binkygirl said:
In my opinion prefolds are way to much hassle. They take for ever to wash and dry and they are complicated to put on. An AIO is the easiest to use however they tend to not have enough absorbency. Pocket diapers in my opinion are the easiest to deal with and they offer the best absorbency.
Well, hold on there. Let's zoom in on this a bit more. I think it's certainly fair to say that prefolds and flats are
more complicated to put on, but diapering oneself is a process that quickly becomes second nature. It's also worth keeping in mind that, as a community dominated by discretionary diaper users, matters of practicality--like how quickly one can slip in and out of a diaper--aren't always the priority.
Sometimes they are, but... just sayin'!
But on laundering and absorbency, I think we need to be a bit more careful: Prefolds are just a cloth pad, so calling them complicated to launder is kind of silly. Just like the removable pads in pocket diapers, prefolds wash up well when compared to AIOs, because the water and detergent can penetrate from both sides. Same thing with drying, although prefolds can take longer simply because there's more absorbent material there. And on that note: I'm not sure how pockets could be construed as more absorbent than AIOs or prefolds. Prefolds have absorbent material on the sides (once fastened), which neither pockets nor AIOs can boast. And in all cases, booster pads--or in the case of prefolds, additional diapers--can be added to increase absorbency.
TL;DR: I would say that any of the traditional pin-on sorts of diapers offer the most protection all around. In the battle between AIOs and pockets, pockets win primarily based on ease of laundering and longevity. (The latter because, like prefolds, the fate of the absorbent parts isn't tied to the fate of the waterproof part.)
But the choice between prefolds and pockets/AIOs is, for the average AB/DL, probably an easy one: For those of us who grew up with one or the other, we'll probably be sticking with that. For those transitioning from dispies, the more-traditional sorts of cloth diapers, however functional they may be, are going to seem alien. I love prefolds, but I'd hesitate to steer anybody toward them who isn't inclined. Instead, I would recommend pockets. In a nutshell: They're AIOs, but better.