Best Filament Dryers for Bambu Lab Printers (2026)

Wet filament causes crackling extrusion, stringing, and weak layers. Here is what actually keeps spools dry on a Bambu setup, and when you can skip a dryer entirely.

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Affiliate disclosure. This page contains affiliate links. If you buy through them we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We have not lab-tested every unit on this page; picks are based on manufacturer specifications and broad community consensus, framed as such below.

Quick answer

Best overall: SUNLU FilaDryer S2 (~$50). The most popular purpose-built dryer, and it dries while you print by feeding filament straight from the dryer. Budget pick: SUNLU FilaDryer S1 Plus (~$45). Simpler than the S2, still gets spools reliably dry. For storage instead of active drying: Creality Filament Vacuum Storage Kit (~$20), vacuum bags plus desiccant that keep dry spools dry between prints. One honest caveat: if you own an AMS 2 Pro, it already has an active drying mode up to 65°C, which covers PLA and PETG. Details below.

The three options compared

Product Type Approach Price Best for
SUNLU FilaDryer S2 Active dryer Heats the spool; feed filament directly from the dryer while printing ~$50 PETG, TPU, and Nylon users; anyone printing in a humid room
SUNLU FilaDryer S1 Plus Active dryer Same idea, simpler unit: dry a spool before or during printing ~$45 Occasional drying on a budget
Creality Vacuum Storage Kit Dry storage Vacuum-seal spools with desiccant; prevents moisture uptake, does not remove it ~$20 Keeping already-dry spools dry; anyone who does not print daily

Prices are approximate Amazon prices at the time of writing and change often. A key distinction: the two SUNLU units remove moisture, the vacuum kit only prevents it. A spool that already crackles needs active drying first; bagging it changes nothing.

Top pick
SUNLU FilaDryer S2
SUNLU FilaDryer S2
~$50

The most popular purpose-built filament dryer. Dries while printing, so a hygroscopic material like Nylon never sits in room air mid-print. Doubles as active dry storage between jobs.

Amazon →
Budget pick
SUNLU FilaDryer S1 Plus
SUNLU FilaDryer S1 Plus
~$45

The budget option. Simpler than the S2, still gets spools reliably dry. If you mostly print PLA and only occasionally need to rescue a damp PETG spool, this is enough.

Amazon →
Dry storage
Creality Filament Vacuum Storage Kit
Creality Vacuum Storage Kit
~$20

Vacuum bags plus desiccant. Seal spools for long-term storage so they never absorb moisture in the first place. Essential if you don't print daily. Not a dryer: it cannot fix a wet spool.

Amazon →

When you actually need a dryer

Moisture in filament causes more print failures than most people realise. The symptoms: crackling or popping sounds during extrusion, bubbles in the extruded line, weak layer adhesion, rough surface finish, and excessive stringing. If you see these, dry the spool before changing any slicer setting.

How urgent a dryer is depends on what you print:

  • PLA: low moisture sensitivity. Fresh spools stored sensibly rarely need drying. Most PLA-only users can start with sealed storage and skip the dryer.
  • PETG: medium sensitivity. More moisture-sensitive than PLA; dry it before use if it has been stored open, and store it sealed with desiccant. Wet PETG strings badly.
  • TPU: moisture-sensitive and slow to dry (4 to 8 hours). Wet TPU prints noticeably worse.
  • PA (Nylon) and PC: highly hygroscopic. Nylon absorbs moisture from the air rapidly, and the absorbed water causes bubbling, weak layer adhesion, and poor surface finish. Always print these from a dry box or dryer, and dry new spools before first use. For Nylon and PC a dryer is not optional.

More on each material in our materials guide. If your prints already show wet-filament symptoms, see stringing problems and layer splitting.

MaterialDrying temperatureTime
PLA45–50°C4–6 hours
PETG60–65°C4–6 hours
ABS / ASA70–80°C4–6 hours
TPU50–60°C4–8 hours
PA (Nylon)80–90°C8–12 hours
PC80–90°C8–12 hours
PVA45°C4–6 hours (PVA degrades at higher temps)
Check the max temperature before buying

Nylon and PC need 80–90°C. Check the manufacturer's stated maximum temperature of any dryer against this table before you buy; not every dryer reaches nylon territory. A food dehydrator ($30–60) also works. Your kitchen oven is a last resort: it holds low temperatures poorly and can warp spools.

Which one for your setup

You own an AMS 2 Pro

Honest answer: you may not need a dryer at all. The AMS 2 Pro has an active drying mode up to 65°C, which covers PLA and PETG. Where it falls short is engineering materials: PA and PC need 80–90°C, beyond what the AMS 2 Pro reaches, so nylon users still want a dedicated dryer. Note the original AMS has no active heating, only a humidity sensor with desiccant; it slows moisture uptake but cannot dry a wet spool.

A1 or A1 Mini without AMS

Your spool hangs in open air the entire print, so it absorbs moisture while printing. The S2 fixes this neatly: feed filament directly from the dryer to the external spool input, and the spool stays heated for the whole job. This is the setup where a feed-through dryer earns its money fastest, especially with PETG and TPU.

High-volume and multi-spool users

A single-spool dryer becomes the bottleneck when you rotate many spools. The practical combo: one S2 for active drying and rescue jobs, plus the Creality vacuum kit so every spool goes back into a sealed bag with desiccant the moment it leaves the printer. Drying is then the exception, not the routine.

Prevention beats drying: store spools in resealable bags or airtight boxes with silica gel desiccant, and use color-indicator desiccant so you know when to swap it. For PA and PC specifically, keep the spool in its original sealed bag until you are ready to print, then run it from a dry box during the print.

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