jellyjigger
Est. Contributor
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- 139
Specifically these are the IB-012 model, which have been sold at least as far back as the early 90s and have been the only plastic-backed diaper sold under the Prevail name for about 15 years. The official word is that they are discontinued and the normal shipping outlets are out of stock. This is reminiscent of the mistake Depend made by underestimating their customers. (i.e. non-ABDL users), which is always worth revisiting.
Here's a little background on the state of these IB-012 diapers before they were discontinued. I hadn't actually tried them for years, figuring they must have been cloth-backed by now. I happened upon a case earlier this year for dirt cheap (like $5 per 12-pack) but they were manufactured recently and were not of vintage stock. To my surprise, the plastic backing was thicker than when I last tried them, even had some buttery crinkliness to them, but not as good as the old Attends or Confidence (another Attends brand). The major drawback was a lack of thickness to the padding. The trade-off however was that the padding had been maximized over the entire diaper, like everywhere! They were actually very effective for my side sleeping, although I didn't dare use them without a booster in the middle and I would say they held up better than expected. As for the plastic, it was great, making it a good contender to Tranquility and Attends Poly briefs of 2019.
The most important thing about all this is that I've never seen a diaper with so much padding in the wings, and I've seen almost all of them starting back in the 90s with the Adult Diaper boom, generics and all. So not real absorbent by ABDL diaper standards, but I was impressed enough that I was going to order another case, only to find out they have been discontinued within the past month or so.
I know nobody is going to lose sleep over this model being gone, especially on this forum, but its worth noting that these adult diaper-making conglomerates all seem to make the same mistakes. They implement cost cutting measures *continually* over the life of the product, until the product is so cheap, there is little choice but to discontinue them because people will not buy them. Since these diapers have been around for a long time, you'll probably be able to pick them up in second-hand stores, craigslist and ebay for years to come. I mention them here because I think the padding in the wings was an excellent surprise and that the plastic backing was the thickest I've seen in mainstream medical diapers in years, even thicker than Tranquility.
The good news is that the plastic backed diapers remaining in this industry (medical or not) are likely here to stay. I'd like to think of these times as the cloth-like versus plastic wars. I think the war is over, and the takeaway is that plastic backed diapers are not about to go away any time soon. On a side-note, I've actually talked with Tranquility customer service recently over the phone and was told the company was well aware of the need for plastic-backed diapers and they [Tranquility] had no plans to get rid of their plastic backed line. For what its worth, the lady also said that Tranquility has been women owned, women controlled and this goes all the way back to when the company was started in the early 80's (I think by a mom).
Here is a quick summary of the merits of plastic backed diapers, not including the tactile feel ABDL folks have come to love:
1> clothlike covers tend to strech/sag especially after wetting while plastic holds shape better; loss of fit means more leaks
2> clothlike covers are more prone to bunching up as it is less likely to "glide" over things
3> clothlike covers have "velcro"-like tabs that stick to bedding and similar cloth materials; plastic tapes don't have this problem
4> plastic provides for ease of positioning (easier to be slid under patients) (also see #2)
5> clothlike covers have improved breathability, leading to more evaporation, thus increasing odor (possibly a no go for fecal incontinence)
6> clothlike covers are known to wick moisture through and *around* cover as well as "pinhole" leaks
7> clothlike covers have been known to chafe more (although some people claim plastic do the same thing)
I'll end on this: Congratulations Prevail, you ditched your last plastic backed model. Now you have 20-30 crappy diaper lines, all cloth-like... all the same.
Here's a little background on the state of these IB-012 diapers before they were discontinued. I hadn't actually tried them for years, figuring they must have been cloth-backed by now. I happened upon a case earlier this year for dirt cheap (like $5 per 12-pack) but they were manufactured recently and were not of vintage stock. To my surprise, the plastic backing was thicker than when I last tried them, even had some buttery crinkliness to them, but not as good as the old Attends or Confidence (another Attends brand). The major drawback was a lack of thickness to the padding. The trade-off however was that the padding had been maximized over the entire diaper, like everywhere! They were actually very effective for my side sleeping, although I didn't dare use them without a booster in the middle and I would say they held up better than expected. As for the plastic, it was great, making it a good contender to Tranquility and Attends Poly briefs of 2019.
The most important thing about all this is that I've never seen a diaper with so much padding in the wings, and I've seen almost all of them starting back in the 90s with the Adult Diaper boom, generics and all. So not real absorbent by ABDL diaper standards, but I was impressed enough that I was going to order another case, only to find out they have been discontinued within the past month or so.
I know nobody is going to lose sleep over this model being gone, especially on this forum, but its worth noting that these adult diaper-making conglomerates all seem to make the same mistakes. They implement cost cutting measures *continually* over the life of the product, until the product is so cheap, there is little choice but to discontinue them because people will not buy them. Since these diapers have been around for a long time, you'll probably be able to pick them up in second-hand stores, craigslist and ebay for years to come. I mention them here because I think the padding in the wings was an excellent surprise and that the plastic backing was the thickest I've seen in mainstream medical diapers in years, even thicker than Tranquility.
The good news is that the plastic backed diapers remaining in this industry (medical or not) are likely here to stay. I'd like to think of these times as the cloth-like versus plastic wars. I think the war is over, and the takeaway is that plastic backed diapers are not about to go away any time soon. On a side-note, I've actually talked with Tranquility customer service recently over the phone and was told the company was well aware of the need for plastic-backed diapers and they [Tranquility] had no plans to get rid of their plastic backed line. For what its worth, the lady also said that Tranquility has been women owned, women controlled and this goes all the way back to when the company was started in the early 80's (I think by a mom).
Here is a quick summary of the merits of plastic backed diapers, not including the tactile feel ABDL folks have come to love:
1> clothlike covers tend to strech/sag especially after wetting while plastic holds shape better; loss of fit means more leaks
2> clothlike covers are more prone to bunching up as it is less likely to "glide" over things
3> clothlike covers have "velcro"-like tabs that stick to bedding and similar cloth materials; plastic tapes don't have this problem
4> plastic provides for ease of positioning (easier to be slid under patients) (also see #2)
5> clothlike covers have improved breathability, leading to more evaporation, thus increasing odor (possibly a no go for fecal incontinence)
6> clothlike covers are known to wick moisture through and *around* cover as well as "pinhole" leaks
7> clothlike covers have been known to chafe more (although some people claim plastic do the same thing)
I'll end on this: Congratulations Prevail, you ditched your last plastic backed model. Now you have 20-30 crappy diaper lines, all cloth-like... all the same.
