by Erik » Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:39 am
Last year, I started using a portable little travel hair dryer that fits in my boot bag. I needed the extra help as I was recovering from foot surgery. I used the hair dryer in the lodge to help get the boot off the recovering foot, and it worked out great.
Since hair dryers and heat guns are high-current tools, I don't think you can get the amps you need by running an inverter off your car's DC circuit. Last year, I could not find any cordless battery-powered hair dryers on the market, but now there are several different rechargeable models on Amazon. I'm guessing that they would all work OK for one set of boots for one skier, but I don't know if they would have the run time to support multiple users. They seem to have integrated batteries, so you can't just swap in another battery pack. Only one of the models seemed to have a removable battery pack, but I didn't see any replacements. I'm guessing that we will see see many more cordless options coming to market in the next few years.
Since batteries don't work as well when they are cold, there might be additional considerations for insulating one of these portable hair dryers to keep it warmer in the car while you are out skiing.
I have a Milwaukee 18v battery heat gun that I plan to try out this winter. DeWalt, Ryobi, Craftsman, and Hercules (Harbor Freight) also have battery powered heat guns in the 18-20v range, so if you already have cordless tools in one of those battery platforms, it might be a cost-effective way to go. The DeWalt has two heat settings. Like their corded counterparts, the heat guns accept common attachments for diffusers, nozzles, and heat shields. The Milwaukee heat gun has a high current draw, so using a higher-capacity battery might be a good way to go.
I would recommend being very cautious about practicing with any heat gun to avoid overheating the boot. Heat guns can produce in excess of 900 degrees F, so it would have to be held at a distance from the boot. Practicing with a hair dryer first might be safer for learning where you need to heat the boot plastic for best effect, or practicing on an old set of boots. Another consideration for a heat gun is that the metal nozzle has no protection, unlike a hair dryer, where it is all encased in plastic. You would need to be extra careful about setting down a heat gun to avoid the nozzle touching something that would melt or burn.