Review : CJ's BUTTer

A few weeks ago, the folks at CJ's BUTTer sent me a message to see if I'd be interested in reviewing some of their products. I don't do a lot of reviews and turn quite a few requests down, but for CJ's I made an exception, because it was already a product I use daily and I knew I could give them a wholehearted recommendation.

We got the package and they were so generous with their samples - and then made even more fun when I got to play "Match the Scents to the Name" when my 2-year-old decided to "help" and opened all of the containers.  Let's note here that I'm not the only fan of CJ's - her first exclamation upon opening one of them and smelling it was "YUM!"  I've also come into her room before to find her absolutely covered head-to-toe in CJ's, so I highly recommend putting it where your kid can't reach it (or remembering to put it away if you normally keep it high up...or finding a new place if you discover your child can scale the dresser and climb on top of it to reach all the fun things up there...ahem).

Since she was born I've regularly used three of the products: the classic CJ's BUTTer, both in stick and tub form, and the CJ's PLUS formula (liquid spritz version) for any rare yeast outbreaks.*  With the samples that they sent, I was able to also try out their lotion, lip balm, vegan formula, and cream version of the PLUS formula...as well as a couple new-to-me scents!

*Note - I've heard anecdotal stories that some kids are sensitive to the oils found in the PLUS formula, so you may want to test it before using it, and use it only in times of yeast rash and not daily. We never had any issues with it.

ORIGINAL BUTTER

 

We use the original BUTTer in both stick and tub/tube form almost every diaper change, and especially if she seems to be getting a little red, which is rare. The BUTTer creates a barrier that keeps in the natural moisture of the skin and keeps out the irritating urine and poop, which helps keep the skin soft and clear.  We really slather it on at nighttime, when she's most prone to waking up red. I can definitely see a difference if I go a few days without using it. It's also great for chapped cheeks and chin - whether from cold wind or from a drooly, teething baby (she lived with a shiny face for a while when I was slathering it all over the bottom half of her mouth).  I've used it on dry patches of my own skin as well. Neither Carys nor I have eczema, but I know a couple people who have used it on outbreaks with good success.  As far as stick versus tube versus tub, it's just personal preference. I like the stick for the diaper bag and the tub or tub at the changing table.  Obviously, the stick is a solid version and the tub and tube are both creamier versions. Because of that, I like using the BUTTer from the tub/tube at nighttime since I can really slather it on.  Verdict: LOVE. Use daily.

VEGAN FORMULA
Slightly different consistency/color than the original cream formula, but otherwise no difference that I could see! Worked great.

PLUS FORMULA

She didn't have a yeast outbreak while we were trying out the samples, so I didn't get a chance to use the solid form of the PLUS formula in time for this review, but I've used the PLUS Spritz before. I try to always have a bottle on hand to start using at the first sign of yeast, and 90% of the time that's as far as I need to go and it will clear up before it really turns into an outbreak or rash (after a couple outbreaks I learned to identify the telltale dots early!). The smell is....well, not pleasant, but not awful. It smells kind of medicinal - it's the neem and sesame oils. As I said earlier, I do know a couple people who have babies who have shown a sensitivity to it, so you may want to test it first, but limiting use of it to times of need (i.e. when there is an actual yeast rash) rather than using it daily helps with that if you do find a sensitivity.  Verdict: Use when/if needed; works well to clear up early yeast rashes. More severe outbreaks may need prescription medicine.

LOTION

So I'm pregnant and I've been using the lotion on my stomach and I haven't gotten any stretch marks. MIRACLE WORKER! No, just kidding - I know they're genetic and I didn't get any (much) the first time around either. But the lotion is heavenly for the itchy pregnancy belly. I love it - it's soft and not greasy and the scents aren't too overpowering.  It's more light/fluffy than dense, if that makes sense. Verdict: New fan! Love it!

LIP BALM
The lip balm was great. It's slightly greasier than commercial lip balms, but that's the nature of homemade products that aren't mass-produced and full of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Because it is homemade, it can melt at high temps (as can any of the CJ's products), but if that happens, their customer service is happy to help you re-solidify it. There was no taste and a nice light scent. Verdict: I like it! It's not my favorite lip balm ever but I definitely use it and like it.

Whenever CJ's comes up in conversation or on a forum, people always ask what scents they should get. The answer? ALL OF THE SCENTS.  Honestly, I haven't tried them all, but there hasn't been one yet that I didn't enjoy. And they're not overpowering, sickly sweet scents. They're strong enough to smell, but they don't linger in an obnoxious way.

That said, I've now tried:

Essential Oils/EO Blends
- Mango, Sugar, and Mint (light and refreshing)
- Lemon Grove (pretty strong - reminds me of floor cleaner, but nice)
- Sweet Orange (sweet and refreshing)
(I really want to try Narwhals and Unicorns, because NAME!)

Fragrances 
- Blueberry Crumble (strong blueberry/cake smell, makes me want a muffin!)
- Love Spell (very light and sweet)
- Lullaby (very light and sweet)
- Monkey Farts (strong banana smell!)
- My Pixie Pie (light and sweet, a fave of mine)
- Oatmeal, Milk, Honey (very subtle scent, a fave of mine)
- Pink Sugar (light and sweet, a fave of mine)
- Warm Vanilla Cake (FAVE!)
- Unscented (duh)

Descriptions of each of the scents can be found on their site here (scroll down a bit). There isn't one I wouldn't recommend and there are quite a few I want to try. (Hint: Can't decide? Do a sample pack! That's how I got to sample so many scents way back when Carys was a baby [on my own dime!]).

Check back next week (planning on Monday but don't hold me to that!) for a CJ's giveaway - a tube of their CJ's BUTTer in one of their most popular scents!

A Quick and Dirty* BumGenius Elemental Comparison

*Like, literally dirty. There's a pic of a dirty diaper in this post. FAIR WARNING. Also, I apologize in advance for the picture quality; these are just cell phone pics.

So in news that has the cloth diaper world abuzz, BumGenius redesigned the BumGenius Elemental (aka BGE), their natural-fiber all-in-one diaper. As an avowed fan of the old-style BGE - it's over half my stash - I was both incredibly excited and totally apprehensive about this new development. I love these diapers. Would I have to fiendishly horde my existing diapers, or would I desperately want to replace them all with the new BGEs?  And of course, testing new diapers is a total rush, right? RIGHT? Please tell me I'm not the only one to get excited about a new diaper.

So I bought one pretty much immediately.

If you want to skip to the summary, here it is: I'm not a fan. I hate to say it, CottonBabies, because I love everything you do for the most part, but I dislike the redesign. If you ever see this, my recommendation would be offering the redesigned version as a cheaper version of the BGE and keeping the original BGE as the Elite version. Or something. These kind of suck. :(   <-- Look, you've made me go and use an emoticon in a non-text-message setting. Now that's saying something!

Ok, so let's look at the differences.

The Differences

1. Width
The new cut is much wider than the old.  I never felt like the old version was particularly narrow; in fact, it was one of my wider diapers.  I feel like the new version bunches up between her legs much more and is baggy-er (baggier?) (WHY DON'T EITHER OF THOSE LOOK RIGHT?). At 18 months, she was just shy of 34 inches and was 25 pounds, and she's still on the middle rise and has plenty of room to grow (I like them with a low rise, as you'll see in later pictures).  I'm not sure how being wider is supposed to make the diapers fit a wider range of babies - when I do hear complaints, it's about the rise, not the width.

Old BumGenius Elemental (in Bubble) on top, new BumGenius Elemental (in Mirror) on bottom.

2. Inner
Previously, the BGEs had a cotton lining under under the inserts. They've removed the cotton liner so it's just  PUL underneath. Again, this is not a change I like. I know PUL isn't a delicate flower - I have some covers that are the same and they've done fine - but it FEELS like it's delicate, and I don't like have it exposed!

Also, it looks/feels cheap.

New BGE on the left, old BGE on the right.

Also also, the inserts bunch up while being worn. See pic below (WARNING: ACTUAL BABY PEE PICTURED) (HOWEVER I ASSUME YOU PROBABLY  HAVE OR ARE ABOUT TO HAVE AN ACTUAL BABY WHO WILL ACTUALLY PEE SO IT'S OK) to see what I mean. Now, this was taken mid-pee, as I was just trying to quickly change her diaper to get comparison pics, so it's not a full, um, void. But you can see what happened - as she was wearing it, the insert bunched up in the middle.  Again, this was a small, er, drain, but you can see it already reached the sides of the insert. With a big enough...elimination...it could easily hit the exposed PUL.  Sure enough, the next use had a regular size, uh, output, and it happened. Pee directly on the PUL. Leak. If you've ever had a pocket diaper with a too-small insert that didn't reach the sides and leaks because of it, it's the same situation.

It also means that the laminated side of the PUL is touching her, which doesn't seem like it would be as comfortable, but since I don't wear the diapers, I can't say whether that's the case or not.

Obviously, the lining was also absorbent, so removing that has removed a bit of absorbency. I'm not sure if they added extra layers to the insert to make up for it, but the inserts looked similar from what I could tell.

Finally, the new insert seems to be longer, and it was much harder to get it to lay flat. I had to tuck one end under (as you can see in the pee picture above), and that created a thick ridge in the diaper.


3. Leg casings
In the pic above, you can see that the leg casings of the new BGEs are encased in the PUL. The older ones had a rolled leg elastic, which you can see below.  Supposedly, this is designed to help prevent leaks and wicking, as the cotton isn't sewn to the outer/non-waterproof side of the PUL. Also, BGEs are known for their wear holes in the cotton, which tend to manifest along the legs since there is a lot of wear in that area. This is not something that I've personally had issues with in the 1.5 years of use, however, I do know people whose diapers have developed these holes. They don't affect the function of the diaper, and you can mend them or put FrayCheck on them if you want. The new design will eliminate those holes.  HOWEVER, the encased (new) elastic casing is not nearly as gentle on the legs as the rolled (old) casing. The new diaper, on the same snaps, left red marks on her legs, which the old diapers have never done. The new design does, however, avoid the "tucking" of the fabric that the old diapers required most of the time. Again, this was not something that ever bothered me, but I do know people who were irritated by it.

Old BumGenius Elemental on the left; new BumGenius Elemental on the right.

4. Miscellaneous
While I haven't tried it yet, the new BGE should make it easier to fit extra inserts into the diaper. I've never needed to do so with the old style, but I know people who do it in order to use their BGEs overnight. The new BGEs are supposed to dry faster, and while I found that to be true, it wasn't a significant enough time difference to make a big difference.

On the Bottom

With actual use, the new version looked bulkier and droopier and baggier.

Front is not incredibly different, but you can see there's more extra fabric between the legs with the new one (on the right) than with the old one (on the left). 

Old (left) versus new (right) - Not much difference from the back. 

 Here's where the difference really manifests. Both are trim, but the new (right) has 

much more extra fabric hanging loose than the old (left). 

Summary

All in all, I much prefer the old version. It looks and feels nicer, seems to be more absorbent, and fits my kid better. Your experience may vary, so I encourage you to give it a try and see what you think, but we won't be purchasing any more. 

Non-Scientific Theory Time

I have absolutely NO basis for this theory, but my totally non-scientific guess is that the redesign is actually a cost-saving measure, rather than a functional redesign, and that they are just packaging it as a functional redesign. Cotton is expensive, and the original design uses a lot of it. The original design is also much more complicated and therefore more labor-intensive. My guess would be that the new ones are overall cheaper to manufacturer and that the profit margin is greater on them. HOWEVER, that's just a guess. It could be totally wrong.  

New Pocket Releases : Blissful Booty and FuzziBunz Elite

Recently, a couple of new pocket diapers have been released. And, as usual, I was eager to try them out. Pockets are generally "eh" with me. I actually love stuffing them, but my go-to diapers have evolved into mostly being AIOs. So I was interested to see if these new pockets changed my mind at all.

Fuzzibunz (left) and Blissful Booty (right)

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Blissful Booty

Blissful Booty on smallest setting

Blissful Booty on medium setting

Blissful Booty on largest setting

The Blissful Booty pocket is made with TPU or minkee outer and a stay-dry suedecloth inner. The inner features a row of internal double gussets, and the diaper features elastic at the front and back. There are three rise settings.  The Blissful Booty pocket comes with a single bamboo insert, though additional inserts are available for purchase. The diaper comes in 22 solid colors and prints (13 with TPU and nine with minkee) and is available in snaps or aplix. The snap diaper offers hip snaps as well as crossover tabs. A TPU diaper is $16.00 and a minkee diaper is $17.00.

Laundry tabs on the aplix diaper

Snap diaper configuration

Single bamboo insert

Front elastic

Elasticized back pocket opening

Double gussets

What do I like about it?
I love the double gussets - especially for little babies who have (ahem) runny newborn poo. The extra gusset really helps keep the messes contained! I also love the extra elastic at the front of the diaper - this is great for older babies who nap or sleep on their stomachs. Very few companies offer elastic at the front - AppleCheeks and AMP diapers are the only two I can think of off the top of my head. But it's brilliant! I don't find that it cuts into her stomach or is uncomfortable for her at all. I love how soft the outer TPU is. I don't usually like minkee, but I was able to feel one of their minkee diapers and it was extremely soft and seemed trimmer than other minkee diapers I've seen.  I used an aplix diaper, which seemed to have high-quality closures and the laundry tabs especially were VERY sticky - I can't see those coming undone in the wash! The snaps configuration on the snap diaper seems like it would work well for many babies and the hip snap is always useful, but I can't speak to the fit specifically, as I didn't use it. The fit on my daughter was perfect, and it was very trim. The quality seems decent.

What don't I like about it?
Their AIOs came with super soft fleece inners, which I loved. These come with suedecloth. You know how I feel about suedecloth (if you don't: it's a love/hate relationship! I love that it doesn't stain and stays relatively soft, but I hate picking lint and hair out of it!).  The biggest downside to these diapers that I can see is the insert: one just isn't going to cut it for older babies or heavy wetters. They do sell additional inserts, but I feel like it'd be a better option if they came with two like most pockets.

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FuzziBunz Elite

Smallest elastic size setting

Medium elastic size setting

Largest elastic size setting

Snap configuration

The replacement elastic and sizing guide on back of package.

The FuzziBunz Elite is an updated version of their classic one-size diaper. The outer is PUL, and the inner is stay-dry microfleece. Rather than using rise snaps to adjust the size of the diaper, you adjust the leg elastic and back elastic with a series of buttons. The FuzziBunz Elite comes with two minky inserts that can be used alone or together, depending on your needs (one is larger and one is smaller).  FuzziBunz products are only available with snap closures. Every FuzziBunz diaper comes with a set of replacement elastic. The Elite retails for $19.95 and comes in 14 colors.

The inner adjustable elastic

The pocket opening

 Two minky inserts

What do I like about it?
I was surprised - I acutally like this diaper and reach for it regularly. Why does that surprise me? I NEVER reached for our old one-size FuzziBunz (though I used and really liked their small Perfect Size). The adjustable elastic is either a plus or a minus depending on how difficult it is for you to get the right fit - I was lucky and got it on my first try, but I know people that seemingly have tried every setting and still couldn't get it to fit correctly. The elastic does, however, give an very large number of size settings rather than the three or four with most one-size snap-down rises. The minky inserts are very soft and seem to be quite absorbent - at this point I'm only using the larger one with my daughter, but would definitely need two for naps or longer periods of time. Right now, it fits very well and is extremely trim.  The inner microfleece is extremely soft as well.  I also like that I can replace the elastic easily should I need to do so (haven't had to yet). The quality is excellent.

What don't I like about it?
The elastic can be very difficult to get sized correctly. They don't have crossover tabs at the waist, which was a huge problem when my daughter was smaller with both the Perfect Size and the old one-size (even with the elastic at the tightest setting, the front would gape open). She's big enough now that she wouldn't need them crossed over, but I imagine it would be an issue for littler babies (maybe this is why I didn't like our old one?).  The pocket opening is HUGE (good for husbands stuffing pockets) but it has tons of excess fabric, and it can be difficult to get the excess to stay tucked in neatly. At the smallest setting, there is a lot of leftover elastic inside the diaper, which I can't imagine would be comfortable for the baby. At the largest setting, there is barely any stretch to the elastic and I don't think it would work well for holding in messes. However, most people are going to be using it on one of the middle settings, so neither of those should be a huge issue.

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Now, to compare the two.

Trimness:
Thanks to the unique sizing system, there is no fold-down rise on the FuzziBunz (FB), so it's a bit trimmer overall. I believe it's a bit narrower between the legs as well (though only very slightly).  However, they are both very trim diapers.


Fit: 
They both fit extremely well. The FB is a bit narrower and I really like that, but the elastic at the front waist of the Blissful Booty (BB) gives it the edge.  And I know from first-hand experience that it can be difficult to get a good fit with the FB.

Absorbency:

Since these are pockets, you can customize the absorbency as you need. However, the FB comes with two inserts (super soft minky) and the BB only comes with one (super soft bamboo).  I used a doubler with the BB and didn't have any leaks.
 

Quality:

While I love the BB, something about it seems slightly different than the FB (which feels very high quality). I can't figure out what though. The sewing is fine, the materials feel nice...I think it might be in my imagination because the TPU is softer and a little floppier than the PUL on the FB, and the bamboo insert is also floppier than the minky insert...which means the overall diaper is a bit floppier. I'm used to diapers with a bit more structure, so the extreme softness and floppiness of this diaper is different for me. But I bet that equals comfort for the baby (sadly I can't try it on myself to see).  The one thing I do like on the FB more is the slightly thicker leg and back elastic; I feel like that doesn't cut in as much. The FB also has two layers of microfleece for reinforcement at the wings, while the BB (and most pockets) only has one layer of the inner fabric.

Double gusset:
Only on the BB! A great help for keeping poop IN the diaper!

Pocket opening:
I definitely prefer the elasticized pocket of the Blissful Booty to the wide-open pocket on the FuzziBunz. The extra fabric can be difficult to corral at times.  Thought the BB pocket opening SEEMS smaller, even my husband was able to stuff with ease since the elastic stretches. 

Spelling:

Blissful Booty spells it minkee. FuzziBunz spells it minky. WHO IS RIGHT? We may never know.

Overall:

It's a toss-up. I like the high quality feel and trimness of the FuzziBunz, but I love the waist elastic and super-soft TPU outer of the Blissful Booty.

(Note: I received the Blissful Booty for free from the Blissful Booty company.)

New AIO releases: bumGenius Freetime, ones&twos, Thirsties AIO

In the past couple months, a handful of new AIO diapers have been released. As an obsessed a dedicated cloth diapering mama, I of course had to get my hands on them to try them out, especially since most of my stash has become AIOs.

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bumGenius Freetime






BGFT on smallest setting

BGFT on medium setting

BGFT on largest setting

The Freetime was released a while ago, so it's not really a "new" new release, but it's one of the newest! The Freetime is made by bumGenius and is a cross between their 4.0 pocket and their Elemental. All three diapers are one-size. It features a sewn-in soaker like the Elemental (though only one end of each flap is sewn down instead of both like the Elemental), but offers a stay-dry feeling like the 4.0 pocket.  Also like the 4.0, the diaper is made of suedecloth and microfiber (which contrasts with the natural fibers of the Elemental). The Freetime comes in 13 colors and two prints and retails for $19.95. You can get it in either snaps or velcro.






Opened

Opened, soaker flaps spread out








Opened, showing opening in soaker flaps. Note the opening is only four or so inches long, so a full insert couldn't fit in there.

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

On a ~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time: 
Inner microfiber is still very slightly damp after a 1 hour, 39 minute dry on extra low.

What do I like about it?
bumGenius diapers are universally high-quality and fit a wide variety of babies well, partly thanks to their great stretchy tabs.  Because of the flaps, it dries quickly (more quickly than the Elemental, though not substantially). The suedecloth resists staining and generally stays about as soft as it was new for the duration of the diaper's life. All bumGenius diapers feature their great stretchy tabs that give a fantastic fit for almost all babies, and the Freetime is no exception. It's trimmer than a pocket stuffed with two microfiber inserts.

What don't I like about it?
It's not as trim as the Elemental, which continues to be my favorite. bumGenius diapers all come with three rise settings, which may not fit small babies very well (ours didn't start fitting until about 10-12 pounds).  And they used suedecloth, which has great benefits, but I find that after washing a bumGenius diaper, I am forever picking hair and lint off the inside of it that collects during drying (if you only line dry this wouldn't be as much of an issue). Possibly a deal-breaker on this diaper is the difficulty in spraying poop off. I hate to bring up such a unappetizing topic, but let's face it - we're talking about diapers, so poop is going to be discussed.  The flap system that they used for the soaker can be tricky to use with a diaper sprayer. Ensuring that the back flap is the one on top can help with that to some extent.

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ones&twos


O&T, smallest setting

O&T, one of the medium settings

O&T, largest setting

The new ones&twos AIO is a new brand as well as a new diaper - oh, excuse me. NAPPY. They're an Australian brand, so they get to use the oh-so-awesome word nappy instead of diaper.  They consist of a one-size diaper with a completely sewn-in soaker (very similar to bumGenius sized AIOs) with a stay-dry lining that I believe is suedecloth. The diaper itself also features a stuffable pocket (agian, similar to bumGenius sized AIOs).  Included in the diaper purchase is a separate insert that is microfiber topped with (I believe) a stay-dry microfleece. This setup allows you to use the diaper alone or the diaper with the insert, and the insert can go inside the pocket or simply be laid on top. The ones&twos come in six bright colors and retail for $16.95. It only comes with velcro.

Opened, no insert

Laundry tabs

Inserts alone - stay dry topper on the left, flipped to show microfiber bottom on the right

O&T with insert on top of diaper, tucked into flap (as they suggest)

Front flap

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old (with the insert)

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old (with the insert)

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time: 
Dried on high for 30 minutes to seal PUL, and inside microfiber was still quite damp. Did 1 hr 39 mins on extra low (how I generally dry all my diapers when not using a line) and it was completely dry by then.

What do I like about it?
It feels very high quality. Everything about it is soft. The pocket opening is at the front, which I like (as generally, for us anyway, poop goes up the back of the diaper). The pocket opening allows you to customize the absorbency with additional inserts, doublers, or boosters easily.  It is extremely trim without the separate insert.  The fact that there are four rise settings instead of three (which seems to be more common) means that it will fit a smaller baby than most one-size diapers.  It is narrower between the legs that many other diapers, which I really love. The separate insert lets you choose which you want to prioritize: trimness or absorbency. I love the soft laundry tabs - no scratches here! The best diaper I can compare it to would be the old discontinued bumGenius sized all-in-ones - which are some of my favorite diapers - with the addition of a soaker, a slightly different pocket opening, and, of course, the size settings.

What don't I like about it?
While I love that the pocket opening is in the front, the way it's configured with the flap opening facing towards the inside of the diaper means that poop could (and probably will) get inside the pocket. When you're dealing with a breastfed baby, that's not a huge deal since you just chuck the whole thing into the wash. However, when you get into (I'm sorry for this) chunky solid food poop, cleaning poop out of a pocket opening is NOT something you want to deal with.  (Note: if you just set the insert in without tucking it into the flap or stuffing the insert into the pocket, it will mostly prevent this.) While I like the separate insert for many reasons, it is another part to keep track of after washing - so if you don't like pockets for that reason, you may not like this.  The diaper is SO narrow between the legs that I couldn't stuff the extra insert inside easily - the inside of the diaper was too narrow for my average-sized hands. There's no way my husband could stuff this diaper. Luckily, since it's topped with fleece, you don't have to stuff it.

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Thirsties All-in-One


Thirsties, smallest setting (size 2)

Thirsties, medium setting (size 2)

Thirsties, largest setting (size 2)

Thirsties, like bumGenius, offers a wide variety of diaper types. However, they've never had an all-in-one until now.  They have prefolds, fitteds, pockets, covers, and now with the Thirsties AIOs they've just about covered every diaper type possible.  All Thirsties diapers and covers come in Duo sizing system: size one fits about 6-18lbs, and size two fits about 18-40 lbs). I got the size 2. Their AIO is stuffable, much like the ones&twos.  It consists of a microfiber soakers sewn into a diaper and topped with a microfleece stay-dry liner. The diaper is open on both ends to allow for faster drying times, and allows you to add an additional insert, doubler, or booster (none are included). It comes in nine solid colors and four prints, and retails for $15.75 (solids) and $16.75 (prints).  It is available in both snaps and velcro.


Opened

 

Laundry tabs

Pocket opening with built-in absobant layer

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

~19 pound, 29", 7.5 month old

Drying time:
Just like the ones&twos, I dried it on high for 30 minutes to seal PUL, and the inside microfiber was still quite damp after that. Then I did 1 hr 39 mins on extra low (how I generally dry all my diapers when not using a line) and it was completely dry.

What do I like about it?
The Duo sizing system works well for smaller babies, as there are three sizing options within each of the two Duo sizes (so between a size one and a size two, there are six sizes). The sleeve opening allows the diaper to be turned completely inside out if needed for washing or drying, and you can add extra absorbency. It fit very well.  The workmanship is very high quality, like all Thirsties products.

What don't I like about it?
I love microfleece at the beginning - it's SO soft, and I love that it doesn't collect hair and fuzz like suedecloth.  But after use, it does start to get pilly and just a bit rougher (however, given the choice between the two, I'd prefer microfleece over suedecloth). I do miss the double gussets that their covers and pockets offer, but I understand the difficulty in including those (their fitteds don't have them either, but I don't miss them there). It's slightly bulky - definitely not the trimmest diaper in our stash. This is the only diaper we had leaks with - but it was a big poop, something that the other diapers weren't lucky enough to receive. The aplix on this diaper and the laundry tabs SUCK. It is not very sticky at all, and the laundry tabs often come undone.

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Now, to compare all three.


L-R BGFT, O&T, Thirsties - smallest setting*

Medium setting

Largest setting

Opened (O&T insert on top)

*Note that the Thirsties is a size two and not a one-size diaper, and as such wouldn't be expected to get as small as a one-size diaper.

Trimness:
Of the three, the O&T (ones&twos) without the separate insert is the trimmest. With the insert, all three are about the same, with the BGFT (bumGenius Freetime) possibly being very slightly trimmer than the other two.

Drying Time:
In terms of drying times, the BGFT wins, hands down. The other can dry more quickly if turned inside-out, but that's a pain and I feel like it may stretch or tear the PUL if you do that too often. However, thanks to the pocket openings on the O&T and the Thirsties, drying time isn't insane. The O&T seems to have a slight edge over the Thirsties.

Fit:
They all fit my daughter about the same, though the O&T is trimmest width-wise between the legs, with Thirsties a close second and BGFT the widest. Given a newborn or much larger child, I think we'd see more marked differences, with the O&T being the smallest and trimmest for a small baby, and the BGFT possibly being the largest for a toddler (though it's hard to say - the Thirsties looks about the same as the BGFT on the largest settings).

Absorbency:
No leaks or wicking from any in a normal wet diaper.  However, I did have a liquid poop leak around the seams of the Thirsties. I want to be clear that she ONLY pooped in the Thirsties, so I can't speak to whether this would have happened to any of the others.  I did dry them on high to seal the pinholes from sewing, but still got that seepage.  She is on a weekly pooping schedule, so, ahem, her poops have quite a bit of force to them. This may not happen with regular poops. (Was that the most you've read about poop all day? And consider yourself lucky - I had a picture to include but lost it!)

Quality:
Initial impression: they are all about the same, with the exception of the Thirsties aplix being the worst.  I have a large rotation and haven't used any of the diapers long enough to see about longevity, but I don't anticipate any issues with any of them.

Snaps:
I got velcro/aplix for all of mine - right now we're at a very wiggly stage, and I need to be able to change her fast. However, note that the Thirsties snaps come in a straight horizontal line of two snaps, while the BGFT comes in a vertical line of two snaps (see stock pics from their sites below). Neither has crossover snap tabs. The snap configurations can make a huge difference on how diapers fit your child! The O&T is only available in aplix at this time.

BGFT on left, Thirsties on right

Overall:
Honestly, none of them offer anything hugely groundbreaking, in my opinion. All of these things have been done before in some way, shape, or form. There was nothing that made me gasp and say, "Oh, my gosh! Why didn't they think of that before??" I haven't seen stay-dry flaps in that specific configuration like the BGFT offers, but I've seen flaps on other diaper. I haven't seen two openings in an AIO like the Thirsties offers, but I've seen AIOs with openings. I haven't seen an AIO with an extra soaker plus regular absorbency like the O&T offers, but I've seen them with removable soakers. Overall, I want to like the ones&twos best because of the trimness and narrowness between the legs, and I like the customizable soaker. However, I haven't used any of them enough for one to jump to the front as of yet.  I will update this further if a clear frontrunner emerges with more use.