Hockey doesn't get talked about the way football does. But if you're stood in a shared changing room after a midweek training session, watching everyone's boots pile up in various states of soaked, you'll know the actual problem is identical.

Astro doesn't care what sport you're playing on it. Wet turf is wet turf. Boots come off the pitch carrying water in the studs, moisture through the upper, and mud packed into every seam — and then they sit in a bag, in a changing room, or in the boot of a car, right through until the next session. For a lot of hockey players that's two, sometimes three days later. Football gets written about constantly for exactly this issue. Hockey, somehow, doesn't despite dealing with the same pitches, the same schedule, and the same boots that never quite get the chance to dry properly.

Same pitch, same problem

Astro is brilliant for consistency - same surface, same bounce, training on it rain or shine. But that consistency comes at a cost for footwear. Unlike grass, which at least drains and dries between sessions, an astro pitch stays saturated for hours after rain, and boots pick up moisture on every single session regardless of whether it's actually raining when you're out there. Add a typical training week; Tuesday session, Thursday session, Saturday match, and boots are being asked to dry out fully in less time than they're actually spending wet.

Most don't get there. They get less wet than they were, which feels like progress, right up until the moment you notice the smell, or your feet feel damp again ten minutes into the warm-up.

The changing room compounds it

Shared changing rooms don't help. Multiple pairs of boots, kit bags zipped shut, limited airflow, and often not much time between finishing one session and needing the same boots dry for the next, it's a near-perfect setup for boots that never properly recover. That's true whether you're a player packing your own bag or a parent unzipping your kid's on the kitchen floor an hour later.

The knock-on effects are exactly what footballers deal with too: blisters from boots that never fully softened back into shape, athlete's foot and general bacterial buildup from the damp environment, and boots that wear out faster because damp materials break down quicker than dry ones. None of that is hockey-specific. It's just what happens to any boot that doesn't get properly dried between wears, hockey just doesn't talk about it as much.

The fix is the same one footballers already use

This is where hockey's actually in a good position, because the solution isn't complicated or sport-specific. The Atacama dries footwear properly, not surface-level, not "a bit less soaked than before," but genuinely dry, by circulating warm air through the boot. A full cycle takes around 90 minutes, easily done between a Tuesday session and Thursday's, or straight after Saturday's match so boots are actually ready to go rather than still carrying last week's astro.

For players, that means boots that fit properly instead of stiff and half-dry, and one less recurring niggle to manage through a long season. For parents managing a kid's kit on top of everything else in the week, it means boots go from the bag to the Atacama and back out again dry, without becoming another job that eats into an already busy evening.

Hockey's had the same wet-boot problem as football this whole time. It just hasn't had anyone pointing it out. 

FAQs

Why do hockey boots stay wet longer than other sports' footwear?

Astro pitches hold moisture far longer than grass does, and hockey boots pick up water on nearly every session regardless of the weather. Combined with training two or three times a week, boots often don't get enough time to dry fully before they're needed again.

Can wet hockey boots cause blisters or athlete's foot?

Yes. Boots that stay damp create the exact warm, moist environment that bacteria and fungal infections like athlete's foot need, and boots that haven't dried back into shape are more likely to rub and cause blisters.

How long does it take to dry hockey boots properly?

With the Atacama, around 90 minutes. That's enough time to circulate warm air through the boot and clear moisture properly, rather than just airing the surface.

Is this a common problem for hockey players, or just an occasional issue?

It's extremely common — it's simply not discussed as much as it is in football. Anyone training on astro multiple times a week is dealing with the same drying problem, whether they've noticed it yet or not.