Bambino Mio (1 stars)
One of the first nappies I purchased, mainly because they looked slim in the advert and had a cute cover. Also they were cheaper than most other nappies. They did look cute on Tom and there was a nice sterile appearance to them which reminded me of well-laundered hospital sheets! However after first use I was shocked at how wet they got. Baby didn't seem to mind but I did wonder if I had made the right choice. My first two boys had worn disposables and had never felt as wet next to the skin. Also they were prone to leaking. If your baby is breastfed you can imagine what that was like! The other gripe I had was that the wrap could not be washed at 60'C, only 40'C and it was a nuisance having to wash them separately. I still have some of these as back-up nappies and to stuff pocket nappies like Fuzzi Bunz and Wonderoos. If used as prefolds I use covers which can wash at 60'C. They get a star for value for money but that's about it.
Tots Bots (4 stars)
Everyone needs a couple of these in their collection if only for nights! They are very absorbent looped terry nappies which never leak and I imagine are very comfy to wear. (At least Tom never complains!) I use them with a fleece liner to keep wetness away from his skin. A waterproof wrap or cover is necessary. These are available in white, unbleached and pastel colours. The colours are thinner than the white and unbleached and less absorbent but I find I can still use them at night. The downside with these is that they are quite bulky compared to some others on the market and won't fit under very slim-fitting trousers which is why I mainly keep them for nights when absorbancy is more important. There are newer versions of these now;
1/ The Fluffle which is microfibre with an inbuilt fleece liner. My son refers to these as "Teddy" nappies because the micofibre material feels like some plush soft toys. The inbuilt fleece liner is great for keeping moisture away from his skin and we find that solids just fall off the fleece into the toilet.
2/ The Bamboozle which is made from the newly popular, highly absorbent bamboo.I have yet to try this one.
Fuzzi Bunz (5 stars)
I love, love, love these nappies! They are a pocket nappy which means that the outer and inner layers are sewn together forming a pocket which can be stuffed with the fuzzi bunz microterry insert or....... almost anything you like! The outer waterproof layer is thin and soft, the inner layer is supersoft fleece which keeps baby's skin nice and dry. I have been using my old prefolds to stuff them but now that Tom has moved up to the large size I find that the small prefolds are too small and the medium too bulky so am now trying out various forms of insert. I find a single fuzzi bunz insert not quite absorbent enough but it doesn't increase the bulk too much if you use two. The Wonderfulls hemp insert from the makers of Wonderoos also work nicely with these. although I prefer the Babykicks Hemparoo, which is nice and slim, made of hemp ( as you can deduce from the name) and therefore very absorbent. The main advantages of these nappies are that they are nice and slim and baby will still be able to wear the same types of trousers as if he were in a disposable. Also the inbuilt fleece liner means that he stays dry. The outer layer, although waterproof, feels soft to the touch and other people looking after baby can use them without Mums needing to leave a page of instructions, as once made up with the cover and insert together, they are as easy to use as a disposable.
Bumgenius (4 stars)
These are almost but not quite as nice as the fuzzi-bunz. Since they improved the outer cover on these they are also much nicer to use. They lose a point only because they close with applix rather than poppers. Like the fuzzi-bunz they are a pocket nappy and come with their own insert. They do have one big advantage over fuzzi bunz which is that they are a birth-to-potty nappy whereas fuzzi-bunz users will need 2-3 changes of size as baby grows. If you have not used cloth nappies you may wonder why I don't like Applix, which is the Velcro-like material used in a lot of nappies. I don't like it because it sticks to all the other nappies in the washing-machine and also I have found that it loses its gripping power with time. This is more true of some nappies with applix than with others so perhaps it is a quality issue. In any case I prefer poppers! Of all the nappies I have used these are the nearest thing to using a disposable, right down to the stretchy tabs which ensure a great fit.
Rumpster (3 stars)
These are a nice nappy to use, they are an all-in-one which I thought sounded like a good idea as often baby is with grandparents or daycare and I had thought that they appeared more like a disposable than some other styles of nappy. The outer waterproof cover has a cloth-like feel; there are several layers of hemp which is generally thinner and more absorbent than cotton and a nice soft layer of fleece on the inside. They work very well but there is one drawback. Rather than all the hemp layers being sewn into position, they flap out away from the centre to ease drying. This of course is a good thing for those of us who love the environment and prefer to limit the use of dryer but in my experience, when I leave other people in charge of the baby, the layers end up being re-folded wrongly so that they are not all properly in place, in particular baby will sometimes have the wet hemp next to his skin rather then the dry fleece. However, so far they have been the best all-in-one I have used.
Wonderoos (2 stars)
Wonderoos seemed like a good idea after I had bought my fuzzi bunz. The birth to potty aspect really appealed as I could see that the fuzzi bunz could work out relatively expensive what with needing new sizes as baby grew. At first they were fine, though a little bulky, but they have not stood the test of time. I bough three in total; one year on the elastic has completely gone in two of them meaning that solids can escape, not nice when you find your toddler walking around with something that looks like a little piece of chocolate until you realise that it is something far less appetising! The third one still has good elastics but the poppers seem to be of poor quality, they don't "click" nicely into place. In addition to this I think the "birth to potty" claim is far too optimistic. I have quite a slender two year old and they just about fit him, I don't think they would work for very long on a chubbier baby. If you are thinking about these, I really would point you instead in the direction of Bumgenius.
Kushies (0 stars)
In fairness to Kushies/Kooshies, I have only used the Kushies Ultra and I have seen the Kushies Classic get better reviews on some other sites. This was one of the first cloth nappies I bought and my reason for buying them was that I thought they were as near as you could get to a disposable style, and I thought some of the other two-part systems just looked difficult to use. How wrong was I! These leaked almost every time they were used and the cotton was very wet against the baby's skin. With hindsight I think a fleece liner would have been a good idea but I was new to cloth nappies and didn't know about fleece liners. To add insult to injury the outer waterproof cover developed holes after three months of use. Don't waste your money on these. If an All-in-One appeals I would recommend the Rumpster but it is worth bearing in mind that the pocket nappy systems take about two seconds to put together and work far better.