I love my Best Bottom diapers, so, when Enyo over at Motherhood Looms and Cloth Diaper Addicts recommended Flips to me, I decided to give a new cloth diaper system a chance. While recently adding to my cloth diaper stash, I purchased three Flip one-size diaper covers in ribbit (green), dazzle (purple), and moonbeam (blue) as well as six Flip stay-dry inserts. (I bought three because of a recent buy two, get one free Flip sale.) So, how do I compare my new Flips to my beloved Best Bottoms?
The Flip diaper system consists of a one-size diaper cover and an insert that fits inside the cover. The cover is made from 100% polyester. The Stay Dry inserts are made from 80% polyester and 20% polyamide with a Stay Layer made from 100% polyester. Flip also offers organic cotton inserts as well as disposable inserts.
My favorite aspect of my new Flip diapers is that the cover is reusable. I like my pocket diapers okay, but I love a diapering system in which I can switch out just the insert. When my daughter needs a diaper change while she is wearing one of her Flip diapers, I just swap out the wet or dirty insert with a clean one. I also really like the Stay Dry inserts, which absorb a lot of moisture while keeping wetness away from my daughter’s precious skin.
As for fit, I think that the Flip cover fits my daughter pretty well. As a one-size diaper, the Flip cover features three rows of torso snaps and ten double hip snaps. Flips promise to last from birth to potty training, which means eight to thirty-five pounds. My daughter is already twenty pounds, but I still have the cover set to only the middle settings on both the torso and the waist. I am confident that this diaper will truly last from birth to potty training.
I have only two minor complaints about the fit of my new Flips. First, I usually prefer a diaper with a double leg gusset to help hold in messes. However, I have not had any major problems with my Flips leaking. Furthermore, although I would love to see elastic in the waist on the front of the cover to prevent gapping, the Flip still fits pretty well. Both points are minor and do not change my opinion about the good fit of this diaper cover.
Unfortunately, I am not 100% satisfied with my new Flip diaper system. First, although I like the idea of a single insert that folds down into a medium and a small size, I do not like wrestling with the insert while I sometimes wrestle the diaper onto my daughter. With my Best Bottoms, I had to buy a larger insert once my daughter grew bigger. With the Flips, I can buy one insert that transitions from small to medium to large. However, I must admit that I prefer the ease of a sized insert over the convenience of a one-size insert.
Second and most important, I hate that the Flip insert just lays inside the diaper cover. I love my Best Bottoms because the inserts snap into the covers. When I am wrestling to put a diaper on my daughter, I do not have to also wrestle to keep the insert in place inside the diaper. With the Flip diaper cover, the insert sits under two flaps, one at the back of the cover and one at the front. However, with a wiggly baby, the insert sometimes gets wonky inside the cover. I would like my Flips better if the insert snapped in.
On the other hand, though, my husband likes the lack of snap because he does not have to touch the wet insert when changing diapers. He simply shakes the dirty diaper over the wet bag and lets the wet insert fall out. He also thought that change our daughter on the go was easier with the Flips because he did not have to worry about snapping the insert in. I like Best Bottoms best, but my husband has a new fondness for Flips.
Final Verdict: Although I like the Flip diaper system better than pocket diapers because of the reusable cover, I still prefer my Best Bottom diapers. The Stay Dry insert is very absorbent, and the Flip diaper cover fits my daughter well despite a lack of double leg gussets and elastic in the front around the waist. However, I dislike that the insert just lays inside the cover, which sometimes makes changing diapers hard with a wiggly baby. I give Flips one thumb up but recommend Best Bottoms instead.
To purchase Flip diapers, please use my affiliate link to Nicki’s Diapers.
Image Credits
Flip Diaper Cover in Ribbit © 2012 Heather Johnson
Ribbit Flip Diaper Cover and Flip Stay Dry Insert © 2012 Heather Johnson
Stay Dry Insert in a Flip Diaper Cover © 2012 Heather Johnson
Poppy Wearing Her Ribbit Flip Cloth Diaper © 2012 Heather Johnson
