Cloth Diaper Choices

Bummis SWW -v- Thirsties Diaper Cover

By Bryana ⋅ October 14, 2009 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

“What’s the difference between the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and the Thirsties Diaper Cover?” When it comes to product comparison, this is the most frequently asked question we get from our customers. It is an interesting question since you would expect Bummis, a trusted brand for more than 20 years, to be a more familiar name than Thirsties. However, in 5 short years, Thirsties has made quite a name for itself when it comes to quality cloth diapering products.

First, let’s clarify the purpose of a diaper cover.

In the cloth diaper world, a diaper cover is worn over a cloth diaper; specifically a cloth diaper without a waterproof or water-resistant exterior fabric, like prefold diapers, contours, or fitted diapers. Although diaper covers can be made from various waterproof or water-resistant materials such as wool or fleece, the most popular material used is a polyester knit fabric laminated with a Polyurethane Laminate or PUL. An interesting sidenote: In the industry PUL is pronounced in two ways; some say PUL like the word “pull” and others spell it out “P-U-L”. Either reference is accepted and understood.

Both the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and Thirsties diaper cover are made with a poly knit fabric laminated with PUL. The difference is that Thirsties diaper covers are constructed with one layer of laminated poly knit, while the Bummis Super Whisper Wraps are constructed of two layers of poly knit fabric bonded together with the laminate.

With the Thirsties Diaper Cover, the plastic laminate is visible on the inside of the cover, this may concern those parents not keen on the possibility of any plastic parts of a diaper cover touching their baby. To be fair, many parents find this slick surface easy to wipe off so the cover can be reused on a subsequent diaper change without having to be totally rewashed first.

Because Bummis diaper covers have two layers of fabric, the inside of the cover matches the soft poly knit fabric found on the outside. Like Thirsties, the inside of the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap can be wiped out to use on another diaper change, but because the poly knit fabric is porous, some parents may feel the cover just isn’t clean enough for reuse without actually washing.

Gussets or no gussets?

We believe the claim to fame of Thirsties diaper covers is the leg gusset. We refer to these gussets as “side walls” as they seem to “fully encase” the diaper, providing wall barriers as they go around leg/thigh. The leg gusset helps control the possibility of a “blow out” in the leg area. Bummis Super Whisper Wraps do not have a “visible” leg gusset, but it is there. The bottom of the cover seems to scoop down with the leg openings sitting higher to create a sort of built-in gusset area. This cover does just as well of a job with “fully encasing” the diaper inside and controlling “blow outs”.

Sizing

For the most part, the sizing between the two covers is pretty comparable; with the newborn sizing being the exception. The Bummis newborn cover is cut a bit smaller than the Thirsties x-small/newborn size. Because the newborn Bummis Super Whisper Wrap is cut significantly smaller than other newborn/x-small size covers, we usually recommend bypassing that size unless parents are pretty certain their baby will be small enough to require it. With the Thirsties, however, we recommend using the newborn/x-small size for a newborn baby.

Added Features

Both diaper covers provide the same added features important to cloth diapering parents such as cross over tabs that can cross-over either left or right, as well as laundry tabs to secure the hook and loop material in the wash.

Comparing Apples to Apples

Although the Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and Thirsties are diaper covers made to perform a specific function, they can’t fully provide an “Apples to Apples” comparison. Bummis does make a cover more similar to the Thirsties diaper cover, called Bummis Super Brite. This cover is made with the same one-layer of laminated knit polyester, with the “visible” gussets. When comparing the two they are equal in function and mostly equal in sizing.

If you are tossed-up over which cloth diaper cover to buy, any one of these covers are suitable for the job. So if you like the raspberry colored Thirsties Diaper Cover, the blue Super Brite print, and the Celery Dot printed Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, we say get them! The similarities across the three diaper covers means you can have variety in your stash and don’t necessarily have to stick to just one brand.

Tags: blow-outs, BUMMIS, Bummis diaper covers, Bummis newborn cover, Bummis Super Brite, Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, cloth diaper cloth diapers, cloth diapering, contours, diaper cover, fitted diapers, hook and loop, laundry tabs, leg gusset, plastic diaper covers, poly knit fabric, Polyurethane Laminate, prefold diapers, PUL, Thirsties, Thirsties Diaper Cover, www.diaperjunction.com

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