Sunday 6 February 2011

Smartipants - A review


Smartipants seemed to come out of nowhere but now are probably one of the most talked about nappies of 2011. I had to get my hands on them to see what all the fuss was about!

Now the key things about the Smartipants, the things everyone have been talking about are;

  • The Smart Sleeve
  • The Fit 
  • The Quality
The Smart Sleeve

Long gone are the days of boiling and wet pailing terry nappies! It is now recommended that modern cloth nappies are dry pailed. But one drawback of the popular pocket style modern cloth nappy is fishing the wet insert out before washing.
This is where Smartipants stepped up their game, by introducing the Smart Sleeve feature. You insert the microfibre into the pocket as you would any other pocket nappy,  however the smart sleeve is open at both ends. This allows the insert to wriggle out during the washing process, so no touching the icky insert! And it really works!
Here you can see the Smart Sleeve and the microfibre insert
The Fit

Smartipants only come in poppers by my, what good poppers they are! If you have a crafty chappy like I do, they are very difficult for little fingers to undo, which means I can rest easy knowing that he isn't going to get it off!
In comparison to their counterparts, the highly successful bumGenius v4, they are a little more generously cut, which is great for larger babies/toddlers but not so good for newborns, however they do feature cross over snaps for the smaller baby. 
Another comparison to the bumGenius is in the bulkiness department. The Smartipants are considerably more trim. On my Smartipants' first outing, I met a fellow cloth user who couldn't even tell it was a really nappy! AND Louie was wearing leggings!


The Quality

The craftsmanship of the Smartipants is great. They are made by US Mums so they have great trade credentials. It is such a small thing, but I love that the stitching on the inside co-ordinates with the outer colour. But on a serious note they are very well made and durable.
Now, most nappies look lush, but after a few washes they lose their lustre. Smartipants hold up so well after washing, you probably couldn't even tell the difference between a new and a washed one! This is going to be music to the ears of you ladies who buy, swap and sell nappies as they will keep their value.
Fresh out of the washing machine
Cheeky face!
Smartipants come with one microfibre insert which is mighty thirsty. It lasted a good 4+ hours on my little boy and was still going strong when I changed him. I have heard a few good stories about Smartipants lasting 12+ hours at night, but I am too much of a wimp to try this! And because the insert is microfibre, it is really quick drying, which is great if you don't have a tumble drier. The inserts should be dry by morning if you leave them out over night.

So I too haven't found anything bad to say about the Smartipants! Generally a great nappy, and they look great on too. They currently come in pastel colours, but I have it on good authority that later in the year they are releasing an exciting new line of colours.
And at £13.50, they are a really reasonable price, especially if you buy in bulk, they could cost you as little as £11.45 per nappy.

Find them here at Fill Your Pants






3 comments:

Toni said...

We love SmartiPants here in the US, too! I enjoyed reading your review.

If you put two inserts into the pocket, it WILL last all night! We've been doing it with my little guy over night for almost a year! And, BOTH inserts will come out in the wash!

Aubrie Williams said...

These truly are great diapers (I'm from the states so I call them diapers, but I think "nappies" is a cute name for them) I've used them overnight and they work great. The pocket is generously large so you could conceivably stuff two inserts in there for heavy wetters. It's my favorite cloth diaper and I just love showing it off to other moms. My other favorite feature was that it repels solids. Even loose stool will roll off into the toilet fairly easily.

Great review Heidi :)

Sarah said...

It's the only cloth diaper I use. I love me some Smartipants! :)

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