About a year ago I backed a Kickstarter project for a wetsuit dryer. It finally arrived and I have used it a few times.

It's basically an enormous coat hanger with air vents, a fan, and an electric heating element. There's all sorts of technical data and tips on the web site.

www.thewetsuitdryer.com/



So far, it's pretty good. I can dry a 6mm suit from totally dripping wet to completely dry in two hours (one hour inside, one hour outside). I washed the suit in a tub of fresh water, let it drip for 15 minutes (to reduce the weight of water), then put it on the dryer and turned it on. The hanger grips the shoulders fairly well so there's little risk of damaging the suit, provided you let it drip a bit first.

If I let the suit drip dry overnight I can turn on the dryer in the morning and the inside will be completely dry in about 30 minutes. The ends of the legs might be a bit damp.

At this time of year in Melbourne a wetsuit can hang outside or in the garage for a week and still not be dry. I can use heating ducts at home to dry wetsuits but that can be a nuisance. During road trips it as always difficult drying a suit overnight in a caravan park cabin. With the wetsuit dryer I can quickly dry a wetsuit whenever, and wherever I need to.

If it was 12v you could use it in your car the hope into a nice toasty wetsuit on a cold winters day

Awesome!! Reckon that is a great invention.

Just a question on the heating...if it is heating and drying it in 2 hours, just how hot is it?? Not too hot to degrade the rubber of the wettie?

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elmo said..
If it was 12v you could use it in your car the hope into a nice toasty wetsuit on a cold winters day

The first version was 12v and folded up into a tiny package. Basically it didn't work.


There is another product from another company called Hangair. It blows but doesn't heat. It doesn't dry the suit, just makes it less wet. It runs off 12v.

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shi thouse said..
Awesome!! Reckon that is a great invention.

Just a question on the heating...if it is heating and drying it in 2 hours, just how hot is it?? Not too hot to degrade the rubber of the wettie?

It's warm, but not hot. The drying seems to come from the airflow and the heat makes it efficient. It's also quiet so you can leave it running without the noise of a loud fan.

I experimented with fan heaters and stuff in the past. It wasn't possible to get the airflow properly into the suit. I would end up with a laundry like a sauna and a dryish suit.

PS I fill a 5 litre container with hot water and wrap my towel around. The towel insulates the bottle and keeps it warm. After a session I wash down with hot water and dry off with a warm towel.

Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

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cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

Good advice from the man in WA

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Good advice from the man in WA

Zactly. I'm in WA and use an "R2 wetsuit hanger" ( from fleabay @ $16 I recall( from Japas?)). No power, just wide shoulders to prolong the life of the suit.
I adore a dry entry so wring mine dry at the extremeties twice at two hour intervals, and its almost dry come morning. If thats not good enough, take up golf.
Heating a wettie?... Ain't no self-respecting layabout surfer got coin for that!



Sorry if that eats into any backing kickbacks.

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cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

I generally don't wear wetsuits at all, even in winter. NSW doesn't get that cold, although sometimes in winter its a good idea to keep the wind off if stopped.

Yet, I went to Sandy Point, Vic, back in 2008 and I was wearing a steamer, with a couple of rash vests underneath. If I lived there I think I would have a rotation of wetsuits just to make sure at least one was dry.

Wetsuit??
Hmm I think I saw one one once. Can't be sure...

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kato said..

cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

Good advice from the man in WA

Was an army diver in Kiel
also army amphibious engineer on the river Weiser
that joint was an arctic wind tunnel , used to do arctic warfare training in Norway ,
would you like to know what real cold is like?

I put my wetsuit on top of my engine when I arrive for sailing.

i close the bonnet and after I rig its a good bit dryer.

2 hours of heating - some of us are on a tight budget.

Spotted this in kiteworld magazine , for the faint hearted



Retails for gbp 50 , it's called the DRY

I have been using a "Dry Guy" boot drier for years. Live in the Pacific north west coast of Canada. Surf when below freezing. Need a dry suit. I hang my suit up over a plastic tray, put one leg cuff over each prong and boots over other two prongs and turn on timer. Dry in about 3 hours.

Bob

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kato said..Good advice from the man in WA

cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

Here have a few more green thumbs.

A six pack of HTFU and a smile on your face is fine.

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cauncy said..

kato said..

cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

Good advice from the man in WA

Was an army diver in Kiel
also army amphibious engineer on the river Weiser
that joint was an arctic wind tunnel , used to do arctic warfare training in Norway ,
would you like to know what real cold is like?

I know what real cold is ;)

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Gorgo said..
About a year ago I backed a Kickstarter project for a wetsuit dryer. It finally arrived and I have used it a few times.

It's basically an enormous coat hanger with air vents, a fan, and an electric heating element. There's all sorts of technical data and tips on the web site.

www.thewetsuitdryer.com/



So far, it's pretty good. I can dry a 6mm suit from totally dripping wet to completely dry in two hours (one hour inside, one hour outside). I washed the suit in a tub of fresh water, let it drip for 15 minutes (to reduce the weight of water), then put it on the dryer and turned it on. The hanger grips the shoulders fairly well so there's little risk of damaging the suit, provided you let it drip a bit first.

If I let the suit drip dry overnight I can turn on the dryer in the morning and the inside will be completely dry in about 30 minutes. The ends of the legs might be a bit damp.

At this time of year in Melbourne a wetsuit can hang outside or in the garage for a week and still not be dry. I can use heating ducts at home to dry wetsuits but that can be a nuisance. During road trips it as always difficult drying a suit overnight in a caravan park cabin. With the wetsuit dryer I can quickly dry a wetsuit whenever, and wherever I need to.

Got mine a couple of weeks ago to, very happy, 4/3 dry in under an hour, much better the trying to get a frozen suit off the clothes line in the morning if I've forgotten to get it in at night.

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rod_bunny said..

cauncy said..

kato said..

cauncy said..
Just man the f...k up and get into your wetsuit your gonna get wet anyhow, plus it never gets properly cold in Australia,
drink a few cups of tea and that'll supply you with a few warm water flows ,

Good advice from the man in WA

Was an army diver in Kiel
also army amphibious engineer on the river Weiser
that joint was an arctic wind tunnel , used to do arctic warfare training in Norway ,
would you like to know what real cold is like?

I know what real cold is ;)

Good

Two wetsuits,,,,,,,,, those two words are enough. And they'll last twice as long.