Papoozle

It looks like a very simple but effective design. Lovely, soft material and looks like it would be quite easy to use & put baby in on my own, which is wear I have had problems with baby carriers in the past. I like the look of the TotsBots website. It is well laid out & easy to navigate. All of their products look lovely and designed with the more earth-friendly mum in mind. The prices seem very reasonable & there seems to be a good amount of stockists listed. The fabric is really soft but also strong. It is really comforable to wear & is breathable so it doesn't make mum or baby too hot. I have tried a few carriers before that were awkward to fit & adjust, especially while the baby was in it. This is completely different! It is so quick & easy to fit, anyone could do it! I am very impressed. The Papoozle was very easy to put on and so quick too! You can't go wrong with the instruction booklet. The belt fits around your waist & the material straps just cross over at the back & then again at the front and you tie a double knot around your waist. It couldn't be more simple! Extrememly easy! I have used carriers in the past where my baby has got fed up feeling squashed into the carrier, but Papoozle was so easy. Just a case of popping his legs inside the material & pulling it up behind him. My baby felt very secure in the carrier. Especially when facing me. The Papoozle is really comfortable to wear whilst walking around. The padded shoulders are great! I could do most of my daily activities whilst my baby was in the carrier. The only thing restriction was things that involved leaning forward as his head did seem to fall forward a bit. I think this is due to his age though, as when he was awake he wanted to be facing forward but his head control was still not excellent. Zac loved being in the carrier because he could see everything that was going on and also close to mummy. I'd say this carrier is quite good value for money. £50 might seem like a lot for some people, but compared to other carriers I would say its about the right price. It is comfortable, made from a lovely material, so easy to use. Also it will last a long time, so well worth the money in my opinion. Of course we will continue to use this carrier as fantastic. Superb design and will recommend to friends and family. A much better carrier compared to ones I have used in the past. The Papoozle is comfy, easy-to-use baby carrier which my baby loves being in!

Louise Mason — Baby Zac 4 Months — score 5/5

This is a great product and their website is very easy to navigate and find your product... The quality of the product was great. Felt strong and sturdy. Material was nice and soft and carrier was easy to fit for the basic positions. I believe that there are other positions and extra material was provided for this but no instructions were given. This is one of the simplest carriers I have ever used. It is easy to put on by using waist clip and wrapping fabric round. I found that it was very easy to put Anya into this and she loves facing forward and being able to see everything. I was able to do this myself without help unlike when I have used other carriers. This carrier felt very secure - I think this is because of the waist buckle. The wide shoulder straps also made it feel very secure; this was really good for my back as it distributed the weight evenly. As Anya is older now I have stopped using other carriers as my back hurts after a short period but I had no problems at all with this. Anya loved being forward facing so she felt a part of the activities which I was doing whilst I was carrying her around. Great distraction for when she is teething! She finds it comfortable and falls asleep in there as well. This is great value for money compared to other carriers. I found that the green stars design was a bit bright. I would have preferred a more subtle design or one colour. Also, instructions could be provided for the additional positions in which this carrier can be used. I think its great and really fulfills my needs. Overall, a great product - easy to use and very comfortable to wear.

Krishna Topan — Anya Aged 1 year — score 4.8/5

Easyfit

Looks good felt great and looks very comfortable. Jayden never complained about the nappy being uncomfortable. The reusable system isn’t really for me but I can see the advantages for other families. The nappy kept Jayden dry during both day and night time wear and never leaked. It is bigger than disposable nappies which could be an issue for fitting clothing over the top. Very easy to put on your child, the shape is perfect. You just put them in on a normal wash and they are clean. Although it is not very important to me I suppose they are environmentally friendly. Excellent product but I’m still sticking with disposable nappies as I find them overall easier to use. It’s a great product and if anyone mentioned that they were going to use re-usable nappies, I would definitely suggest these. Great

Kirsti Wilkins – Baby Jayden 8 Months - score 4.9/5

Really appealing to the eye and are very soft. Really easy to use website with lots of information on more convenient items to use. The lining is really soft Nice to touch and looks great under dresses, no need for dress over knickers. Much less bulky than some of the other washable nappies. We never had any leaks during the day. At night time we had a couple of leaks but then my baby's quite a heavy wetter and sleeps all the way through the night. These are great and allows baby good movement around the legs. The washing label states to wash on 60 but I don't know anyone who washes their nappies below 90. Also because they are bamboo they take quite a while to dry even though the liners are easy to separate to aid drying. Good all round nappy with funky pattern designs. It’s noticably less bulky than other washable nappies. I really liked them. They were made from great material, soft and designed to help with washing and drying (well as much as it could be) My baby is at the first stages of walking so the way these nappies are designed to fit means it doesn't get in the way and is not bulky around the bum. A great product, Eco friendly, good fit, easy to use and wash well.

Hannah Ablett – Jessica Aged 1 Year - score 4.8/5

ThinkBaby

The Bamboozles concept:

Tots Bots Bamboozles nappies are essentially the same design as their rainbow tots, the main difference being in the material used; where Rainbow tots are a looped cotton terry nappy, the Bamboozles are made from bamboo. That sounds odd when you first hear it, but bamboo nappies are becoming increasingly popular, and that's because it's simply a great material to make nappies from: significantly more absorbent than cotton, very environmentally friendly (as it has a short growth cycle and doesn't need the help of pesticides and fertilisers), naturally anti-bacterial and very soft. The bamboozle has a sewn-in booster, but doesn't have a sewn-in fleece liner.

Bamboozle cloth nappies in use:

Ease of use

Available in either aplix or popper versions (the nappi nippa version is no longer available), Bamboozle nappies are nice and easy to adjust for a good fit. Whether you prefer poppers or aplix is a matter of personal taste, and of how good your baby is at opening aplix, but we find both easy to use. The sewn-in booster saves time and effort while ensuring a thorough wash, so it's thumbs-up there too. Once on, you'll need a waterproof cover over the top of the nappy - Tots Bots have a couple of different kinds, but many other waterproof covers will also fit over the Bamboozle.

Comfort and fit

Like the Rainbow tots, the Bamboozles have generous side fastening tabs and good elastication round the legs and across the back to help get a good fit across a fairly broad size range. The bamboo material makes a real difference over terry in terms of bulk, these are really very slim for a shaped nappy and when on hardly look bigger than a disposable, so you'll have fewer problems finding clothes that fit well over this cloth bum.

The material is also far softer than cotton we think, and feels lovely and silky. Bamboo takes longer than cotton to go a little hard from washing, and fluffs up lovely and soft after a short tumble in the drier. This is all the more important as the Bamboozle is an unlined nappy - if you want to use a liner there'll still be part of the nappy in contact with your baby's skin.

Containment

We've only good things to say about the Bamboozle's containment capacities, we find it absolutely brilliant and it's definitely one of our night nappies of choice (now with an extra booster). The nappy soaks up everything our heavy wetter throws at it, and it's only now as he's nearing the top end of the weight range for his size one nappy that we're using and additional booster at night to be sure: Furing the day we really wouldn't think of using a booster with this nappy, despite the fact that it's one of the slimmest shaped nappies we've found.

Washing and drying

As far as washing goes, the Bamboozle washes well, thanks to the sewn-in booster. If you have the aplix version you'll need to make sure that you fasten back the tabs to prevent the nappy snagging other nappies in the wash. Where the Bamboozle scores less well, however, is in the drying. Although the Tots Bots website says that bamboo dries up to 20% faster than cotton, we've found that the Bamboozle is our slowest-drying nappy, and we do really mean slow - even on a sunny day it would take about twice as long as the Rainbow Tots to dry. Without using a drier we've found it takes the better part of 24 hours to line-dry, so you'll need to factor that in when considering how many nappies to buy. For us personally, we find the extra absorbency well worth the extra drying time and would always want at least a few Bamboozles in our arsenal, at the very least for night-time use.

The ThinkBaby verdict

We love this nappy! A great fit, very comfortable, excellent absorbency and slim to boot. If only it dried more quickly it would be near-perfect, but then you'd probably lose out on the absorbency...

Comfort and fit: 5/5 review5stars

Absorbency: 5/5 review5stars

Usability: 4/5 review4stars

Value: 4/5 review4stars

Baby & You

Are they attractive? “They’re very cute and fluffy, lovely and soft.”

How simple are they to put on? “With the Aplix fasteners they’re easy to use.”

How well do they fit? “Both types fit really well and are easy to adjust.”

Are they comfy for baby? “Very – no red marks or rubbing and they give him a nice cushion as he’s learning to walk.”

Compare it with disposables. “I get leaks with disposables, especially if the baby is breastfed, but I didn’t get any this time.”

Would you choose these? “Definitely! They perform better, and there are no chemicals next to my baby’s skin”