the army and given the usual authorized combat boots. At the KMB they had to be rubbed with regular army shoe polish. I suspect that because of him and the design of the boots, they did not get wet. I served in them for 5 months, 4 of which were at the summer training ground. They were not particularly exposed to moisture, but they lost their shape and came unglued a little, which was easily eliminated with a fair amount of Glue-moment :). Next is autumn. I splashed through puddles in them and didn’t think I’d get wet. Then I was given a second pair of shoes: boots. I walked away in them a little, until the spring training ground. The boots got wet, so almost the entire training ground was spent wearing ankle boots. That's when I really fell in love with them for their waterproofness. Because the shoes had to be kept clean (and at the spring training ground this is something of an impossibility), I stood up to the top in a puddle and cleaned them with a brush. Water did not seep in, and this is taking into account the fact that they were already after renovation. If it weren’t for the rapid loss of shape, I would have bought myself the same boots and covered them with something similar to army shoe polish. The main thing is not to overdo it - from large quantity Shoe boots begin to crack.

Even the most expensive trekking boots with a high-quality membrane layer are not completely waterproof. In some particularly unfavorable weather conditions, even such shoes will get wet while hiking, let alone more modest models. Drying shoes while hiking is not as easy as it seems at first glance; especially beginners in tourism make serious mistakes.

The first thing that comes to mind for many inexperienced tourists is to dry their shoes while camping by the fire. You can, of course, place it on pegs driven in near the fire, but do this only if you don’t mind your shoes. In theory, you can try to place the boots at a sufficiently large distance from the fire so that they are not exposed to sparks and intense heat, but still get some warmth. However, drying your shoes while camping by the fire can easily damage them and negate all their thermoregulating properties, especially when it comes to membrane trekking models.

Every experienced tourist has his own more safe method drying, but the manufacturers themselves recommend dry your shoes while hiking in the wind, having first taken out the laces, insoles and turned out the tongue. In good clear weather, drying shoes is even easier, because under the warm rays of the sun they will dry very quickly.

To speed up the drying process tourists practice their techniques, For example:

1. If a rainstorm or other bad weather gets your boots wet, try to find handfuls of dry hay, grass or moss at a rest stop. Dry your hiking boots with these natural materials by simply filling your boots with them. Moss, grass or hay will absorb excess moisture. It is advisable to replace wet padding with dry padding from time to time to speed up the drying process.
2. If you find similar natural materials If you fail, dry your shoes while hiking using the good old “newspaper” method, stuffing your shoes with crumpled newspaper sheets. You can initially take the newspaper with you; there will always be a use for it when traveling, or you can purchase it somewhere along the way. When traveling, newspapers can be replaced toilet paper. Paper, like dry grass or moss, will absorb excess moisture.
3. Household silica gel in the form of small translucent balls will help dry damp shoes. You've probably seen it in small bags in boxes. new shoes. Drying shoes while hiking using fabric bags filled with silica gel is very convenient. And although this is extra space and weight, this drying method will pay off. Instead of silica gel, drying bags can be filled with rice, which also perfectly absorbs moisture, but weighs more.
4. When none of the above is at hand, dry your shoes while hiking with two pairs of warm socks. Put on dry ones and put on your shoes, and hang wet ones to dry. When this pair is dry, take off your shoes, take off the wet ones and hang them to dry, put the dried ones on, and put on your shoes again. The socks will gradually absorb excess moisture.
5. It’s even faster to alternately dry your socks directly on yourself by the fire. To do this, put on a dry pair, stay in your boots for a while, alternately take off your feet and bring them to the fire, and when they warm up, put on your shoes again and wait until the socks are re-saturated with moisture. You definitely won’t burn your socks, because you will control the heat yourself.
6. It is recommended to dry your shoes while hiking with heated sand or small stones. It is enough to pour them into a pot or an empty tin can, warm them over a fire, but do not heat them, pour them into unused socks and place them inside the boots. With this method, it is very important not to overheat the sand or pebbles so that they simply do not melt the material.
7. You can dry your shoes while hiking in a situation that seems completely hopeless at first glance using two plastic bottles with a capacity of 0.5 liters or less. Just pour them in hot water and use them as a kind of heating pads, but as the water cools down you will have to add new water.

In many hiking situations, it is still not possible to completely dry your shoes, and in the morning you have to put on still damp shoes. For such situations you can use salt heating insoles. They heat up due to harmless chemical reaction saline solution with a small metal element, retain heat for a long time and are reusable. However, this option is not suitable for light-footed tourists, for whom every extra gram is important.

You can dry your shoes while hiking in different situations, but it’s still useful to always study weather forecasts, and in particularly wet conditions protect your feet with special tourist shoe covers or gaiters.