I'm a big guy. All my stuff is big. When I travel, my one checked bag usually weighs between 49-49.5 lbs. I don't like paying extra bag fees. At the end of a trip, on my off gassing day, my ritual is to rinse everything as thoroughly as I can, and then set about trying to dry it. With less than 1lb of baggage weight to spare, any wet equipment will push me over the limit. This has resulted in some serious drying acrobatics: taking every hanger from the hotel room, draping boots on A/C units, manipulating tree branches so things hang upside down, and so on.
But my favorite drying scenario came this past summer on the Big Island, Hawai'i. We had to check out around 10am, but our flight wasn't until 9pm. We were staying in a humid area, so nothing was dry. We decided to check out Old Kona Airport (which is a fantastic place, btw). You can drive the length of the old runway and the beach is right there. Not crowded, lots of fun. The entire road is lined with black lava rock, with no tree cover. So, I put all my gear on the lava rocks, and even found smaller lava rocks to put inside my boots. Everything was dry in 30 minutes! Most successful drying attempt ever. My boots usually take >24hrs to fully dry, and even they were crispy. If you have a fun story or pic to share, let's hear it.
But my favorite drying scenario came this past summer on the Big Island, Hawai'i. We had to check out around 10am, but our flight wasn't until 9pm. We were staying in a humid area, so nothing was dry. We decided to check out Old Kona Airport (which is a fantastic place, btw). You can drive the length of the old runway and the beach is right there. Not crowded, lots of fun. The entire road is lined with black lava rock, with no tree cover. So, I put all my gear on the lava rocks, and even found smaller lava rocks to put inside my boots. Everything was dry in 30 minutes! Most successful drying attempt ever. My boots usually take >24hrs to fully dry, and even they were crispy. If you have a fun story or pic to share, let's hear it.