ARB Speedy Seal Series II Repair Kit vs Slime Rugged Tire Plug Kit

The ARB kit is the one to buy because the reamer and needle are steel where cheap kits use bendable stamped handles, and because there are enough cords and spares in the case to matter on a long trip. The Slime kit does the same job for less and states in writing that it is an emergency measure, which is exactly the framing every plug kit should carry.

ARB Speedy Seal Series II Repair Kit

Buy it

The best-built roadside plug kit here, with steel tools, 40 cords and enough spares to matter far from a shop.

• Hardened steel reamer and a premium spring steel insertion needle with a cast handle, so the tools do not flex when you lean on them.
• Forty self-vulcanizing repair cords plus lubricant, spare valve cores and spare valve caps in one high-visibility case.
• ARB describes it as turning an emergency into a quick fix rather than claiming a permanent repair.

• Like every kit here it is an outside-in, on-the-wheel plug, which USTMA lists as something never to do as a repair.
• Nothing in the box addresses the innerliner, so the tire still has to be demounted and properly repaired afterwards.
• The kit ships with lubricant rather than vulcanizing cement, so the cords are doing the sealing work on their own.

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Slime Rugged Tire Plug Kit

Buy it

A 28 piece kit that costs the least and is the only one that prints the truth about what a plug actually is.

• Slime states in writing that the kit is only suitable for emergency repairs to get the vehicle to a service center where proper repairs can be made.
• Twenty 7-ply, 100 mm heavy-duty strings and two tubes of Plug Bond, so you are not rationing consumables.
• Comes with a pry bar, a utility knife and a mini pencil gauge in a MOLLE-compatible grab bag.

• Slime lists the intended use as ATVs, wheelbarrows, lawn mowers and other tubeless off-road tires rather than highway passenger tires.
• The reamer and plugger are comfort-grip handles rather than steel T-handles, which is fine occasionally and less fine repeatedly.
• No spare valve cores or valve tool, which is the other thing that strands people.

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Side by side

The bottom line

Our overall pick is the ARB Speedy Seal Series II Repair Kit - The best-built roadside plug kit here, with steel tools, 40 cords and enough spares to matter far from a shop. Choose the Slime Rugged Tire Plug Kit instead if the driver who wants a competent kit in the trunk for cheap and wants the instructions to be honest about its limits.

Want the full picture, including the other options we compared and the popular one we'd skip? Read the complete The Best Tire Plug Kits: 4 Compared (and One to Skip).