Cloth-Like Vs Plastic

[drag0n]

Since ABU is coming out with a cloth-like cover on their cushies diapers, I wanted to know why so many were opposed to the cloth like cover? What are the major pros and cons of cloth like covers and pros and cons of plastic backed diapers?

[ldatsea]

for me and trying many diapers i found that "cloth-like" are not really 100% water proof they also tend shed fibers so if they use velcro style fasteners they loosen up if they use sticky fasteners the tapes wont hold after a while, but that is only what I have experienced

[Bettypooh]

Clothlike tends to cling to clothing while plastic doesn't. Older ABDL's never had clothlike as children. Clothlike feels cooler to some. All but one common retail diaper is clothlike- only Depends Protection with Tabs (the old Depends Maximum Protection) is plastic and on the retail shelves anymore. Clothlike/Velcro tends to be able to be refastened more times than Plastic/Tapes.

No matter that, for pull-ups I don't care but for diapers it's plastic-backed or real cloth diapers. Clothlike backing just doesn't cut it with me

Bettypooh

[timmyc]

I love the smooth plastic feel, especially when wet. From the time I first felt drawn to diapers at 4 or 5 through college all disposables were plastic. It is what a diaper is to me. I never cared much for cloth diapers and don't like the feel of cloth like. I also think they tend to leak more. I like the crinkle too.

[cruxshadow]

It is true that plastic covers tend to be smoother, while cloth catches on clothing, and pills/ruins silk sheets (depending on how rough the cloth-like texture), and many cloth-like products leak through the sides, and have poor odor retention. Though these are all valid factors, a lot of it is exaggerated by plastic cover hold-outs (I'm one myself) who are simply trying to find reasons that the diaper of our era was better (we are the collective old man shaking his walker on our front lawn).

One very valid complaint of ours, however, is that cloth like covers suck for night time use. I'm a side-sleeper, and those cloth-like "wings" don't fly (ya' feel me?). I understand that cloth-like covers are more discreet, but why would you need to be discreet when you're lying in bed hidden away from the world? I can understand cloth-like for daytime products, but it is utterly confounding to me that companies would produce mattress thick (abena x-plus, etc.) products, and expect the slight desecration provided by a silent cover to negate the obvious thicknes of their product (irony of ironies being that Abena plastic is slightly audible in the privacy of your own home when you want it to be, but completely silent under jeans),

[Floaty_Boy]

Since ABU is coming out with a cloth-like cover on their cushies diapers, I wanted to know why so many were opposed to the cloth like cover? What are the major pros and cons of cloth like covers and pros and cons of plastic backed diapers?

Odor control.

So called "breathability" means air in and out. Air out means particulates out with the air. I can wet a plastic-backed diaper multiple times and not have any problem with odor. One wetting in a cloth-like and I can smell it with every movement.

--Floaty

[Codymoogle]

Odor control & LEAKS. I have ALWAYS had leaks with cloth-like diapers.

~ moogle

[Baby Brian]

Most cloth-like diapers are also lined with a wide strip of plastic that doesn't extend all the way up or to the sides. As such they are not waterproof on the sides, at the leg cuffs, or at the top in the very least. Even the slightest bit of flooding will be too much for a cloth-like diaper before it leaks.

[Wetdl]

I have heard many thoughts and reasons for the change to "cloth like". One overwhelming fact is with "cloth like" you will for many reasons need to buy a larger number of diapers. This above all will cause manufacturers to move in this direction. This could cost a company customers, unless their competition has also made the same decision.

I for one have no use for a diaper which does not contain urine and odors, if that's all that manufacturers can offer, what's the advantage of "cloth like" over actual cloth.

[rusty pins]

Most differences have been covered but here is my take on the differences and preferences. I wore cloth diapers and plastic pants as a kid and bedwetter up to age 6. When I first tried disposables, they were Pampers when I was 11. I just prefer plastic backed disposable diapers myself. That said, there are times when I do like cloth backed disposables as well. With either diaper, they will leak when sleeping on your side. There just isn't the protection there on either type of diaper. Also, there are some cheaper made plastic backed disposable diapers that don't hold much and there are some really good quality cloth backed diapers that do absorb well. We have to compare apples to apples and not apples to oranges.

One thing I do when wearing cloth backed disposable diapers is wear plastic pants over them, even if it's only a thin pair like Priva. One thing that holds true about any cloth backed disposable is it's easier for the cloth cover to wick moisture to the outside when either over wet or soaked in just the right areas. Also one thing that hasn't been mentioned is the side pannels of cloth backed disposables. You can tape them on tight, but the fact that they are cloth as opposed to plastic means they will strech on their own as you move around. I've had my diaper get looser around the waist and legs just walking around even though the tapes are holding tight right where I placed them. Not a good feeling to be walking around in a diaper and have it get loose and feel like it's about to fall off. Plastic pants help there, too. I am a plastic backed disposable diaper person, however I also like the cloth backed diapers at times as well. Variety is the spice of life, you just have to experiment to find out how to make a purse out of a sow's ear.

[Baby Brian]

Rusty pins, I've actually found that Abena, Secure x-plus & Molicare will provide adequate protection for me while sleeping on my side. Anything else tends to leak- a lot.

[freddie84]

Love plastic backed diapers & always will. Cloth like just does not feel like a diaper to me nor do they feel secure. The fibers to the cloth like fabric fray up and hang all over the place, and the tabs come loose do to the same reason.

[nappyboymids]

I've always preferred plastic-backed nappies from an 'aesthetic' point of view (feel, look etc.) and that's what I usually buy. However, I've been away from home for a couple of extended periods this year and have only been able to buy cloth-backed nappies and so have used them for a couple of sustained periods - two to three weeks. In terms of practicality both seem to have pros and cons.

Pros for cloth-backed nappies - don't chafe the legs, seem to be as good as plastic in not leaking/weeping, tapes hold just as well, more comfortable in warm weather, quieter

Cons - the cover seems to stretch a bit more as the nappy gets wet, so there's a greater tendency to sag and bulk up (not so good if you want to be discrete but snug plastic pants, a onesie or compression shorts help), the smell from a wet nappy is a bit stronger

Pros for plastic backed nappies - don't expand so much so 'keep their shape' better, smell less, so don't need an extra cover

Cons - more likely to chafe, can get uncomfortable in hot weather, noisier

At night I've found them about the same - occasional leaks (I mainly sleep on my side). I think, for men, overnight leaks are mainly to do with 'positioning' (!)

When I get home I'll stick to plastic-backed - but I may well keep some cloth-backed around as it's good to know that in hot weather you can wear something a bit more comfortable without problems, or if you need to sooth chafed skin for a bit (I wear 24/7 for incontinence, so having a break isn't an option ...)

[blackdecker]

Plastic. The thicker the better and the more wetter I can get them. Now if I could find a really really really thick loud and crinkly and a scented Diaper all in one I would be in heaven!

[Dubious]

Cloth-like diapers and pull ups should be banned !

Cloth chaf more than plastic

Cloth let EVERYTHING out (even urine at some point)

Cloth tapes are really bad and using packaging tape dosent work that good..

Cloth dosent work as night time diaper as when u move it will fall off..

So, i cant see (m)any benefits with cloth-like diapers, maybe for when ur outdoors in the heat/sun, but then you have to change often or u smell like a public toilet and then the point in weaing outside wasted