Finding the perfect tent for all your needs is a tough thing to accomplish but once you have found it, you’ll have the perfect layout with all the right amount of space for sleeping, storage, and everything else you need to make your time camping as good as it can be.
At A Glance: Our Top 3 Tent Seam Sealers
Unfortunately, tents don’t last forever and after a while, you may start to see rips and tears that end up causing leaks and making your tent a little redundant. So what are your options? Buying a new tent is an expensive investment plus you might not find a tent that compares to the perfect one you found. The other option is to fix it with some seam sealer.
Seam sealer is an awesome substance that will fix up your tent for years to come, stopping those annoying leaks and letting you keep on using your favorite tent. In this article, we’ll be looking at the best tent seam sealers on the market and comparing them against each other so you can find the right one to fix your favorite tent.
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Best On A Budget
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Best Allrounder
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Best Of The Best
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The Gear Aid Seam Grip SIL is designed for sealing any kind of gear that has a silicone finish on it. That includes tents, backpacks, tarps, anything silicone treated, to be honest. It’s also very light once it cures so if you’re into shaving ounces off your gear, this might be the sealer for you.
The tube gives you 1.5 ounces of sealant that will cover up to 24 ft of seams if you use it appropriately. Using it is a little tricky due to the thickness of the liquid but once it’s applied correctly you’ll end up with a windproof, waterproof seal that can pretty much handle anything.
The sealant won’t crack or peel, it’ll be flexible with elasticity to let your gear move naturally, and it won’t be affected by extreme heat or cold either, so you can take your tent into the most extreme places if you want to.
If you do happen to mess up while applying it, you can wipe it down with paint thinner to remove it. So there is no need to worry about making a few mistakes.
Overall it’s an excellent tent seam sealer for anyone with a silicone treat tent or other gear. You may want to buy two tubes as there isn’t that much in one, and you can always take a spare on the trail.
Coleman’s Seam Sealer is designed for use with tents, tarps, backpacks, and more. It is just a seams sealer though and is not great for patching up a gear, so it’s not an all gear puncture repair kit like some of the others.
This seam sealer is made from an eco-friendly water-based mixture and comes in a 2-ounce bottle. There isn’t any data around the coverage but it is certainly great value. You get more ounce for less money with this seam sealer.
Coleman’s Seam Sealer comes with a handy foam applicator that makes getting your sealing right a breeze. Make sure you read the instructions to find out whether you need to apply it on the inside or the outside of your tent.
Once applied it takes just 2 hours to dry and become waterproof. This is about as fast as a sealer cures and is ideal for use on the fly while camping, as you won’t have to wait long for it to be ready. Being water-based, you’ll need to apply it on a dry tent so if it’s raining you may struggle.
Overall this is an awesome tent seam sealer for use on the trail and at home. It’s affordable, great value, and worth carrying in your backpack.
The Gear Aid Seam Grip FC comes in a handy 2-ounce pot with a built-in brush for easy application. Some people love the brush, others hate it. If you’re finding it hard to use, simply put some liquid on your own brush to apply it.
The best things about this sealer are that it cures quickly in just two hours and that it covers a large area of up to 60 ft. This means you should be able to do a whole tent and be able to use it on the fly. So it’s definitely worth carrying with you in your backpack.
You can use it to seal up anything from tents, tarps, and awnings. It works on nylon, polyester, and canvas, so it’ll work on pretty much every tent in the world.
Once you have added the sealant and let it cure it gives a long-lasting, waterproof seal that is elastic and moves with the fabric. It does leave a bit of a glossy finish on top of the tent material, but it’s nothing to worry about really.
Overall this is a great all-around tent seam sealer that works on all materials a tent could be made of. You may hate the brush though, so be prepared to find another one if you do.
The Texsport Polyurethane Waterproof Seam Sealer is about as good as a sealer gets if you have a lot of patience. It takes a whole 48 hours to finish the job, so while this tent seam sealer might not be for use on the trail it’s definitely for use at home.
You can use this sealer on anything from tents to jackets and backpacks. It is super easy to apply, just spray it on following the instructions. Made from Polyurethane, once you have done the 48-hour drying process, the sealer will be odorless and invisible but it’ll protect the hell out of your tent.
The seal will be waterproof, washable, protect the fabric from the sun, and from any dirt that might try and get through. It’s also extremely flexible and moves naturally with the fabric so you’ll still get the performance you need from your tent. Cracking and peeling are also things of the past with this tent seam sealer.
Overall it’s one of the best tent seam sealers around in terms of the end product but you will have to apply two coats and wait for 48 hours for it to work.
The Gear Aid Seam Grip WP is designed for use with pretty much any material, any tent, and all your other gear too. It’ll bond with nylon, polyester, canvas, leather, and vinyl so you really will be able to seal pretty much everything.
The tube comes with 1 ounce of liquid and covers quite a small amount, just 12 ft of seams. But you can buy larger tubes and double packs if you want to. It comes with two application brushes, so you won’t have to find any of your own. Applying it is quite hard because it’s quite thick.
Once you have applied it, you’ll have to wait for 8-hours for it to cure which is quite a while. This makes it a little redundant for use on the trail unless you use it overnight, although you may not want to sleep with the smell.
Once cured it creates a waterproof seal that doesn’t peel or crack, plus it’s flexible to allow the fabric to move naturally. Overall it’s an awesome sealer that works on almost everything to create a waterproof sealant.
This Kenyon Seam Sealer can be used on any synthetic fabric so if you have a polyester or nylon tent, which is highly likely, this tent seam sealer will work wonders for you.
It’s an eco-friendly, non-toxic, water-based sealer that is pretty thin as sealers go. It comes with a handy applicator that allows you to dab the sealer accurately but it is a little thin and can go wrong quite easily.
Once applied, it penetrates the fabric and seals any and all open holes forming a waterproof and flexible coating. Once it’s dry it’ll flex with the fabric naturally and will form a clear film. You can see the film but it is not that obvious.
The seal will be able to handle being washed and even dry cleaned, so no matter how you clean your gear, the seams will remain sealed.
Some have complained that after a heavy storm the sealer didn’t function properly. This is something to bear in mind but it may be due to not using enough sealer in the first place.
Overall, it’s a solid sealer but there is no mention of how long it’ll take to cure.
The Gear Aid Seam Grip TF tent seam sealer is made especially for tents, the TF stands for tent fabric, and its ideal for use with nylon tent floors, rainfly, and tarps. It’ll restore your old PU coatings quickly and with ease.
Applying the seam sealer is pretty tough and will need some practice to spread it thin enough to cover 85 sq ft, but once you have the hang of it, it’ll be a breeze. Some people seem to love the applicator brush while others struggle with it, so be prepared to get used to it.
Only applied, it takes 4 hours to cure but 24 hours to dry. It can be used on the trail with ease but be careful if you’re changing camp after the 4 hour period. Once it’s dry it’ll be waterproof, flexible, and last a long time.
Overall it’s a solid tent seam sealer that just needs a little practice to get right, but once you do it’ll spread over a huge area.
The Iosso Seam Sealer works on a large range of fabrics and works best when used on cotton, polyester, or synthetic fabrics. It’s great for sealing up tent seams but also works well on backpacks, awnings, and more.
It comes with a built-in brush applicator that makes putting the sealer on the seams quite easy. The liquid is pretty thin though and tends to drip easily, so be careful when applying it. It comes in a 4 oz bottle and will give you enough coverage to handle a large tent.
Once applied and dried it creates a waterproof seal that doesn’t change the appearance or the feel of the fabric. It flexes with the fabric too and will last a long time protecting your tent and you from any moisture for a while.
Overall, it’s quite a solid seam sealer that leaves a clean, durable, protective, waterproof seal.
As you can see from all the tent seam sealers in the review, they are all effective over certain materials. Make sure to buy a sealer that matches the material of your tent so that it can be as effective as possible. The sealers in the review cover nylon, polyester, canvas, silicone-coated fabrics, and more, so they should have you covered.
The thicker the sealer the harder it is to apply but the coating is usually a bit more robust, so the choice here is up to you. Thinner sealers are much easier to apply but they can begin to drip while you’re applying them at height. Either way, you’ll most likely end up having to get used to whatever thickness you end up choosing so I wouldn’t worry about it too much.
Seam sealer is usually applied in one of two ways, either painting, foam applicating, or spraying. Most of the sealers in the review are paint-on sealers that allow you to get detail orientated about but it does take some time. Spray-on sealers are a lot easier to use but you may end up wasting some in the process. Foam applicators are pretty much pain brushes but a little easier as you’re rubbing instead of painting.
Think about how much tent seam sealer you’re going to need and buy the appropriate amount so you don’t run out halfway through. It’s always worth buying an extra one or two as they are not very expensive. If you have a small tent then one small tube will probably be fine but if you’re doing a big tent make sure to get a bottle that is atleast 4 ounces.
The best tent seam sealer, if you’re on a budget, is the Coleman Seam Sealer. It’s an all-purpose, water-based, eco-friendly seam sealer that dries in just 2 hours. You can use it on the fly on the trail or at home on your tents, backpacks, and more. It’s about as affordable as a tent seam sealer can get.
The all-round best tent seam sealer is the Gear Aid Seam Grip FC. It’s designed for use on canvas, polyester, and nylon so it’ll work on pretty much any tent you need it to. It’s also reasonably affordable, cures quickly, and is well worth keeping in your backpack for use on the trail.
The best tent seam sealer is the Texsport Polyurethane Waterproof Seam Sealer. This seam sealer does everything you could ask from a sealer. It’s easy to apply with the spray-on lid and once cured will protect your tent from pretty much everything: water, sun, dirt, and more. It’s odorless, invisible, and non-toxic. It does take 48-hours to dry properly but it’s worth the wait.