PEET
The original shoe and boot dryer, made in the USA in St. Maries, Idaho, since Gene Peet invented it in 1968
🏭 American Manufacturing
Our assessment
Company details
Where PEET products are made
Every member of the Original PEET family states it on its own product page: the Original Shoe and Boot Dryer, the XL Tall, the Wader, and the Multi Shoe and Glove. These are the products the company was built on and they are the ones marked proudly made in the USA.
The Propane Portable is described as proudly made in the USA with domestic and global components, not as unqualified made in the USA. Using the two forms for two different products is a sign a company is reading its own supply chain rather than applying one badge everywhere.
Replacement fans, transformers, the Go! Dryer, the Apex Dual and the gun-safe dehumidifier rods carry no origin statement at all. A brand willing to leave the claim off two thirds of its catalogue is a brand whose claim on the other third is worth reading.
The proudly made in the USA lines on the Original PEET Shoe and Boot Dryer, the Original PEET XL Tall, the Original PEET Wader, the Original PEET Multi Shoe and Glove Dryer and the Mitten DryPorts attachment, and the made in the USA with domestic and global components line on the Propane Portable, were read directly from the company own product catalogue on 12 September 2026. The count of six origin statements across 32 catalogue products was taken from the same source; the remaining 26 products carry no origin statement, and no claim is made for them here. The address 919 St Maries River Rd, St Maries, ID 83861 comes from the company own privacy policy. The 1968 invention by Gene Peet, the description of the business as starting as a family business in 1968 and the statement that a majority of manufacturing is performed by women are all published by the company on its own site. This profile does not state where in Idaho the manufacturing happens, because the company does not publish a plant location.
The story
Gene Peet invented the Original Shoe Dryer in 1968, and the design has an engineer stubbornness about it. There is no fan and no thermostat. A low-wattage element warms the air inside a pair of tubes, and convection does the rest, pulling moisture out of the boot slowly, silently and without cooking the leather.
That is the whole argument for the product. A hot-air blower dries a boot fast and hardens it. A PEET takes hours and leaves it soft. The company has spent more than half a century adding sizes, extensions, propane and portable versions of the same idea rather than replacing it.
The company is based at St. Maries, Idaho, in the panhandle, and calls itself a family business that started in 1968. It also notes that a majority of its manufacturing is performed by women, which is not a thing most hardware brands think to mention.
The catalogue has grown to include gun-safe dehumidifier rods, odour control and a range of drying attachments for gloves, mittens, helmets and hydration reservoirs. Not all of it is American-made, and the company does not pretend otherwise: the origin claim sits on the Original dryer family and the attachments, not on the accessories.
Why they matter
A shoe dryer is exactly the sort of low-margin electrical product that moves offshore and never comes back. PEET has kept the line it is known for marked made in the USA, in a category where nearly every competitor is an import with a brand name on it.
The way it handles the rest of the catalogue is what makes the claim trustworthy. Six products out of 32 carry an origin statement. The company could have put a badge on the homepage and let it cover everything. Instead the claim sits where it is true and is absent where it is not.
And the product itself is an argument against replacement. The reason to dry boots gently is that it makes them last, which is the same reason to buy something built well in the first place. A company that has sold essentially one good idea since 1968 is the kind of manufacturer worth keeping.
Shop PEET products
Browse PEET shoe and boot dryers, drying attachments and gun-safe dehumidifier rods in the Buy American Campaign store.
Frequently asked questions
Are PEET dryers made in the USA?
The Original dryer family is. The Original Shoe and Boot, XL Tall, Wader and Multi Shoe and Glove dryers are each marked proudly made in the USA on the company own product pages, as is the Mitten DryPorts attachment. The Propane Portable is marked made in the USA with domestic and global components.
Which PEET products are not covered by that claim?
Replacement fans, power adapters, the Go! Dryer, the Apex Dual, the Power Cell, the gun-safe dehumidifier rods and most accessories carry no origin statement on the company site, so no claim is made for them here.
Where is PEET based?
St. Maries, Idaho. The company publishes 919 St Maries River Rd, St Maries, ID 83861 in its privacy policy.
How does a PEET dryer work?
By gentle convection rather than forced hot air. A low-wattage element warms the air inside the tubes and moisture is carried out slowly, which dries footwear without stiffening leather. Gene Peet invented the design in 1968.