Best 'bang for the buck' diaper

I'm curious what your thoughts are on which diaper has the best value to performance ratio. By performance I mean not just sheer absorbency but also practical usability, comfort, and quality.

I know a lot of this comes to down to specific use cases and subjective preferences, but I'd be curious to see what you guys think are some of the best values out there in the diaper world.

Abena 4 line has got to be one of the best diapers. In form of function, protection, quality and price.

I think Tranquility ATNs are some of the best cheap diapers you can get. They're pretty much like a premium without a landing zone for the tapes and elastic waist bands. When I'm wearing I usually don't go out and about much, but they've always held up well for me and work well when put to use.

I would have also suggested the Abena-Abri Form "3" series (one below the x-plus), but the plastic backed ones have been discontinued to the best of my knowledge plus they're still a little pricey.

I, myself found Abena M4 to be lacking. By the second wetting it already gets my skin wet. I don't get it why it's so popular.
They are very soft and nice to wear though. Wouldn't bash them but yeah.

I've found every single Tena diaper to be the best ever for all aspects. Fit, price, absorption, comfort, discreetness..! I'm a real fan of them <_< I'm becoming almost rabid soon lmao..! But I just really love how they keep my skin dry for as long as I wear them! If I feel any wetness.. well, then I am really, REALLY wet!
Shame USA seems to be getting different kind under the same name for clothback Tena Slip Maxi and they are vastly inferior there! Dunno why.
Tena Slip Active Fit is a real good plastic one, though! and Tena Slip Original, a hybrid diaper with cloth wings but plastic backing is my fave so far.
I even use Tena Basic sometime, even though they just take one wetting.

I found our Tena Maxi Slips, to be the best bang for buck, if we could get the plastic backed Abena's over here, they would come in a close second... will be trying out molicare to see if they are any good. Do not like the Abena Premiums, I feel that they fit entirely diferently to the Abri Forms, so while the Premiums may "hold a lot" I find after moving around a bit you have more running down your leg than in the diaper because no matter how tight they start off they loosen up real quick and the taps are nowhere near the quality of the Tena's for refastening.

So for NZ at this stage with what I have tried.

1) Tena Maxi Slips, 9 for $16.50 After two big wettings it can start to get a little uncomfortable, won't leak until after 3, very comfortable and durable, I hope no one from Tena see's this, but it my give them ideas, I would say for the product received they are under priced.
2) (if they were Available) Abena Abri Form... why won't someone stock this
2 (If they were available) North Shore Briefs.

Firmly in the middle of the pack.

MOP - Abena Premiums... are not premium,
Depends Fitted Brief... Have only been able to find them at pharmacies so have to pay pharmacy prices. If they held more, or they were available at supermarket prices I would rank them far above the Premiums in terms of bang for buck.
Attends - Don't fit too bad, don't hold too much, aren't too expensive, very so-so but it terms of bang for buck, I would put them ahead of the premiums and the depends.

Abena M4 plastic backed. The per unit price may look high, but you will be using far less of them than many other diapers out there.

Abena Abri Form X-Plus L4 and the Dry 24-7's get my vote

I expect the answer to this depends a lot on how one uses their diapers. Even 24/7, I have a high capacity bladder and I choose when I wet. This makes thinner diapers a better deal a lot of the time since I can either wet a bit and wear for an extended period or wear dry, wet a lot, and change in short order. Since Depends Protection with Tabs are becoming harder to find retail, I'm still looking for an inexpensive alternative that I really like. I'd say it's between Northshore Care Supreme Lite and Tranquility ATNs at the moment. I still like having thicker diapers around but the thinner ones are probably my best value.

My daily economy diaper is the Total Dry plus. It's a thinner, generally one wetting diaper, or extended with a booster or guard to take more. Cost US~$0.65 each
Tranquility ATNs (which I just tried for the first time this weekend) are similar/better, (more frontal/wing absorption (BIG + for male users when sitting/lying) and cost ~$0.90 each
Abena X-plus M4 is my night time diaper. All around great diaper and effective for me. Cost $~1.40 each

I have also used First Quality diapers; the plastic are way better than the cloth. El Cheapo, temporary home use only. Cost $0.20 each when purchased in bulk/craigslist.
I have not tried the Dry24/7's but the cost is around ~$1.50 (likely very comparable to the Abena X-plus)
Specialty ABDL diapers are the new cool. I have not tried them yet but would like to. Cost ~$3.00++ each

To be a value a diaper has to make it overnight for me, be comfortable and cost enough less than my favorites like the recently gone Tena Slip at $1.62 each or Abena M-4s At $1.50 each. Tranquility ATNs at $1.05 each are a above average capacity, plastic backed, wonderfully squshie when wet and low cost! Seni Super plus at $1.16 each are a great low cost above average cloth like disposable. Molicare Comfort Super at $1.10 each are a good go to plastic backed diaper with a beats all store brand capacity but Molicare Premium Soft in the same price range, though cloth like have become my favorite less expensive diaper.

Hi I will echo a lot of what everyone else is saying that the tena slip maxi despite being cloth is absolutely brilliant at least in Australia anyway. Highly absorbent very comfortable no itching etc I have never had a leak with these. A very close second for me is the wellness superio they are excellent and light years ahead of the original wellness. They are quite thin but swell a lot and plastic backed and very affordable. It seems I am not alone with Abena as well I have found them to be quite inferior the cloth backing is hopeless compared to tena slip. It stretches and sags a lot and stays damp and hence a notable odour, the tapes break easily etc sadly I have not been impressed. The fabines are similar they feel fantastic very soft great plastic etc but only handle one wetting beyond that they won't wick and always leak on me with a second wetting. A third runner up for me would be the amd slip maxi, cheap comfortable, surprisingly good absorbency and good quality cloth backing sizing for me doesn't work though the large are too big and mediums are too small.

Perhaps we Australians and New Zealanders need to contact Bunzl or those who sell them, and say we will take our business elsewhere until they supply the Abena Abri Forms. I find it tiresome that we get stuck with inferior products, so thanks to Australasian Tena for backing that trend and giving us a superior product.

I think it all depends on the country you live in and some individual preferences. If you don't mind bulky diapers and cloth backed, iD Slip Maxi Soft are one of those few diapers that I end up wearing so long and never worry about leaks (over 8 hours, at least 4 or 5 wettings and seems like it could take more), I'm tempted to buy a bag or two for my next big road trip. I find the Abena even the plastic backed ones lacking in absorption/wicking compared to iD Slip Maxi or the Northshore Supremes. Until the plastic backed iD Slip ones came out in the US, I pretty much wore the Northshore ones despite the fit being a bit tight like Abena. The large version fits me almost like the Dry 24/7 medium ones, just a slightly cheaper price and is a little smaller so a bit more discreet.

INTrePid said:

I'm curious what your thoughts are on which diaper has the best value to performance ratio. By performance I mean not just sheer absorbency but also practical usability, comfort, and quality.

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Tykables Waddler daytime. They're excellent quality, fit, and comfort, and are a medium capacity, but are very reasonably priced by the case. My daytime diaper of choice.

BUT.... I don't see them on the tykabes website! Did they stop making the originals??


sidenote: ADISC needs some way to find a comany rep. I don't recall offhand the username of our Tykabes rep, and I see NO way to find them here. Can't search by title, there's no forum for them, no sticky, nothing. I may be posting this as a request.

mattyd said:

I think it all depends on the country you live in and some individual preferences.

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Oh yeah, I forgot to add that I live really near to where Tena diapers are manufactured, so they are cheap. They are a European product.

I find for me the fit and absorbency and the longevity of use. I think for me the Dry 24/7 diapers have fit the bill for me.

the "best" bang for buck is really dependent on how you use. the abena m4 is great for heavy use over a long period of time (about 8-10 hours for me), but they are really too thick for discrete wear and can be a bit pricey if on a budget. tranquility atns are great for medium duration (3-5 hours) and are reasonably discrete and inexpensive. (be aware, they have a tendency to swell a lot, which is great if you like that.)but if you need to take your diaper off at some point (for instance, if you prefer not to mess.) the above aren't really what you are looking for. if i know i will be taking my diaper off, i usually go with a wallgreens certainty fitted briefs maximum absorbency. these are cloth backed (the abenas and tranquility are plastic backed) and have Velcro tabs that can be repeatedly removed and reattached. these are good for short to medium duration (1.5-5 hours)depending on how they are wet (i can't really say for messing, but generally, it is good practice to change soon after messing anyway). these are the ones i use most often and i really prefer the m4s, but the other two aren't bad either.