Travel Hair Dryers

Top-rated packable hair dryers

A common complaint about travel hair dryers is that they don't offer the same power as full-size models. Many of them are very basic in construction and lack sophisticated features. Most only have one speed and heat setting and don't come with any attachments for styling hair.

Still, experts say that the Andis 1875 Ionic Ceramic Folding Dryer (*Est. $20), stands out from the rest, with several features normally found on full-size hair dryers. A Good Housekeeping magazine test found it to have the same power as many full-size dryers, and editors say that it dries hair just as well. Users also love that it has three heat settings and three speed settings as well as ionic ceramic technology. It also has a five-year warranty, much longer than many dryers in this price range. Still, we did find a few concerns; some users say its retractable cord eventually stops retracting all the way, and a few users say the size of this compact dryer makes it less than comfortable to hold, especially for a prolonged period of time. One concern is that the Andis travel dryer isn't a dual-voltage model, so if you want to use it overseas, you'll need to use a voltage adapter.

International travelers may appreciate the dual-voltage Hot Tools Anti-Static Ionic Travel Hair Dryer 1039 (*Est. $30). This hair dryer is a top pick among reviewers at Folica.com, retail site that sells hairstyling products and allows users to rate them. However, while reviewers at Folica.com say it performs as well as most full-size hair dryers, they add that the concentrator attachment, which allows users to direct airflow for hairstyling purposes, falls off too easily. This ionic hair dryer has a convenient folding handle, two heat/speed settings and a one-year warranty.