I don’t recommend disposable diapers or inserts be used on a regular or even occassional basis. If they are used it should be for those rare times when using cloth diapers would be unfeasible.
Having said that, in November on our final camping trip of the year I decided to try out the disposable inserts for Flip. We were going to camp for 5 days and I didn’t have access to washing facilities. To cut down on the amount of dirty cloth diapers I’d be coming home with, I used a few of the disposable inserts.
Before we all loaded up in the Suburban I put on a Flip with disposable insert on Sterling. From where we live it only takes about 1hr 45min. to get to Garner State Park. During that short trip Sterling peed heavily and squirmed around a lot. When we arrived it took about 45 minutes to get camp set up. While Michael and the kids went looking for fire wood I changed Sterling.
Unfortunately, I had waited too long. What I saw when I opened the cover was horrible. The insert had busted and gel crystals were all over him. You may recall that this is the very reason I began cloth diapering 4 years ago.
I took Sterling over to the water hose and cleaned him off and gently cleaned the cover. I was able to not get the cover wet and immediately reused it. After that incident all other experiences with the Flip disposable inserts were great.
We hiked in Lost Maples State Park, roasted S’mores (seriously not worth it. My memory of them far surpassed the reality of their taste.), navigated rough terrain avoiding all poison oak and most important of all enjoyed God’s creation in many forms.
Through all that Flip disposable inserts, stay dry inserts and bum genius organic aios performed as they should- no leaks, no hassle.
At night I doubled up the stay dry inserts and put on a pair of longies.
The part I like best about Flip disposable inserts is their biodegradability. You can actually put them in your compost (read this if you want to compost poopy ones) which is fantastic. Flip disposable inserts contain ZERO plastic. Their contents:
- Non-woven bamboo viscose, 5g
- Filler
- Wood pulp, 14-15g
- SAP, 3g
- Starch-based glue, 1g
As far as how Flip fits when using a disposable insert, you may need to snap it on a shorter rise setting. Sterling wears them on the smallest setting both on rise and waist. When I have a stay dry insert in the shell he wears it on the middle setting with the 2 middle sets of snaps showing on the waist. Sterling is 20lbs, 31″, 16″ rise, 9″ thighs and no clue on the waist but he’s skinny.
Flip disposable inserts are on sale right now. Each pack contains 18 inserts and normally sell for $4.95, sale price is $3.96. Check out Cottonbabies, Banana Peels Diapers, and Cute Caboose for these savings.
You can also find the Flip Day Packs at these stores and others.
My overall recommendation is to keep a pack of the disposable inserts on hand. It’s better to have the best on hand instead of running out to pick up a pack of stinky, plasticky (not a real word), dioxin-laden disposables.
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
Heather says
Hi Autumn,
I’m new to CD and have found your blog to be super interesting and full of great information. I’ve purchased a few different types of cloth diapers because I like their different features, depending on the situation/my baby’s needs/my mood! We’re going to a cottage for a week and won’t have access to laundry facilities so I’m bringing my Flip diapers and will be trying the disposable inserts for the first time. I’ll also bring my cloth inserts and other cloth diapers and will use them nearer to the end of the trip. And I’m interested in trying some of the more environmentally-friendly disposables out there – have you ever heard of Broody Chick disposables? They’re a Canadian company: http://www.broodychick.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=19
Autumn Beck says
I haven’t used them. Let me know how they work out.
Lesley says
Do you think that Flip covers with disposable inserts might be a viable option for a day care situation that isn’t crazy about cloth diapers? Better than disposables… How many covers do you think I would need to provide my day care with? Thanks!
Autumn Beck says
Yes that’d be a good option. I’d go with 3 covers.
Julie Kieras says
Hi there – I’m doing a giveaway of these right now through my blog –
I hope you don’t mind that I linked back to this blog entry for those who would like to hear another mom’s experience – I thought you wrote about it so well and I frankly don’t have enough experience with them yet! :)
Jamie Mitts says
I used the Flips for the first time this weekend and I really like them. I didn’t buy the covers, just the disposable inserts to use in my BumGenius One Size diapers. I keep the normal liner in the pocket and place the disposable just on top. I am able to reuse the diaper about 3-4 times before changing it and I am in a place where I can do a load of laundry before we leave so what I like most about them is that they take on the poop and we don’t have to figure out how to rinse out the diaper before washing it. Now camping, that I may need to buy the covers for that, its’ good to know they work.
SB says
I’m a little confused – I really would like to get the BumGenius one size (as opposed to getting the gDiapers in the various sizes, though I like them because they offer both cloth and disposable inserts), so I take it the Flip disposable inserts easily fit into the BumGenius (even for newborns?)… if so, that may be the way to go… best of both worlds and all at one size!
And are these “covers” to go over the bum genius colorful diaper?
Autumn Beck says
I may be reading your comment wrong but it sounds like you may be a little confused (duh, you say that!) on the brands. Bum Genius and Flip are 2 different brands made by the Cottonbabies company. Bum Genius makes an organic aio, sized aio and a one size pocket. Flip is a one size cover and insert system. You can use a stay-dry liner, organic liner or a disposable liner inside the Flip cover. I have also used the Flip cover as a swim diaper (not the best but it worked) and as a cover over fitteds. Does this make more sense? Can you give me a link to which “colorful diapers” you’re referring to?
Shannon says
I still want to try these, and see what they are all about.
Emily says
Two questions- How would you compare the Flip to the g-diaper? I have the g-diapers (I haven’t used the disposible inserts yet, saving them for when necessary) and I think they’re ok, not my favourite though- and no way would I use them at night.
On a totally unrelated subject, I have aproblem with my wool. I have a soaker that I use at night over a AIO. The AIO does leak, so after a few weeks the soaker started to get stinky. I washed it with Eucalan but it still smells. Do I need to wash it multiple times? Or will the smell go away if I re-lanolize it?
Autumn Beck says
@Emily
I have tried the g-diaper looooong ago. Didn’t like the fit though. I really can’t compare very accurately but I’d say give Flip a try.
Wool: are you soaking the soaker? I’d use some baby shampoo and lansinoh lanolin. I love the smell of my wool when washed in Eucalan but it isn’t the best way to lanolize.
Becky says
Thanks for the review! I have just started using cloth and Gdiapers and was thinking about trying out some of the Flips…….do you have any input on the Gidpaers?
Amanda says
Glad to know there are alternatives when in a camping pinch for the almost crunchy mom! I was excited to know they are biodegradable. Thanks for your time to your site which helps navigate the way for cloth diaper moms! We love it at http://www.moderngranolamom.com
Summer says
When I went to order the Flip packs, I was reading through the reviews are the disposable liners and a lot of people wrote that the liners tend to slide around in the cover…especially if then baby is crawling. Did you do anything special to keep the liners in place or do you have any tips on that? Thanks
LesLee says
My son super pees at night. When we are away from home over night I put a Flip disposable insert inside a night time pull up. It is the only way to wake up with dry sheets! I (of course) prefer to use cloth but my son is sooooo big (57 lbs, waist of 26″, thighs that are each 16″ not sure of his rise but he is 41″ tall and only 2.5 years old!) most diapers don’t fit him any more. He is daytime potty trained so the flip inserts with pull ups and happy heiny pocket trainers with a super do are all I can find that keep him comfortable and the bed dry all night. Thanks for sharing!
Anonymous says
If you are in a situation in which you cannot travel with cloth, you are most likely going to be in a situation in which you cannot compost either. If the disposable inserts will not decompose in a landfill, and shouldn’t be flushed, what makes them better than a typical disposable diaper for traveling? I am truly interested and would love to understand.
Autumn Beck says
Although they are not flushable and most will be tossed in the trash, they are still the better choice. There is no plastic which is why disposable diapers never degrade, and you are tossing a significantly smaller item into the landfill. Yes it still adds up. I don’t know the time line but I would think that based on the contents of a Flip disposable insert it would decompose in a landfill.
danielle says
Did you melt the chocolate for the smore on a stone near the fire (ready to go on half the graham)? If the chocolate isn’t dripping out when you assemble with the bronzed mallow it’s no good for a smore. Also try other chocolates, not just Hershey bars. My favorite are smores with resees peanut butter cups. Can you tell I take my smores seriously? =) I love them!
And thanks for the diaper review! I obviously got hung up on your smore dissatisfaction. =)
Rasa says
Thanks Autumn, you are always great!
Mummy to Baby V @ MummysReviews.com says
Thank you very much for the review! It is the first time that I hear of disposable inserts. They would be very useful when travelling as I am not keen on using disposable diapers on my heavy-wetting son.
Cheers,
Mummy to Baby V
MummysReviews.com