AIO Cloth Diaper Comparison of Three Popular Brands

Just like most people, when I first started cloth diapering in 2008, I built most of my stash out of Bum Genius pocket diapers. Modern pocket diapers were fairly new to market and pockets were promoted as the easiest way to cloth diaper. My first purchase was for 24 BG 2.0 pockets with aplix. And I used them for 2 solid years before my daughter potty trained. Here and there, I bought a few prefolds, some Flips but really in the long run, pockets were my thing.

When little baby Ezra surprised us 3 years later, I assumed I would build another stash of the old reliable. Only I remembered how I hated the microfiber inserts and stuffing. Oh, the dreaded stuffing. I was amazed at how many new brands of diapers were on the market and more importantly the variety of All-IN-ONES and ALL-IN-TWOS.

My first few purchases, out side of of newborn diapers, was for a set of Best Bottom covers and inserts and 10 OBGE (Original Bum Genius Elemental). The OBGE were a total steal because they were new in package on Craigslist for $10.00 yeah.  I also purchased a whole variety of affordable pockets from companies like Diaper Safari, Nicki’s and Imagine Baby.

Only, after a couple of months I hadn’t found the Best Bottom love (I changed my mind about this, read the post here) and I realized the hubs and I were putting those 10 OBGE’s through a workout. That is when I splurged on 8 Tots Bots. These are perfect for an everyday person. They work almost identical to disposable diapers and the fit is really easy to come by. This past fall, I was selected to be a SmartBottoms Ambassador. I was REALLY green to to this brand, only owning ONE diaper but now I am now a huge fan.

So, that brings to this post. Today, a friend and I were doing work for Cloth Diaper Connection and chatting about our favorite diapers. We were both talking about the various brands of AIOs. She is a huge Tots Bots fan and I was trying to sell her on SmartBottoms.

I decided it would be a great to write quick comparison of three popular AIO brands; Bum Genius Elemental, Tots Bots 4.0 and SmartBottoms 3.1.

 

As you can see in this picture above, each AIO is very different.

• The Bum Genius Elemental is a layer of PUL with a sewn in organic cotton insert. There is no pocket for this diaper, although they do say extra absorbance can be placed beneath the sewn in insert.
• The SmartBottoms organic cotton diaper is a sewn in soaker with an extra long insert that can be folded for added absorption where you need it most. SB’s do not have a pocket but boosters can be placed right on the diaper as well.
• The Tots Bots diaper has a folded bamboo insert with a soft cotton layer beneath the insert and a pocket that can be used for added absorption.

Another obvious difference that you can see in these diapers is the size. I would say that the Tots Bots is by far the slimmest the AIO’s that I have. It fit GREAT from about 8 months to 18 months. He has been off all the rise buttons for several months now. One negative is that I can’t really get the fold where I, um, need it to be. If you get my drift. He doesn’t typically leak but they are only good for a couple of hours or I need to use a booster. However with he aplix, they are still my go to diaper for sitters, church and the diaper bag.

You can see that the BG Elemental is very wide. At 7 inches this diaper is almost an inch larger than the other two. And the insert doesn’t fill the whole space. I don’t love this style. I am a HUGE fan of the OBGE’s that I mentioned before but I am craving a print, I try to stick to natural fibers and this is my main choice.

Lastly, you can see that the SmartBottoms is very narrow at 5.5 inches. The insert on the diaper is also very narrow but because of the length you can get a nice fold and it is still a trim fit.

 

Finally a great side by side shot of the diapers with a measuring tape to see the length of the diapers. Now we know that the elastic can skew this measurement, it still however gives you a good idea of how the diapers compare.

You can see here that the SmartBottoms is by far the longest of the 3 diapers by almost 3 inches. The TotsBots and BG Elemental are about 12 inches. The big difference with these two diapers is that the Bum Genius has their patented 4 button rise, while the Tots Bots has only a 3 button rise. The interesting thing about the BGE is that I still have it on the last rise snaps. The waist of the diaper is significantly wider, allowing it to lay a little bit flatter than the Tots Bots. The Tots Bots will sometimes roll down.

My overall opinion is that I like all three diapers for different reasons but for my larger, longer toddler, I am finding that I reach for my few SmartBottoms more than my Tots Bots these days. I am just not getting the same fit I did when he was smaller. However, I will always like the ease of aplix for my squirmy toddler.

I know this post isn’t all inclusive of every AIO diaper but I hope it gives you a good idea of how these diapers might work for your little one.

Let me know if this post helped you at all. Leave me a little sunshine in the comments section.

What is your favorite AIO and why?