PeekABU review
So I've been wearing the new PeekABU diapers for the last 5 days (in late April 2018) & though I'd give an in-depth review of my own. Since Crinklz is my normal go-to diaper I'll be comparing it to them. Also attached are pictures for everyone to look at.
Appearance/Sizing. ABU diapers all tend to fit a little on the small/average side, and these hold true to that model. They are about 1" smaller of a cut all the way around the entire diaper as compared to Crinklz. Except for in the crotch area which is the same width. This would be good since that's where the padding is needed the most, but there's a catch. With both diapers allowed to expand out of the bag, PeekABU appears to be only slightly thinner than Crinklz. This is highly misleading though, as PeekABU has a much thinner center core running the length of the diaper. It is so thin you can actually see light coming through the padding when held up to a light- but with no light around the outer edges. So overall it is definitely a thinner diaper. Oh, and I find I like the colorful and babyish looks of the characters "peeking" over the top part of the diaper.
Tapes. These are much improved versus other ABU diapers, with the lower tapes actually positioned just far enough down to be called "lower". You can even tape them on fully below the tape landing zone. This finally allows for a snug enough fit around the legs, though I do wish they were a positioned about 1/2" lower on the back wings so they would line up with the front wings a little better. That is, not needing to be angled down any.
One very major problem that continues with ABU tapes in general though, is the spacing between the upper and lower tapes. They are still just way too close together. The top tapes would work much better if they were positioned another 2" or even 3" higher. As they are now, you have to try and angle to top tapes up as much as you can. They end up landing at the very top of the landing zone panel, but that's still another 2" too low. As such, the top tapes are not able to be secured at the belt line (or just above the hip bones). And that causes the diaper to sag really bad and even fall down.
Yet another problem I found with the tapes is when you secure them to the shell anywhere off of the harder landing zone plastic, then they will not come off without ripping the shell. This means you have only one shot to get it right. Worse still, when the diaper gets heavy or stretches from wearing them more than a couple hours you won't be able to re-tighten the tapes. You absolutely will need a onesie, tighty whitey underwear, or something else to help keep the diaper up and in place.
Performance. Don't get me wrong, these are the first ABU diapers that won't leak around the legs (usually within 4 hours) while fully using them. I stay well hydrated, usually taking in about 64 ounces of water per day (that nearly a full 2 liter bottle- per day). That means I pee a heck of a lot. These diapers have a fair amount of sap in them, but not as much as Crinklz does. Overall, I found they will last about 12 hours before getting ready to leak. Out of 10 diapers I had one very minor leak around the legs during the day, and a second one with another minor leak over the top while attempting to sleep in (I am a side sleeper). Both were around the 13 hour mark, and both felt over saturated like they just couldn't hold any more.
The padding also has less coverage than Crinklz, with the front and back or the padding coming up about 1" less (meaning more dead plastic space than it should have). They do swell when wet, but surprising not all that much. The wicking was also ok, but not as good a Crinklz which will saturate all the way to the back before leaking. Both times I saturated the PeekABU diapers to their leak point, but the back 3-4 inches was still dry.
Pricing. A major downside is these diapers only come per packages of 10, which I bought larges directly from ABU's website. One pack will cost about $45 with shipping. That breaks down to $4.50 per diaper, which is incredibly high. With 2 diapers used per day, that would be a whopping $9.00 per day. As comparison, large Crinklz bought from Northshore cost about $121 for a case of 60, or $2.02 per diaper. And while these can last 24 hours I always change every 12 anyways just to avoid rashes/smells. So the same 2 per day only cost $4.04. Way less than even half the cost of PeekABU.
For all these reasons, I wouldn't recommend anyone use PeekABU as their go-to diaper- especially anyone who needs diapers 24/7. Again, don't get me wrong on this though. They certainly are very well performing, and great for periodic indulging. Dare I say they may even be ABU's first premium grade diaper. Very well improved over their other brands, but still with lots of room for further improvements.
