Abena Abri-Form L4 "Landing Zone" HACK

[DL-Boy]

I bought a bag of Abri-Form L4 briefs several days ago and used the first one this morning when I got up.  I wasn't satisfied that they have thin plastic on the front and no landing zone for the tape so I hacked one to try it out with a landing zone.  Yes, they come with a two tape system where once the blue tape is placed, you can peel the white tape off the blue and reposition it but that only gives one extra chance to get it right.  I had some self-adhesive laminating film that I thought would work perfectly as a landing zone.  A couple of weeks ago I got some North Shore MegaMax samples and it seemed to me that the plastic landing zones on those wasn't much more than the same laminating film I already had on hand.

The photos below are of the modified L4 with the landing zone.  It's still folded but the landing zone goes out to the edge of both wings on the front.  I will test it out tonight to see how the tapes work on a thicker plastic zone.  One thing - the usually very quiet Abri-Form L4 is quite crinkly with the laminating film attached to the front.

[DL-Boy]

I had an opportunity to try this hacked L4 on earlier than I thought I would.  After having a bit of an accident (left-over effects from a laxative I took early this afternoon), I had to clean up and change diapers so now I'm wearing the hacked L4 from the previous pictures.  I also repositioned several of the BLUE tapes several times each to get the perfect fit.  I didn't have to utilize the white secondary tapes at all.  See the photo below of it in place...

 

 

[Huggybutt]

Good ingenuity! I assume since you have tried it out, the tapes also hold better?

[DL-Boy]

2 hours ago, huggybutt said:

Good ingenuity! I assume since you have tried it out, the tapes also hold better?

The tapes were secure all through the night and that's after I had to take it off a couple of times before I went to bed because of post-laxative rumbling and there were no problems with the tape or hacked landing zone.

[DL-Boy]

I took some pictures of the hacked diaper before changing today to show how the tapes stayed on and how they came off easily when pulled.

All tapes still securely in place:

 

Top tapes have been pulled loose to show the diaper did not tear:

 

 

 

Two gratuitous "Wet Diaper" shots ?:

[DL-Boy]

1 hour ago, diaperedboilerman said:

I have used packing tape also on diapers for a landing zone. I don't seem to have an issue getting the diaper on right the first time thankfully. But I wear 24/7 and have plenty of practice. 

 

I'm sort of spoiled to the hook/loop closures.  I typically attach one leg closure close to where I think it should go, then the other side's leg closure.  Afterward I pull the first one loose and reposition it for a better more symmetrical fit, then the other one again.  After the legs, I then do the waist closures.  Also, the first cheap hook/loop brief I started using was the Assurance stretch brief that has a two closure system with one extra wide hook tab on each side, with elastic/stretchy fabric in the tab.  Those are simple to use but still I have to place the tabs temporarily and then even them out after it is in place.

With the method I use on the 4-tape diapers, the L4s would always end up with problems if it weren't for an add-on landing zone.  If I can get more precise in my first estimation, I might be able to get them fastened the first time each time.  That still leaves the issue of what I do if I need to temporarily remove it before I'm ready to be changed.  With that possibility looming at all times, precision doesn't completely resolve the landing zone issue (or lack thereof).

[DL-Boy]

I really don't know why someone doesn't come up with a plastic diaper with a cloth-like landing zone attached to the front (overlay like the plastic landing zone on MegaMax), then use the hook fasteners.  That would be sheer genius.  Also, word on the streets is that Abena has switched the Abri-Form M4/L4 line to cloth-like with hook closures.  They're just not available through all sources yet.

[Smash-N-Dash]

I did something similar when I used to buy Abenas, only difference is I used duct tape. It gets the same result, but with different designs on the tape, you can have some fun with it.