Bummis Organic Cotton Diaper Kit Review + A Giveaway! (Closed)

I'm super excited to be finally writing a complete review of the Bummis Organic Cotton Diaper Kit. Why? Well, in a nutshell, it is possibly my single favourite product we own for S. A lofty statement indeed, but if you read on you'll find out why!

First of all, rewind several months. I knew I wanted to cloth diaper our baby-to-be from about midway through my pregnancy. Following a huge amount of research and changing my mind several times, I decided that prefolds and covers were the approach I wanted to take. The Bummis Diaper Kit claimed to contain everything needed to get started with cloth diapering, it was produced by a reputable Canadian company and existing reviews were generally very favourable, so I decided to order it (in the Infant size). Read more about why I made this decision, including the benefits of using prefolds and covers, here.

Early experiences with the kit were even more positive than I'd hoped for! Check out my update post 1 1/2 months into cloth diapering our daughter for more on this.

Fast forward to the present. We've now been using the kit for 7 1/2 months, and although we've had the opportunity to try many other types of great cloth diapers and covers via purchases and giveaway wins, our Bummis prefolds and covers continue to be our "go to" diapering system for S, and we've made heavy use of the accessories as well! We've also been "lucky" in that S is a small, skinny baby (just 15 pounds at 7 months) so she's been able to use the Infant kit longer than the average baby. She's just starting to grow out of it now.

Alright, let's take a closer look at what's inside!

Bummis offers two versions of their kit - Infant (8 to 15 pounds) and Baby (15 to 30 pounds). Both have similar contents but different sizes and numbers (in some cases) of the various items. The Infant kit contains the following core contents:

• 24 infant size Organic Cotton Prefold diapers
• 4 Super Whisper Wraps – small
• 2 Super Brites – small
• 3 rolls Bio-Soft liners – small
• 5 reusable Fleece Liners
• 1 Fabulous Wet Bag – large
• User Guide

We also received a couple bonuses in our kit - a Snappi fastener and a sample of Dimpleskins Bum Bum Balm - nice little add-ons! It looks like Bummis is now collaborating with Rockin' Green and (in the near future) Earth Mama Angel Baby to include samples from these other great companies moving forward. Sweet!

All in all, buying the kit results in a savings of over $40 compared to buying all the items individually. So you're basically getting the fabulous wet bag and fleece liners for free! Plus, then you get to feel like a little kid on Christmas morning cracking into the big box and checking out all the fabulous loot! ;) Take a look at the goodies from my kit! (Note - the diapers & liners on the left aren't from the kit; they're AMPs which I bought to add some pocket dipes to our stash.)

Let's look at the specific items in the kit in more detail, starting with the prefolds and wraps.

Bummis prefolds are made of organic cotton (4 x 8 x 4 layers thick). As is standard with most prefolds, they do need to be prepped before using. I found that about 4 hot water washes got the job done. After prepping, the more they are washed, the softer and more absorbent they become! I can say this with confidence as after 7 1/2 months of regular use and laundering, mine have never been more luxurious! Here's a photo of one taken a few weeks back - nice and plump, and no flaws!

Two types of wraps are included in the kit - 4 Super Whisper Wraps and 2 Super Brites. (Bummis offers some other types as well which aren't incuded in the kit, however these two types appear to be their most popular wraps.) Here are some of the main features of these wraps:

• Both feature hook & loop (or aplix) closures and laundry tabs
• Both are machine washable and dryable
• Both have durable waist & leg elastic
• Both feature polyester inner layers (SWW has two and SB has one) and a waterproof laminate outer layer
• SWW is the "heavy duty" cover whereas SB is trimmer and lighter weight
• SB features leg gussets

Close-up of a Super Whisper Wrap - front view:

Close-up of a Super Brite - front view:

Close-up of a Super Brite - leg gusset:

Close-up of a Super Brite - laundry tab:

Both wraps work well with many different prefold folds. During S's first 5 1/2 months when she was EBF, we used the "angel wing fold" with a snappi which helped contain the runny poop quite well. I'd guess that poop got out on the cover only about a quarter of the time, and we had just 2-3 total incidents of the poo actually leaking out of the cover. That's pretty effective! Here she is at 5 1/2 months old with an angel winged prefold:

 

....and topped off with a Super Whisper Wrap!

 We did find that with the angel wing fold, we needed to tuck the edges of the prefold under the leg elastic and that this was easier with the Super Brite wrap due to the leg gussets. But it worked pretty well with the Super Whisper Wrap too; we just needed to tuck it in a little further.

Now that S is on solids and her poop is no longer runny, we simply trifold the prefold into a cover. This is even easier than using a snappi, and works very effectively! The one downsize of this approach is that the prefold tends to bunch at the front when she crawls, and this has caused a leak a couple times when her diaper got really wet. (Which is human error, really, since we shouldn't be letting our babies' bums get really wet, right? :)

All in all, I really like both types of wraps. They fit snugly without leaving waist or leg marks, the aplix is strong and the prints are cute! I especially like the Froggy Pond as I used to collect frogs when I was young (both statues and real ones :). On this note, however, I did find myself initially wishing that a couple more printed wraps were included, as 3 of them in my kit were plain white. However, I've since second guessed this as white wraps are nice when S's wearing a "busier" outfit so there's no clashing of prints. Two white wraps (one SWW and one SB) would probably be ideal. One more thing to know about the wrap selection is that the kit is gender-neutral so you won't see any flowers or trucks. I was OK with this myself, but it might be nice if Bummis offered gender-specific versions of the kits for those people who would prefer this.

And finally, the best thing about the wraps? They are incredibly durable! After 7 months of regular usage, the only noticeable wear is superficial, and the aplix is still working perfectly. The following recent photos demonstrate this.

One of my Super Whisper Wraps - still in great condition overall!

Close up of the aplix - just a little pilling but otherwise working perfectly.

Leg gusset of a Super Brite - probably the worst pilling site on all the diapers, but still not all that bad.

 

I am confident that these covers will last through a second child, if not more!

Let's move on to the other items in the kit.

Next up are the fleece liners. Such a simple item, but very useful for a couple purposes:

• Keeping baby's bum dry - these liners add a layer of dryness which is especially nice if baby's bum is a bit red and/or you suspect a diaper might need to be on a little longer than usual. This is the purpose I use them for.
• Keeping product off the diaper itself - for example, if baby has a bad rash and requires a cream which isn't cloth diaper friendly. Luckily we haven't needed to test this out with S - knock on wood! 

Liners are simple to use - just lay flat in the middle of the unfolded or folded prefold (depending on the fold). Here it is on top of a trifolded prefold:

Next up, the bio-soft liners. The main purpose of these is to make messy diaper clean-ups easier, as you can simply flush the liner with the poop, and if you're lucky, the diaper is spared! I just started using these recently, as they're not too effective when baby's EBF as the poopy diaper can just be thrown right into the washer and the liner wouldn't contain the liquidy mess anyway. And then when S started solids, she was quite irregular so I'd be going through a LOT of liners on pee-only dipes if I used them then. Now that she's pooping around twice/day, they make more sense. That said, they essentially mimic the function of a diaper sprayer, which we have, so I feel like it would be a waste to use them at home. They did come in handy during our recent cottage trip, however. They get the job done pretty well, though sometimes they can get bunched up (particularly when baby's being really squirmy!)

And last but certainly not least, the extra large fabulous wetbag!

This might just be my favourite item in the kit! First of all, it comes in the same awesomely psychadelic prints as the Super Brite covers so it looks great. Secondly, it features two closure mechanisms - zipper and drawstring - so you have a couple stink-containment options. Third, you can either hang it or use it as a pail liner, so you have some added flexibility here as well. Finally (and most importantly), it is big and strong enough to store an entire 2-3 day stash of dirty diapers!

I liked my bag so much that I bought another just like it! (Found a great deal on Kijiji, heh.)

We use ours as a hanging wetbag. Chris simply attached some hooks into the side of S's change table and voila - perfect place to hang!

 

So that wraps up (no pun intended ;) all the main items in the kit. I know this review is getting quite long already, but I wanted to cover a couple special topics before finishing off.

First of all, laundry. With 24 prefolds and 6 covers, you can go about 2 days between laundry cycles. I did this for a couple months before I bought some additional covers and diapers which allowed me to stretch to 3+ days. Laundry itself is super-duper quick and easy with the Bummis system! On laundry day, I simply haul the full fab wetbag down to the washer (which is when I really appreciate how strong it is, because it gets HEAVY with all those pee and diaper-sprayed poo dipes!), follow our laundry routine (which I've since made some minor adjustments to, namely switching to Rockin' Green detergent), fold and store! Folding is really quick with prefolds; just fold'em in half and stack. No stuffing of pockets or fiddling with snap-in inserts required! Plus, you can wash more diapers at a time with this system than with pockets or AIOs. But I digress. (I have to keep reminding myself that I'm reviewing the Bummis Diaper Kit, not prefolds in general. ;)

Secondly, night diapering. Admittedly, I don't use my Bummis prefolds and covers for night diapering; I bought separate dipes dedicated to this. However, for the purposes of this review I tested their night diapering mettle on two separate nights with two different prefold folds - the angel wing and the trifold. In each case, I placed a liner down the middle to help keep things dry. And guess what? Amazingly, no leaks! The prefolds were pretty soaked each time but the trusty Bummis covers kept everything in! Now admittedly, S isn't a super-heavy wetter so results may not be as good with this system for babies who are, but in that case an extra soaker pad might get the job done.

So that's that! For those in a hurry, here's a quick summary of pros & cons:

Pros:
+ Truly contains everything you need to start cloth diapering!
+ Economical diapering option; prefolds/wraps are affordable in general, plus you save over $40 by purchasing the kit vs. buying the items individually
+ Prefolds/wraps fit well on baby and don't leave marks
+ Very few leaks using this system
+ All reusable items (prefolds, wraps, wetbag) are high-quality and long-lasting
+ Fabulous wet bag is, indeed, a fabulous way to store dirty dipes in between laundry cycles
+ Laundry is very efficient with this system

Cons:
- The kit is currently offered exclusively with gender-neutral patterns (a limited number) and two of their available wrap types. It might be nice if gender-specific kit versions and/or more variety in the wraps could be available.
- Babies at the high end of the growth chart may outgrow the Infant kit quickly as it's designed for babies up to 15-16 pounds. However in this case, it should last through even more additional children!


Buy It!

To get your own Bummis Organic Cotton Diaper Kit (Infant or Baby size), you can use this handy-dandy form on the Bummis website to find an online store or a local retailer in your area which sells the kit.


...Or, if you are lucky, you can Try Before You Buy! (GIVEAWAY ALERT! ;)

Before writing this review, I contacted Bummis to let them know that I loved their Organic Cloth Diaper Kit and that I planned to review it on my blog. I asked if they would like to sponsor a giveaway along with the review, and they generously agreed to do so! Thanks Bummis!! :D

One lucky Manager to Mom reader will win a Bummis BeautifulBASIC consisting of three organic cotton prefold inserts and one wrap! Winner selects size (infant or baby) and gender (unisex, girl or boy).

To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Comments do not count as entries, however feel free to add a comment to remind yourself that you entered! If you have questions or are experiencing issues with the form, please comment or email me as well; this is my first Rafflecopter giveaway so I want to ensure I iron out any kinks ASAP! Thanks! :)

Disclosure:  The prize is being provided and shipped to the winner by Bummis.  I received no financial or product compensation myself for writing my review or offering this giveaway.  This is my completely honest opinion above and may be different from yours.