Review: Rocky Mountain Diapers

Rocky Mountain Diapers - $19.50, Seconds for $15.50; Some styles $18.95 here.

Materials:  Outer layer PUL, with an inner of suedecloth, internal leg casing snap adjusters on the elastic for OS abilities, 1 microfiber insert.

Fit:  5 - 30 lbs.

How it works:  Rocky Mountain Diapers are a OS Pocket diaper with an unique rise adjustment system.  The pocket is stuffed with the included microfiber insert or insert of your choice.  The internal rise adjustment works similar to FuzziBunz in that the adjusters are in the leg casings rather than on the outside of the diaper.  More on that in Functionality.  The waist closure system is snaps only.

Thoughts from Amanda:

Aesthetics -  I love the colors of the Rocky Mountain Diaper.  They have fresh fruity colored diapers, yummy chocolate PUL diapers with colorful suedecloth inners, Cow print, and monkey prints.  I also like that the rise adjustment system is hidden in the leg casings giving this diaper a cleaner appearance on the outside.  This diaper only comes snaps for the waist closure system.  The snaps are in a single row which helps with the simplified look of the diaper, and I have never experienced wing droop.

Functionality -  I would like to start off by saying that I love that this company actually is truthful in their fit.  5 - 30 lbs. seems very accurate to me, although they may appear bulky on a newborn because they will bunch in the front.  I would compare the rise to a BumGenius 3.0 diaper.  Although, somehow, my son is still not on the highest setting in his Rocky Mountain diapers, although he is in his bumGenius diapers.  Go figure.  However, when looked at side by side (and maybe it's due to snap closure v. the aplix) they look about the same.  This diaper is very trim.  Much trimmer than other pockets I own.  And I find the pocket to be nice and wide which makes it easy for myself or my husband to stuff.

The rise adjustment system on the Rocky Mountain Diaper is unique.  It can be found in the leg casings of the diaper so you will actually have to go inside the pocket to each leg gusset to find the elastic.  On each leg elastic there are a series of snaps.  Just pull the elastic tighter or let it go looser and snap in place to adjust the fit.  Because the adjusters are in the casing there is no rubbing against baby's skin.  :)  The only thing to be careful of is that you get both legs on the same setting but that is very easy to do.  I actually like this a lot more than the FuzziBunz system as you only have to adjust the back and not the front as well.

My son is 24 lbs. and we are not in danger of him outgrowing them anytime soon.  :)  This diaper does have a low rise though, so that is something to be aware of as it may not last you through potty training.

Durability -  I bought my diapers from Rocky Mountain as seconds and they are in GREAT condition.  The suedecloth always stays nice and soft and they have held up well to many washings over the last 6 months of use.  

Although smaller in rise, I do highly recommend this diaper.  Rocky Mountain Diapers are sturdy and trim.  They stand the test of time and are super cute to boot.  

Review: FuzziBunz One Size

Diaper:  FuzziBunz One Size - $18.95 (Without extra elastic $17.95)

Materials:  Outer layer PUL, inner layer Fleece, Snaps for closure, buttons inside of the legs for the one size adjustment (I will explain more later on that), one regular sized microfiber insert and one microfiber doubler.

Fit:  7 - 30 + lbs.

How it works:  FuzziBunz One Size Diapers are a pocket diaper in which you place inserts to adjust the level of absorbency.  The rise on this diaper is not adjusted from the outside like most OS diapers.  This diaper's rise is adjusted with the elastic inside of the leg casing of the diaper and secured at each end with buttons.  The elastic is marked with a numbering system to help you adjust the room in the thighs to fit your child better than a diaper that adjusts with snaps on the outside.

Thoughts from Amanda:

Aesthetics -  Very vibrant diapers.  The colors are bright and cheery.  There are 12 colors available for these diapers.  I own yellow and orange and they are like neon...so keep that in mind when looking at the brighter colors.  They do not have prints though if that's what you're looking for.  

Functionality - First off I didn't find that the fleece inner wicked moisture away very well.  My son was damp to the touch each time I used this diaper.  I also find the fleece to be very thin and of poor quality.  The microfiber inserts that it came with also don't seem to absorb very well.  I often found myself replacing them with inserts from other diapers before making the switch to prefolds as inserts in all of my diapers.  (Which I highly recommend if you have a heavy wetter.)  

Regarding fit...I found the waist of this diaper to be even a little loose on my (at the time) 7 1/2 month old.  Now at 9 months I am just moving off of the smallest waist setting.  There is no way that this would fit comfortably on a newborn in my opinion.  This diaper seems to run a little big. I also find the thigh snaps to be placed a little too close to the leg opening.  I have a hard time getting a comfy with those snaps around my sons legs.  There are only 4 snaps to choose from around the thighs and even though the waist has two snaps on each side the thigh snaps seem to pull down on the wings of the diaper creating wing droop anyway.  Annoying!  

As far as adjusting the rise of the diaper.  FuzziBunz provides a handy dandy chart on their website to aid you in figuring out the proper setting for your child.  FuzziBunz utilizes a system in which the elastic inside of the leg casings has button holes and at the front and back of each leg opening there is a button.  You can pull on the elastic to adjust the rise of the diaper by making the leg area smaller or larger.  There are 6 or 7 setting on each end of the leg elastic.  The excess elastic then tucks into a "hideaway hole" in the diaper.  So, for example...my 21 lb., 9 month old son, is on the 3rd hole on the leg elastic.  This can become complicated and can take a while to figure out if your child doesn't fit into the 50% for everything.  (And really...how many of them do?!)  With buttons and snaps this diaper just becomes complicated to figure out at the beginning.

Now once I got everything set right, it worked, but it's still not a favorite of mine.  The elastic comes out of the "hideaway holes" in the wash and the elastic curls (which is the nature of elastic that isn't sewn down on the ends).  The buttons don't stay tucked away so the press up against my sons skin.  (He's not uncomfortable but it still bothers me.)  All in all I am just not overly impressed with this diaper.

If I get a chance sometime I'll make a video of this diaper as I think a visual will help you to better understand how this diaper works.

Durability -  The inner fleece of this diaper seems to get thinner and thinner with each washing.  I'm not sure why, as my other fleece lined diapers don't have this problem.  Otherwise this diaper is of good quality.  I like that mine came with extra elastic for the legs incase mine break.  But, I think if mine broke I would cry over it and would probably discontinue use anyway.

*** I know people who swear by this diaper.  They love everything about it.  Which just goes to show...it pays to try different brands which is why a starter pack is such a good idea when starting out.