Flex Seal is great for camping. It’s a multi-purpose sealant that comes in all shapes, cans, sprays, rolls, and liquids. It’s designed to stop water from coming into whatever you decide to spray, tape, or coat.
If your tent is letting in water, Flex Seal might be the perfect thing for you. It’s so easy to use and highly effective that it’s great for getting you out of trouble.
Water coming into your tent is never a good thing. If it’s the middle of the night and you’re in the middle of a storm, then it’s all the worse if your tent leaks.
Having something quick and effective is a great way to stay safe in an emergency. However, it all depends on why you’re using it.
If you want to re-waterproof your tent’s walls, you might want something else, for example.
Flex seal can get you out of a wet situation. Keep reading to find out exactly when you should and shouldn’t use Flex Seal on a tent.
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How to use Flex Seal on a tent
Flex Seal is a sealant coating designed to stop water from coming through. The best applications for tents are aerosol spray, liquid to brush on, and sealant tape.
You can spray or paint Flex Seal onto your tent’s surfaces for an extra waterproof coating and tape over holes, frayed areas, or seams.
Be careful with how much Flex Seal you apply to the tent if you’re applying a whole waterproof layer. The fabric will become stiff depending on the number of coats of Flex Seal applied, and it can become tricky to repack in the carry sack.
A better use for Flex Seal on tents is to glue together a seam or patch over a hole for a quick fix. This way, only a small area of the tent will be affected and have less effect on the overall size and flexibility.
Spraying down your whole tent with Flex Seal will also interfere with the waterproof coating already applied to your tent.
If your tent is old or worn out in places, especially on the bottom, a coat or two of Flex Seal will help increase its ability to keep you dry.
But, as a rule of thumb, instead of using Flex Seal to waterproof your tent, you can get specific products designed for just that.
What is the best waterproofing for tents
Most tents need to be re-waterproofed every so often. After a couple of years, the factory waterproof coating wears off, leaving you vulnerable to leakages and water ingress. Tent seams also start coming apart over time, which can let the water in.
Re-waterproofing your tent adds years to their lives. Instead of throwing out a tent because some water is coming in, you can save some money by re-waterproofing it yourself.
There are specific tent waterproof washes that you add to the washing machine with the tent. Or, you can apply the waterproof coating by hand using a sponge or cloth.
There are also specific products for sealing tent seams. If water is coming into your tent via undone seams, check out the different tent seam glues, tapes, and adhesives.
Flex Seal is a great way to solve a crisis. If you need to seal your tent right now, then a few sprays of aerosol Flex Seal or a few strips of Flex Seal tape will do the job.
But, if you want to keep your tent in good shape for as long as possible, I’d say use a specific product. While Flex Seal might work in the short term, in the long run, it could do more harm than good.
How do you seal a tent
Most tents lose their waterproofing over time. Their walls and floors get thin, their zips and seams wear out, and the waterproof coating rubs off.
To seal a tent back up and keep it waterproof, first give it a good clean inside and out, then waterproof it and check the seams for any places they’re undone.
To seal a seam, make sure it’s nice and clean and dry. Apply glue to both surfaces you’re sticking together, bring them together, and hold them tight for a few minutes. I like to stick a couple of clothes pegs on it and try to leave it overnight to dry completely before packing it back up.
Resealing a tent is part of the process of maintaining it. If you take the time to do it right and with the right products, then your tent can last a lot longer.
How to maintain your tent
All of your outdoor gear needs TLC. Enjoying the Great Outdoors through hiking, camping, climbing, cycling, and more, is a great way to keep fit, see awesome scenery, and get to know Mother Nature.
They’re also great ways of destroying kit, wearing down expensive equipment, and always fighting a battle to keep everything organised and usable.
To keep your tent in good working order (i.e., keeping you dry overnight even if it’s raining), then it helps to follow a few easy steps.
First, keep it clean. I’d recommend cleaning it after every trip, especially if it was wet and muddy. Clean the tent inside and out with a soapy rag, then dry it by hanging it up, preferably in the sun with lots of airflow.
Once it’s clean, store it in a dry place. It’s super important always to make sure it’s dry before you store your tent. If not, mould and mildew can grow and ruin your tent.
I store my tent in a loose cotton sack. Instead of folding it or rolling it tightly back into its carrying bag, I stuff it like a sleeping bag into a loose bag when I’m not using it. This helps to stop fold lines from appearing, which can develop into stress lines and deteriorate.
Always give your tent a good check over before you go camping. The last thing you want to do is set it up and find a massive hole in the side or gaping wide seam.
If you do find a problem that needs fixing fast, that’s where Flex Seal comes in handy. A can or roll of tape can quickly get you out of a fix.
