After every practice pads, gloves and cleats get zipped up damp and left there until next practice.
Athletes have plenty of ways to recover their bodies. Their gear has had nothing.
It can't go in the washer.
Pads and gloves break down in a machine, so most gear rarely gets washed at all.
Sprays only cover it up.
Deodorizers mask the smell for a day while the gear stays damp underneath.
Dryers are built for shoes.
Boot dryers hold a pair of cleats. Nothing portable takes the whole kit.
One button. Three phases.
Load your gear onto the Spine, roll the top shut, and clip the buckle. The Core handles the rest.
1 Dry
High-volume airflow pulls moisture from every layer of padding, preventing the breakdown of technical fabrics and foams.
2 Fresh
Controlled ozone injection neutralizes odor-causing molecules at the source, ensuring your gear smells clean, not just covered up.
3 Ready
The Core turns the ozone back into oxygen. When the light turns green, your gear is ready.
Inside the lacrosse gear dryer
The Bag
A 40 L roll-top backpack with a TPU-coated shell, backpack straps, and helmet and stick straps.
The Spine
A fold-flat frame with air legs that go into gloves and cleats, and a center post for shoulder and elbow pads.
The Core
Docks at the base and runs the cycle from one button. Powered by a 12 V wall adapter, with an ozone sensor and buckle interlock.
Built since seventh grade.
I started building a gear dryer in a seventh-grade engineering class, after my mom got tired of my lacrosse bag stinking up the house. That first prototype was a big wooden box with a fan, and it still works today. Ten years later, I'm finishing my degree at the University of Mary Washington, and Locker 41 won UMW's 2026 Eagle Egg Pitch Competition and its $10,000 prize. Now the wooden box is becoming something you can carry.
J.D. Nett, Founder, Locker 41