Update: 2 years.  Still working great.  No meltdowns.  I still rotate Mucks and Bogs boots, gloves, hats and socks.  Make sure you keep lint and pet fur away from the vents.

We've had this for a month now.  I've revised my rating up to a 5 star. It's not as delicate as first I believed.  This is SO much better then dismantling boots, propping them against a heater vent and hoping they'll dry.  It dries out my boots very quickly - I dry out at least two pair of boots and several pair of gloves a day and recently started using it for the heavy wool socks I use for liners.  All this on just 4 tubes.

It is not built to take heavy handling so don't buy it if you plan on throwing your boots on it from 5 feet away.  But heavy winter farm Muck(tm) and Bog(tm)boots easily slide off and on. The unit has never toppled over with boots on it.  The ONLY issue may be if your pets snuggle up to the intake vent.

THIS dryer does not have a fan in it - making it silent. It has no switch, you just plug it in.  The temperature is low making it a good choice for woolen or leather boots and gloves, bad choice if you are trying to dry soaking wet gear in an hour.  Air vents into the back of the base, slowly warms and raises through the tubes. You could plug it into a light timer if you wanted it to shut off after XX hours but it never seems to get very warm.

We bought the package with glove dryers and tall boot extenders - at lunch I change out for fresh boots and gloves, by next morning everything is dry.  The glove forms are sized for a man's glove, mine barely fit all the way down, but just perching them over the tips of the form worked fine.  My size 7 ladies and size 5 kids boots fit on easily.

I've tried it both ways, and it dries all my stuff just fine without sitting next to a heater vent.