Drying Rack Review

Over the years I’ve tried a variety of ways to both clean, dry and stow my gear, and although it’s always a work in progress, I thought I’d share my latest idea for drying gear. I’ll expand on the other topics in later articles.

Here in the Northwest where we so often get showers, I was looking for a system that I could use outside when the weather was good for rapid drying, but roll into the garage when needed. While working for various outfitters in the pass, I’d seen their attempts at manufacturing rolling racks, but they where large and clunky and with time fell apart. Due to the limited space of my garage, I was looking for something that would allow me to dry two complete sets of kit, and have a small footprint as well. I think I finally found the perfect solution in a merchandising rack from a department store that was going out of business.

You’ll notice in the photos that the rack is only approximately 2’ square but tall enough to allow PFDs and sprayskirts to hang from the hooks. It also came with a couple of wire shelves which provide a drying rack for flat items. I added the 3” PVC rings to accommodate the paddles in an inverted position to allow the shafts to drip dry. Also, I used zipped ties to position and secure the hooks as they had a tendency to fall when removing the gear.

Being made of metal, it should hold up much better as the racks I’ve seen built of wood have a tendency to absorb water over time and disintegrate rather quickly. The small footprint allows me to tuck it out of the way in a corner of the garage.

These are just some ideas to help you get started on devising your one system; hope you find it helpful.