Saturday, January 09, 2010

The Great Fluffy Review: bumGenius 3.0

When I discovered modern cloth diapers this year, I did a lot of reading, and by the time I was registering for my shower, I'd read that people seemed to really love the bumGenius 3.0.
Its amazing how well the bg 3.0s fit lil man! E likes. on Twitpic
The bumGenius 3.0 is a one sized pocket diaper with hook and loop closures with a suede cloth lining. bumGenius also has offered limited edition fleece lined diapers as well as organic ones with snap closures. They have three rise adjustments in order to fit babies approximately 7 lbs to 35 lbs.
The notion of One Size seemed convenient, so I went with it and registered for a whole bunch of these. I got one. It was white, just like every other diaper out there, but I loved it.
When I got home, I taught Mongoosine how to stuff it, and we practiced putting it on her baby doll, while planning to get more.
Honestly? I have two now. The one white and another in moonbeam.

The Good:
They fit Snapdragon well starting at about two weeks, when he weighed about 8.5 lbs. He looked ridiculous, but the legs were snug enough that they really did fit my tiny little newborn. It's possible they'd have fit sooner, but I didn't want to mess with his cord stump, which just didn't seem to want to come off.

The inserts are nicely absorbent.

The Not so Good:
The bumGenius 3.0s which I own have hook and loop closures, and I don't love hook and loop. It tends to come unhooked on it's own while Snapdragon is wearing it, and also gives him something to mess with. The hook and loop also tends to come unfastened in the wash, sticking to other bits of baby laundry. This can be a real pain if you are also washing the hand knit blanket his aunt made him, which he just made a mess on mid diaper change. And by real pain I mean can instigate swearing with creativity.
The bumGenius 3.0s I own also are lined with a soft suede cloth to keep baby's bottom dry. For some people this is a HUGE plus. However, if you have hard water, the suede cloth tends to start to smell like a literbox. There are ways to combat this build up, I've had great luck with an overnight soak in Rockin' Green Soap, but it's a pain in the bottom.

Overall: It's a good fit, but they're not our favorite.
They cost $17.95, which is pretty middle of the road.

Disclosure: I was not compensated by anyone in any way for this review.

5 comments:

Brooke said...

FTR I effing HATE BG 3.0. They are the WORST! There is not one single effing thing I like about them. At all. Even with a soak in RG they still stink to holy hell, the fit is awful on Gory, and I hate aplix. HATE HATE HATE!

Slee said...

I can agree with the aplix being not good for me, and I agree re: the stinktastic. You do realize we have some of the hardest water in the frakkin' country in northern illinois, right?
Yeah, hence they're not our favorite.

Jennifer said...

I actually like them, but I can see the downsides for sure. I do not love the aplix and the way it likes to attach to EVERYTHING in the wash. I don't like hanging them to dry so the aplix doesn't get ruined, when all my other dipes (even those with aplix closures)can go right in the dryer. But they are very daddy friendly, as my husband calls them. They fit really well. They work 99% of the time for me. Mine are just now starting to get stinky (after about 6-8 months of use) so I guess my water isn't too hard. But soaking in RG hasn't helped much. I would say they are great for people starting out with cloth because they make it pretty easy (if you have no water issues). I give them a B+.

Tori said...

See, now my entire stash is made up of BG3's. I hate hate hate snaps because my little guy is so skinny they never seem to get the right fit, and it seems like most dipes are snaps because they last longer. I will admit the H&L tabs are getting kind of worn and tend to catch on the insides of clothes, but BG will replace them for free I've been told, you just have to sew them on yourself. I'm also quite aware that their customer service is absolutely fantastic, and as a consumer that means a lot to me. I do have some issues with stink, but only when the dipes are ready to be changed anyways (I get a little skunk like smell), but IMO it's better than a wet sposie smells! A little "What Odor?" sprayed on the inserts before stuffing has so far helped my problem immensely.

Emily's Family said...

I like them too, but can see the downsides of them like most others! These are quite bulky but the hubs can put them on easily!!

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