01 / DOORS
Frost King DS2 Draft Stop: an honest review
It is a three-foot fleece tube with a foam core. That sounds like nothing to review, until you notice how many people buy it for a door it was never going to work on.
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Buy it for an interior door, a basement stair or a window sill you want closed off tonight, and it does that job well for about fifteen dollars. Do not buy it for a front door. The Frost King DS2 is a single-sided fleece tube that rests on the floor — it is not attached, it does not seal the sides, and it gets shoved aside every time the door opens. The 36-inch fabric version is the one to get if your door is a true 36 inches.
What it is, precisely
Frost King publishes four things about the DS2 and they are worth stating exactly, because almost every third-party description of it adds something Frost King did not say. It is three feet long. It is covered in nylon fiber synthetic fleece. It has a foam core. It is listed for a door or a window.
That is the specification. There is no published working gap range, no R-value, no air leakage figure and no claimed temperature rating. For a product at this price that is not unreasonable, but it does mean the single most important number for choosing one — how big a gap it will actually fill — is not available from the maker and has to be judged by you.
Mechanically it is the simplest product on this site. It occupies space. Air that was moving through the gap under a closed door now meets a compressible tube lying across that gap, and most of it stops. No fixings, no tools, no adhesive, nothing to remove later.
The thing it is genuinely good at
There is one scenario where we would recommend the DS2 without hedging, and it is more common than the product's reputation suggests: a door you are closing for the season rather than using daily.
A spare bedroom you are not heating. The door at the top of a basement stair. A utility room. A room over an unheated garage. In every one of those cases the door is shut in November and opened in March, the gap underneath it is the largest opening in the doorway, and there is no reason whatsoever to put screws into the door. Lay the DS2 against it and the job is finished in ten seconds.
The second genuine strength is the window listing, which most competing draft stoppers do not make. A fleece tube on the sill of a bad double-hung window, pressed against the bottom rail, is a legitimate stopgap for the winter — and it is reversible, which matters in a rental. The fuller set of window options is in best window draft stoppers.
The three reasons people are disappointed
All three are predictable from the specification, and none of them is a defect. They are what a single-sided unattached floor product does.
- 1It moves. This is the complaint, in every category of draft stopper, and the DS2 is single-sided so it is fully exposed to it. The tube rests against the closed door. The door opens, the tube is pushed along the floor, and now it is sitting at an angle two inches from where you want it. On a door opened twice a day that is mildly annoying; on a kitchen door it is intolerable. The twin, two-sided designs exist specifically to solve this and they are a different product — best door draft stoppers covers those.
- 2Three feet is tighter than it sounds. A standard interior door is 36 inches wide — exactly three feet — and the DS2 is sold as three feet of compressible fleece. In practice that means it covers a 36 inch door with nothing to spare, and if your door is 36 inches of slab inside a frame, you will find the last inch at one end is doing less than you would like. Frost King's 36-inch fabric version publishes a flat 36 inches rather than three feet of tube, and if the width question bothers you, that is the one to buy.
- 3On a big gap it does very little. With no published gap range you cannot check this before buying, and a tube roughly two inches across will physically sit against a gap of any size while only filling one up to about an inch. If your under-door gap is an inch and a half — and plenty of old doors are — air passes over the top of the tube and the product looks like it is working while doing almost nothing.
DS2 or a fitted sweep?
This is the decision the product is really competing in, and the honest answer turns on one question: are you allowed, and willing, to attach something to the door?
| Frost King DS2 | Fitted door sweep | |
|---|---|---|
| Price bracket | Around fifteen dollars | Similar, sometimes less |
| Fitting | None | Screws or adhesive, plus measuring |
| Stays in position | No | Yes |
| Seals the door sides | No | No — that is weather stripping, either way |
| Marks the door | No | Usually |
| Suits an exterior door | No | Yes |
| Suits a rental | Yes | Often not permitted |
| Works on thick carpet | Poorly — it rides up on the pile | Yes, with a brush type |
| Published gap range | None | Usually published |
On an exterior door the sweep wins on every line that matters and it is not close, because an exterior door also has weather, insects and sometimes rodents on the far side — and a loose tube on the floor addresses none of those. Best door sweeps is that purchase, and will a door sweep keep bugs out? is the insect half of it.
On an interior door the argument reverses cleanly. There is no weather, the door is often shut for months at a time, nobody wants screw holes in a hallway door, and the DS2 costs less than the drill bit. Whether you need to seal that door at all is a real question with a surprising answer, and it is covered in do you need a door sweep on an interior door?.
What we would not claim for it
- Any heating saving. Frost King publishes no test that would support a figure, we have run none, and every percentage circulating for this product class names no test conditions. The mechanism is real; the number is not available.
- Noise reduction. A fabric tube resting on a floor is not a compressed, sealed joint, and it leaves the door's sides fully open. If noise is the reason you are here, best door sweeps for soundproofing explains what does and does not help.
- Insect or rodent exclusion. It is not attached and not compressed. Both of those are requirements, and it meets neither.
- Carpet performance. On thick pile it rides up on the fibers rather than settling into them, which is the one floor covering where this whole product category is weak.
Quick picks
Ranked for fit, not for hype. Tap a row to jump to the full write-up, or go straight to the listing.
| # | Product | Best for | Gap range | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Frost King DS2 Door or Window Draft Stop Cloth Seal, 3 ft, BeigeA 3 ft fleece-covered foam tube that lies on the floor against a closed door, or on a window sill. It is the simplest product Frost King makes and the one most often bought for the wrong door. | The single door or window you want closed off tonight | No working gap range is published for this product | $14.92 · CHECK ON AMAZON |
| 2 |  Frost King Fabric Draft Stop Window or Door Insulator, 36 inFrost King's current fabric draft stop, listed at a flat 36 in rather than 3 ft of compressible fleece. If your door is a true 36 in, this is the version whose published number actually covers it. | The same idea at a full 36 in, under the current Frost King badge | No working gap range is published for this product | $14.25 · CHECK ON AMAZON |
| 3 |  Frost King Draft Stop Cloth Seal, 3 ft, Pack of TwoTwo of the same 3 ft cloth seals in one pack. The genuinely useful trick it enables is putting one each side of a single door, which is the cheap way to get the twin-stopper behavior without buying a twin stopper. | Both sides of one door, or two doors in one order | No working gap range is published for this product | $20.20 · CHECK ON AMAZON |
#ad · how we are funded · price as of October 17, 2026
The single door or window you want closed off tonight
Frost King DS2 Door or Window Draft Stop Cloth Seal, 3 ft, Beige
Published gap range
No working gap range is published for this product
#ad · how we are funded · price as of October 17, 2026
A 3 ft fleece-covered foam tube that lies on the floor against a closed door, or on a window sill. It is the simplest product Frost King makes and the one most often bought for the wrong door.
Where the number comes fromFrost King publishes a LENGTH (3 ft) and the construction (nylon fiber synthetic fleece over a foam core) and no gap figure at all. That is the central limitation of the whole draft-stop category and the reason this page exists: you are buying against a length, so you have to judge the gap yourself. A tube roughly 2 in across will sit against a gap of any size but only fills one up to about an inch.
- Type
- Single-sided floor-laid draft stop
- Length
- 3 ft
- Cover
- Nylon fiber synthetic fleece
- Core
- Foam
- Fixing
- None
- Mounting
- None — it rests on the floor or the sill
What it does well
- Nothing to fit, nothing to drill, nothing to remove when you move out
- Works on a window sill as well as a door, which most draft stoppers do not claim
- Fleece cover is washable in practice and looks less industrial than vinyl alternatives
Where it fails
- Single-sided, so it gets pushed aside every time the door opens
- 3 ft is shorter than a standard 36 in door is wide once the fleece compresses — it is a close fit, not a generous one
- No published gap range, so a large gap under the door can simply pass air over the top of it
Who this is forSomeone closing off a spare room, a basement stair or a window for the season, who wants it done in a minute.
The same idea at a full 36 in, under the current Frost King badge
Frost King Fabric Draft Stop Window or Door Insulator, 36 in
Published gap range
No working gap range is published for this product
#ad · how we are funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Frost King's current fabric draft stop, listed at a flat 36 in rather than 3 ft of compressible fleece. If your door is a true 36 in, this is the version whose published number actually covers it.
Where the number comes fromPublished as a 36 in length with no gap figure, exactly like the DS2. Same rule applies: measure the gap under your door, and if it is over about an inch, a floor-laid tube is the wrong product and a fitted sweep is the right one.
- Type
- Single-sided floor-laid draft stop
- Length
- 36 in
- Cover
- Fabric
- Use
- Window or door, per the listing
- Brand on listing
- Frost King
- Mounting
- None — it rests on the floor or the sill
What it does well
- A published 36 in, which matches a standard door width without relying on compression
- Same no-tools, no-marks installation as the DS2
- Usually the cheaper of the two per unit
Where it fails
- Still single-sided, so it still gets displaced by the door
- No published gap range, same as every product in this category
- Fabric cover detail is less specific than the DS2's named fleece
Who this is forSomeone with a full 36 in door who wants the length question settled before they buy.
Both sides of one door, or two doors in one order
Frost King Draft Stop Cloth Seal, 3 ft, Pack of Two
Published gap range
No working gap range is published for this product
#ad · how we are funded · price as of October 17, 2026
Two of the same 3 ft cloth seals in one pack. The genuinely useful trick it enables is putting one each side of a single door, which is the cheap way to get the twin-stopper behavior without buying a twin stopper.
Where the number comes fromPublished as 3 ft per piece, two pieces, no gap figure. Two single-sided stoppers are not the same as a connected twin design — they do not travel with the door — but they do stop the cold-side one being the only line of defense.
- Type
- Single-sided floor-laid draft stop, 2-pack
- Length
- 3 ft each
- Pieces
- 2
- Cover
- Cloth
- Fixing
- None
- Mounting
- None — they rest on the floor or the sill
What it does well
- Cheaper per piece than buying two singles
- One each side of a door closes the gap from both directions, which helps on a windy exterior door
- Spare on hand for whichever room turns out to be the cold one
Where it fails
- Two loose pieces are two things to kick back into place, not one
- Not a connected twin design — they do not move with the door
- Same missing gap range as every other product in the category
Who this is forSomeone doing two doors, or doubling up on one bad exterior door as a stopgap before fitting a sweep.
The verdict in one paragraph
The DS2 is a well-made version of a deliberately simple thing, and the reason it collects frustrated reviews is almost entirely about who buys it rather than how it is built. Bought for a seasonal interior door, a basement stair or a bad window, by someone who has measured and found a gap under about an inch, it is a sensible fifteen dollars and there is nothing to criticize. Bought for a front door that gets opened fifteen times a day, it will be in a heap against the skirting board by the end of the week, and that is the product doing exactly what its specification says it will do.
How we picked
- This review is written from published specifications and mechanism. We have not tested the DS2, we publish no energy saving figure for it, and we quote no star rating or review count — not here and not anywhere on this site.
- Where Frost King publishes a number we use it, and where it publishes nothing we say so. The important absence on this product is a working gap range, and most of this page is about what to do with that absence.
- The comparison against a fitted sweep is made on coverage and mechanism — what each part physically closes. The full method is published.
We have not tested these products and we do not claim to have. The full method, including what we refuse to claim, is on how we pick.
Questions people actually ask
- Is the Frost King DS2 draft stop any good?
- For a seasonal interior door, a basement stair or a window sill, yes — it closes the largest opening in the doorway for about fifteen dollars with no tools and no marks. For a front door in daily use, no, because it is single-sided and unattached, so it gets pushed out of position every time the door swings.
- What size gap does the Frost King DS2 fill?
- Frost King publishes no working gap range for it, which is the product's real limitation. Reasoning from the shape, a tube roughly two inches across fills a gap up to about an inch. Above that, air passes over it and a fitted sweep is the correct purchase.
- Is the DS2 long enough for a 36 inch door?
- It is three feet of compressible fleece against a 36 inch door, so it covers it with nothing to spare. Frost King's 36-inch fabric draft stop publishes a flat 36 inches instead, and that is the version to choose if the width is close.
- What is the difference between the DS2 and a twin draft stopper?
- The DS2 is single-sided: one tube that rests against one face of the door. A twin design straddles the door with a connecting strip, so it travels with the door instead of being displaced by it. The twin needs enough clearance under the door for that strip to pass through.
- Can you use the Frost King DS2 on a window?
- Yes, and Frost King lists it for that. On a drafty double-hung window it sits on the sill against the bottom rail, which is a reasonable reversible stopgap. It is not a substitute for sealing the sash meeting rail, which is where most window air actually moves.
- Does the Frost King draft stop help with noise?
- Very little. Sound needs a sealed compressed joint and the DS2 is neither attached nor compressed, and it leaves both sides of the door completely open. Treat any noise improvement as incidental rather than as a reason to buy.
- Can you wash it?
- The cover is nylon fiber synthetic fleece, which is why people do, and Frost King publishes no laundering instruction either way. Expect the foam core to be the limiting factor rather than the cover.
Sources
Every specification on this page traces to a published manufacturer or retailer listing. Where a maker publishes no working gap range, we say so rather than estimating one.
Read next
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