Back in August (was it really that long ago?) I did a post about Drylocker, a Canadian owned/operated business that develops hockey bags with fans in them to dry the equipment in the bag. I mentioned that a hockey dad from Ontario (who had experience working with canvas in boat tops and tents) got sick of the stinky equipment in his house, so he decided to develop a bag with a fan, and a filter to clean the air.
What an innovative idea!
I also told you all that I would let you know how the Drylocker Hockey Bag worked. Though we did receive our bag in August, I was not really able to “test it out” until September, when my son hit the ice. The lucky recipient of this bag is tyke age (but playing Novice) and sweats profusely.
My son was thrilled the day that new hockey bag showed up at our house. First of all, it was new. Second, it had wheels (I went for the wheeled option), which meant he was actually able to take his own equipment into the arena. Third, the bag…HAD A FAN IN IT!!!
The bag quickly became a topic of conversation at the rink, as my son was keen to point out to everyone that would listen that HIS bag has a fan in it. And the reactions to a fan-equipped bag vary. Die hard old-school hockey types cannot see how this bag could possibly work better than airing out equipment, or how you could conceive of using some kind of trendy “gimmick”, while others think it is an absolutely brilliant idea. And, everyone wants to know how it works.
So…here goes my review of the Drylocker Hockey Bag thus far.
Initially, a primary concern for me was “ease of use” and “portability” of the bag since I am often carrying two hockey bags, a two year old, and a diaper bag all at once. I was told by Drylocker that the fan would make the bag minimally heavier than a normal bag, and the space for equipment would be minimally smaller due to the space required for the fan. However, I have found that the fan affects neither space for equipment in the bag, or the weight. Truthfully, there is more room in this bag than the last one that we used, and this bag doesn’t seem to weigh any more, or at least, not that I have noticed. Also, I’m able to wheel it around, or rather; my son is, so that has been a big bonus for me.
But…does it WORK?
In short….YES!! I have found that for the month we have been using it, the bag really does what Drylocker says it will, and both dries out the equipment and keeps out the smell!
I will admit that I did have a false start. Because of my son’s rush to uses the bag I didn’t get a chance to start with clean equipment. This meant that when I turned on the fan the first couple of times, it was blowing smelly air around inside the bag. There was no odour observed from the outside, and it was still drying the equipment, but the bag cannot REMOVE the smell, just prevents it by drying the equipment quickly. The dried equipment still had a smell once the bag was opened, because we started with smelly equipment! After throwing everything (yes…everything except the skates) in the washing machine, we started again, because really,who needs more stinky equipment in a change room? We were pleased to find that the with the fan running, the equipment really does dry out after a couple hours. And, there seems to be no smell. AND, it is cool for kids to watch their hockey bag puff up because there is a fan in the bag!
Are there any downfalls? Well, there is bit of a noise to the fan, but I really don’t notice it much. And, I will mention again that the owner of this bag is a very sweaty younger player. It works for him, but I’m sure that his stinkiness will take on a whole new dimension when he hits his teen years. I would guess, though, that the Drylocker Hockey Bag works even for older, smellier players (I’d like to hear from any of you who have older players using a Drylocker hockey bag).
Overall, the product does what the website says it will. As a mom, I will still need to regularly wash all my son’s equipment, because, fan in your hockey bag or not, I think that’s a pretty important thing to do. I am especially looking forward to using the Drylocker Hockey bag during tournaments this year, because any of you who have taken your kids to an out of town tournament can identify with the grossness of “airing out” the hockey equipment in your hotel room. For those of you who do a lot of travel tournaments, the bag might be worth it just for that reason!
NEW ADDITION! Check out what a Hockey Mom of three goalies has to say abou the Drylocker Hockey Bag!
Have you or someone you know tried the Drylocker hockey bag? Leave a comment below, email contactus@canadianhockeymoms.ca, or post a message on our Hockey Mom in Canada Facebook Page.
NEW!! Enter HERE to Win a Drylocker Hockey Bag (contest closed)!