Out of Avalon

November 21st, 2009 by Ascelyn

My first shipment of cloth diapers arrived Thursday night.  I ordered the one-size pocket sampler from Mom’s Milk Boutique, plus two Thirsties Duo Wraps and a dozen DSQ Chinese prefolds.  Unfortunately, the Snappis and detergent (Charlie’s Soap) that I ordered from Amazon still haven’t arrived, so I can’t wash them and start using them for a few days yet.  Nevertheless, here’s my impression of them straight out of the box.

I’ll start with the bumGenius 3.0, since I had originally planned to order only these.  I hadn’t even really realized there were other one-size pockets on the market.  It has a two rows of snaps along the front to adjust the size and closes with hook and loop.  As with the others, it came bundled with both newborn and full-size inserts.  The full-size snaps down to provide more absorbancy in the front or back.  That’s really about all there is to it.  It’s the only one of the bunch that has a flap covering the opening of the pocket, but other than that, nothing really makes it stand out in either direction.  I guess we’ll have to wait and see once Michael gets to wear them.

Next up is Fuzzi Bunz.  While I appreciate how easy it seems like the Aplix closures will be to use while he’s squirming around, I like how adjustable the multiple rows of snaps seem to be.  It snaps to adjust both the waist and the hips instead of at the the front to adjust the rise.  Along the inside of the legs, the elastic peaks out and is held in place by buttons.  This allows you to adjust the leg elastics for a custom fit, something the others don’t have.  I like the feeling of the fabrics, both for the outside (not too plastic-y) and the inside (super soft).  The insert isn’t anything special, just a rectangular soaker bad, but I think the diaper’s my favorite so far.

On to Rumparooz G2.  These come in some of the cuter patterns I’ve seen on pockets–I got the multicolor dots and think it’s pretty freaking adorable for something that’s intended to be pooped in.  It snaps along the front to adjust the rise.  The outside fabric has kind of plastic-y, slippery feeling, but the inside is almost as soft as the Fuzzi Bunz.  I like that these have two layers of gussets along the edge to catch as much as possible before it escapes through the legs.  The inserts are nice–not only does the bigger insert snap down, but it also has an extra snap to attach the newborn insert for double absorbancy that stays in place.  I wouldn’t mind getting more of these if they fit except that they seem to be the most expensive of the bunch, coming in around $23.50.  Ouch.

Happy Heinys.  The name drives me insane.  It also had a spelling mistake right on the cardboard wrap-around label, which irritates me regardless of whether or not it should even matter.  Aplix front, typical fabrics, row of snaps in front to adjust size.  Two plain inserts.  Seems pretty much like the bumGenius 3.0 but not as nice.  I’d chose the former.

Last, Rocky Mountain.  I think these are my least favorite so far.  They seem…thin.  They’re not as soft.  The web site claims they have a better adjustment system due to the adjustable elastic along the legs inside, but it’s harder to get to than the ones on the Fuzzi Bunz.  A few snaps to adjust waist size, and that’s it.  It came with a bumGenius insert.

I like my Duo Wraps.  There are two rows of snaps along the front, much like the bumGenius pockets have, and they close via Aplix.  They should allow me to buy two sizes total and work from birth to potty training while still fitting better than a one size fits all deal.  Instead of buying four sizes, you buy two…and essentially have six, since each diaper adjusts to work as three different sizes.  They have double gussets to catch extra messes.

The prefolds I bought to go with them are just basic prefolds.  If everything works out, I think I’ll try getting a dozen unbleached Indian prefolds next time, just to see which I prefer.  Folding them looks like it’s going to be easier than I thought it would.  Youtube is a wonderful thing!  Not much more to say about them now since I’ll need to prewash them a few times before I can use them.

Hope the detergent gets here soon.  I want to get started!