Pocket Diaper Review: bumGenius, Kawaii, Rump-a-rooz & FuzziBunz

We initially decided to explore cloth diapering as a way to make my transition to a (mostly) stay-at-home-mom more financially feasible. After learning about the impact disposable diapers have on our environment, our decision to cloth diaper was made. The start was a bit discouraging after seeing how comically large diapers looked on my newborn, and becoming convinced I could never manage an infant and diaper laundry. My newborn got bigger, diapers looked less comical, and it turns out I can manage a baby and a household.

As my daughter became more mobile and a non-stop squirmer, we decided to move from covers and pre-folds to pocket diaper, therefore making diaper changing a one step process. I was fortunate enough to have a friend with a newly potty-trained child. She wanted diapers out of her home for good, and I was happy to take them off of her hands! Her stash of pocket diapers was made up of various brands and I was interested to see the differences in products that were essentially identical in method of use and function.

Pocket diapers appealled to me because I could continue to use my prefolds stuffed inside, I would have the ease of a one step process while changing, and maintain the convenience of a pretty short dry time on laundry day. The four brands I will review are bumGenius, Kawaii Baby, Rump-a-Rooz, and FuzziBunz. I hope you find this helpful!

bumGenius

The Good: This is perhaps the most mainstream brand of cloth diapers which means they are widely available at popular brick and mortar stores as well as various online retailers. They are a one size diaper with various rise settings that the manufacturer advertises will fit from birth to potty training. To fasten, there are two identical rows of snaps, and the stretchy tabs are a nice feature. The flap style opening for the insert makes for quick and easy stuffing.

The Bad: Brand new, they are about $20 each, which is on the high end for pocket diapers. They come with microfiber inserts, which tend to have compression leaks and generally don’t hold as much liquid as a natural fiber (cotton, hemp, bamboo) insert.

Kawaii Baby

The Good: At just over half the price of bumGenius (around $11 at Nicki’s Closet) they are an economical option while maintaining great quality and one size fit options. The soft fleece inside seems like it would be more comfortable than others, but my kid doesn’t seem to notice the difference. To fasten, there are two rows of snaps; one for the fit around the belly, and the other row, called hip snaps, helps to achieve a more custom fit around the hip and thigh. The fastening tabs have two snaps for fitting around the belly, which I’ve found helps keep things in place.

The Bad: These also come with a microfiber insert - not my favorite, but at this price point, it gets the job done!

Rump-a-Rooz

The Good: They have soft fleece inside with double gussets - great for keeping in breastfed baby poop! Also a one size diaper, the three rows of rise snaps seem like they would actually fit a newborn better than others, although I haven’t tried. When buying brand new, you can choose to have a hemp or bamboo insert for an extra cost.

The Bad: They cost about $23 with a microfiber insert; more with bamboo or hemp options. Despite the double gussets being a great feature, these are my least favorite diapers. The rise snaps make the front very bulky and although I’ve tried various fit techniques, it is always loose around the back on my baby.

FuzziBunz

The Good: At around $15 each, they fall in the mid-range for price of pocket diapers. The lack of rise snaps makes for a really trim fit - hard to find in cloth diapers! They have tummy snaps and hip snaps - my favorite combination to obtain a good fit. Like Kawaii baby the fastening tabs have two snaps.

The Bad: FuzziBunz does make a one size diaper, but I have the “Perfect Size” diapers in a medium which means buying various sized diapers from birth through potty training. Not something I would choose!

Good to Know: bumGenius, FuzziBunz & Rump-a-Rooz are Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) compliant while Kawaii Baby diapers don’t undergo the tests that would certify them as such. This is one reason Kawaii Baby diapers cost much less than the other brands. The bumGenius diapers I have are made in the USA, and after reading the story of how the company started, I somehow liked the product even more!

Overall: BumGenius are my favorite pocket diapers to use when paired with a prefold as an insert. I love the ease of stuffing them and the stretchy tabs make a snug, but comfortable fit easy to achieve. At $20 each brand new, it is a larger investment to have your whole cloth diaper arsenal made up of these, but they maintain a good re-sale value if cared for properly.

About the Author I have been married to my high school sweet heart since 2007 and we welcomed a daughter, Adeline in April 2015. Jodi, our dog, has been our constant companion since August of 2008 when we adopted her from the SPCA. I have a small (but growing) photography business that allows me be home with my daughter full time, and take advantage of generous free babysitting from friends and family when I work! We love the great outdoors and can’t wait to share our love of camping and road trips with our daughter. We cloth diaper to save money and do our part to lessen our carbon footprint.