Review of Bear Bott all-in-one nappy (AIO)

by Amanda Brown

Review of Bear Bott all-in-one nappy (AIO)

As you all know I am super passionate about supporting local and living sustainably and being able to work with Amy, founder of Bear Bott it doesn’t get much more local, she lives just ‘up the road’ from me.

Her first collection of all-in-two (AI2) nappies have fast become one of my favourites so when she asked me to test out the new additions for the second range I was very happy to oblige.

I have been using both the Bamboo & the Stay Dry AIO for the last few weeks and here are my thoughts.

Let’s start with the facts….

  • COST : Both Stay Dry & Bamboo AIO retail at £23.99
  • WARRANTY : 12 months
  • DRYING TIME : Stay Dry usable within 24 hours, Bamboo usable within 48 hours in natural indoor conditions. Both dried outside on a sunny day with a breeze in about 4-6 hours. Both tumble dried on a low setting within 2 hours.
  • PREPARATION : Both nappies need a few washes to reach their maximum absorbency. The Stay Dry has a small amount of bamboo in it so if probably fine to go straight on the bum but at its best also after 3 washes. I tend to do one pre wash and then just change more regularly the first few times.
  • SLIMNESS : Both are super slim, if you are familiar with the AI2 they are the same.
  • SIZE : They are average size and most comparable to a Wizard Uno in terms of size and shape.
  • INSERT MATERIAL : Stay Dry is made up of 30% Polyester, 55% Microfiber & 15% Bamboo. The Bamboo is made of 85% Bamboo & 15% Polyester.

 

Size & Shape.

Like the AI2 the AIO is very well made with good thick PUL and a good structured feel to it and very light on the bottom, no pulling or sagging even when saturated. The physical size of the nappy is almost identical to the AI2 but ever so slightly slimmer.

The AIO has very slim PUL binding in the same material as the nappy to blend in. The nappy has 4 rise settings, cross over waist poppers and a low stability waist popper for a snug fit around the legs.

Laundering.

Like the previous collection the nappies can be washed at either 40 or 60 degrees and can be tumble dried on a low heat although this may shorten the life of the PUL over time. For me this is a great option to have if my stash is running a little low and I need to dry or finish them off quickly.

Fit.

The nappy is very easy to put on and looks really comfortable. Aura is nearly 18 months and quite a slim but not skinny and we got an excellent fit around the tummy and I especially like the added front elastic which stopped any tummy gap we can sometimes get with other brands.

 

On the bum the nappy is SO slim, definitely the slimmest I have used, it felt funny lifting her almost like she was wearing a disposable.

 

I do like a smaller nappy for day-time and use the likes of Baby Bare, Fluffy Ducks & Bare & Boho but don’t like to give these to grandparents as they take a little trickier to fit in my opinion to ensure Aura is comfortable.

 

The Bear Botts is a super slim nappy but can literally chuck on and achieve a perfect fit with no adjusting or tucking required. Even the grandparents approve.   

 

There are 4 rise settings and and a cross over waist so they go down very small and I can see that we have plenty growth left in the rise and waist tabs so I can see this lasting through to potty training no problem for us. I also like the hip stability poppers as I find with Aura being slimmer the ones that don’t have them can droop slightly.

 

Performance.

 

The Stay Dry nappy gives us a comfortable 3 hours plus as does the Bamboo. I would say that in the mornings when Aura is heaviest wetting I can get another 30 minutes to an hour from the bamboo one so it definitely seems to hold a little more.

 

I like to change nappies every 3 hours’ maximum so both options are very reliable for us. The exception to the reliability comes when in the car, the stay dry did have some compression leaking so we avoid that one when on longer car journeys. This is pretty common with microfibre inserts of any brand.

 

What about tummy sleepers?

 

Aura is a heavy wetting tummy sleeper and naps for almost 3 hours in the day and 12 hours though the night. Very few nappies work for us due to leaking out the tummy but not the AIO!

 

I have used both the Stay Dry & Bamboo for Auras daytime naps with complete success each time, the good fit and tummy elastics keep everything in and Aura leak free. The only other fully reliable nap nappy for us is the Fudgey Pants 3in1 but this is much larger in size and bulk.

 

So what about overnight?

 

Amy was nervous when I said I was going to boost the nappy and give it a go overnight but I wanted to really test the nappy to its limits. Aura sleeps 12 hours and has between 8 and 12oz of milk before bedtime. Our go to nappy is a hemp boosted Fudgey Fitted or a Seedlings diversifold boosted with hemp in a Seedlings wrap so the small bamboo AIO had its work cut out.

 

I boosted the bamboo AIO with a Baba & Boo hemp, this still gave a ridiculously slim overnight nappy. The result? No leaks in the morning!

 

The nappy inserts were saturated, soaking in fact and as such the PUL has started to become damp on the outside around the legs but not quite enough to wet her clothes. Its not a nappy I would use again for a night nappy because I have better options and let’s be fair its not designed to be a night nappy but I certainly do not have any hesitation recommending it to a heavy wetter seeing how it performed for us and how much liquid it held.

 

So in summary.

 

My Favourite Bits

 

  • Super Slim
  • Super reliable
  • Very easy to fit
  • Can be washed at 60 degrees
  • Can be tumbled dried

 

My Least Favourite bits

 

  • Natural drying time of bamboo at 48 hours although this is same for all bamboo nappies)
  • Compression leaks of stay dry – this is the one thing to note that I also mentioned with the AI2. Although the absorbency of the stay dry is great, I do get compression leaks if in the car seat or worse as I found out the hard way if you are carrying them on your shoulders!! Again this isn’t nappy specific and a widely acknowledge drawback of microfibre materials.

 

To summarise, I can’t really find fault in these nappies. They are beautiful, easy to fit, easy to wash & dry and most importantly keep baby dry for 3 hours plus.

 

AIO are available on SALE now here  Bamboo here & Stay Dry here. 

AI2 are available to pre order Bamboo here & Stay Dry here. 

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