Faceoff: Pampers -vs- “Generic” Diaper

Abstract

In an attempt to find an alternative to our non-performant Pampers diaper we first looked to the cheap, store-brand alternative. We conducted a multi-day competition with the BJ’s brand diapers up against the Pampers Baby Dry diapers. Much to our delight, the BJ’s diapers turned out to be a much better diaper. Now we will not only have to do less laundry and bed-changing, we will also save boatloads of money. The clear winner: BJ’s!

Background

As I mentioned in my last posting “The Great Diaper Dilemma of ’06“, we have been having some disappointments with our trusted brand, Pampers. As a reminder, the main issue was leakage of pee pee (which is daddy-speak for urine) out of the back of the diaper during long naps and overnight. Although completely annoyed by the idea of having to find a better diaper, I was up to the challenge.

We conveniently received a $3.00 off coupon from our local wholesale club BJ’sfor their store-brand (read: generic) diapers. They also back up their little waste-containment modules with a money-back guarantee if they don’t perform as well or better than your current brand. This was a no-brainer…especially since it mentioned some special stretchy feature that sounded like what the Pampers Swaddlers had (our tried and true diaper). The next day daddy and baby made a special trip to BJ’s to pick up a box of diapers.

The Faceoff:
The first thing I did when we got home from the store was open up the box of BJ’s diapers to inspect their design and construction. I made the following observations (also refer to the photos below):

1. They are about the same size as the Pampers (we used size 3 for this test).
2. The construction of the leg-wrapping part is quite similar (although the Pampers may have a slightly stronger elastic).
3. The thickness of the absorption zone is about the same. The only major difference observed is that the BJ’s diapers seemed to be a little crispy/hard on the absorption zone. This is easily eliminated by crinkling it up a bit before putting it on the baby.
4. The absorbazone(TM) on the BJ’s diaper is much longer (about 2.5 inches in the back) – it extends almost to the elastic waist band…exactly where the Pamper’s failed.
5. The BJ’s diaper is quite minimalistic with respect to graphics. They even have generic little characters (a car or jellybean with wheels? and some shapes with smiley faces). That means no Sesame Street characters nor their associated licensing fees.

For about 5 days and nights the BJ’s diapers were used for naps and nighttime. There were no leakages of any kind, even under heavy load(tee hee). By my estimates, a single BJ’s diaper can hold about a gallon* of pee pee and a 1/2 cubic foot* of poop. There was one instance when the diaper weighed about 10 pounds* after it was removed from a long nights slumber. *I’m completely making these numbers up – they are meant to convey a sentiment, not calibrate your measuring devices.

At one point during the test period, I figured I’d better use up the old Pampers that we have so I put one of those on for a nap…big mistake. After the nap I had to change her clothes, dip her in the tub and change the sheet on her crib. I only made that mistake once.

Conclusion:

From here on our we’re BJ’s diaper people. Not only are these high-performance little buggers, they also cost a heck of a lot less (at BJ’s – approx. unit price per 100 diapers Pampers: $17, BJ’s $13).

If you happen to be interested in the BJ’s diapers, they are actually made by Tyco Healthcare. There is information about the diapers on their website.

UPDATE 7/7/2006: In the spirit of full disclosure, we have had a couple of leaks with our beloved BJ’s diaper since this posting was published. I attribute them to user-error though. You must be very careful to ensure that the flaps are fully unfolded and wrapped around the hips before you velcro the tabs onto them…otherwise it leaves an area of weakness for pee to sneak by…

Photos: