Today we are reviewing Pampers Baby-Dry with 12 hour protection. This is the first diaper to advertise three air dry channels that help circulate air to keep your baby comfortable. We purchased a jumbo bag of 32 for $8.99. This averages to about 28 cents per change. Larger quantities are available containing 104, 168, and 210. When buying in bulk the cost drops by about 14 percent or 24 cents each. Overall on average, these are about 7 percent more expensive than the average size 3 diaper.
The outer shell features two Sesame Street designs. One design is very classic, resembling baby diapers from the 90's with Sesame Street characters lined up along the waistline. The second design features the same characters floating on balloons. The front waistline has a small number three indicating the size. We feel that it is a little small and hard to read when compared to other brands. The tape landing zone fabric also partially obscures the top half of the number making it even harder to see. Currently, Pampers does not feature front and back lettering to indicate orientation, which is found on most other brands. Purple dots run along the middle of the diaper, indicating the air channels, a unique feature to the Baby-Dry diapers. Like other Pampers, the wetness indicator is very easy to see as they omit designs that cover the yellow line that runs along the center of the diaper. Because of this, it is very easy to see when your baby needs a change, even in a dark room.
Looking at fit, the majority of the measurements are very average when comparing Baby-Dry to other brands. Measuring at 15.5 inches, they have a bit more rear waistline length to them when stretching tab to tab. This brand stretches close to an inch longer than other brands, which helps with babies that are in between sizes. This stretch comes from the largest rear wings measured to date. Much like all other PG diapers, including Luvs, these do not have any stretch in the rear waistline, and a tight fit relies on the rear wings. The sticky tabs do an excellent job at adhering to the tape landing zone as well as the outer shell of the diaper even though they are much shorter than tabs found on other diapers. Much like all other brands, they do not stick well to the front wings, indicating a move to the next size up is required. The sticky tabs are much shorter than other brands.
The absorbent padding is thin at just .19 of an inch and is blue in color. The padding itself is slightly scented but is not overwhelming to the senses. There is a very small amount of lotion that is applied to the top sheet. The lotion is specially designed to help maintain healthy skin and is composed of petrolatum, stearyl alcohol, and aloe barbadensis leaf extract (more commonly known as aloe vera). This lotion is completely dry to the touch, and if it was not pointed out you would not know it exists. The absorbent padding is much shorter than other manufacturers at just 10 inches in length. This is about 20 percent shorter than the average size three diaper. This lack in length comes at a cost since there is nearly a 5-inch gap between the absorbent padding and the rear waistline. Although there is a 5-inch gap, we did find super-absorbent crystals (known as SAP or Super Absorbent Polymer) in this area. Unfortunately, without the padding, it seems that the ability to absorb is much lower in that area.
The absorbent padding is also much narrower than other brands in both the front and rear areas by nearly an inch. Since the padding is so much smaller, total absorbency is much lower when compared to other brands. Looking at absorbency times, we found that the Baby-Dry diaper did an excellent job quickly absorbing below the top sheet in both rounds of absorption tests. This is due to the air dry channels found in the center of the diaper that help distribute moisture across the padding and below the top sheet. This diaper also scores well at staying dry to the touch after our absorbency tests. We measured the top sheet to be much drier than other brands. Finally, the standing leg gathers are 1.75 inches in height. This is a three-way tie with other brands as the tallest leg gathers. Although tall, they only run about 9.5 inches in length across the diaper (shorter than average).
Slightly scented. Only design to include Sesame Street characters. Blue inner liner typically found on Luvs. Air Dry channels work well to distribute moisture and keep your baby dry.
Very small/hard to read size indicator. Small absorbent padding when compared to other brands in both length and width.
Much taller leg gathers at 1.75 inches in height. Very fast absorbency and top sheet remained much drier than other brands after our absorbency tests. We like the outer Sesame Street designs not found on other brands.
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