Diaper Safari Pockets and Covers

I recently found Diaper Safari brand diapers and am loving them, so I figured I've give them a review. I don't see them mentioned a whole lot in the diapering world, which is a shame. These are high quality diapers at a very reasonable price.
(photos coming soon!)

Pocket Features:
• Snap-down rise
• Overlapping waist snaps for small babies
• Tummy panel inside to prevent leaks
• Both front and back pocket openings
• Soft suedecloth stay-dry inner

These diapers run a bit on the large side, which is great if you've got a big chunky baby like me! At 25lbs, my 9 month old is on the middle rise setting, and I'm not running out of hip snaps to choose from anytime soon. Personally I'm not a fan of the front opening, (I think it makes it trickier to stuff) but that is personal opinion. The elastics are soft but stretchy, though I haven't had them long enough to say they'll last forever. The fit is comparable to Alvas.

Unlike my Alvas, I've had very very few leaking problems unless the diaper was absolutely soaked. Whether this is because the PUL is a slightly better quality, or the inner allows liquid to pass through easier, I'm not sure.

I've been stuffing these with either prefolds or a combination of an Alva 3-layer bamboo + a hemp DIY or Joeybunz insert.

Cover Features:
 • Snap-down rise
• Overlapping snaps for small babies
• Flaps for tucking inserts

I got the cover because they were running a deal of a free bamboo prefold with the purchase of a cover. And I'm glad I did! The bamboo prefold is super absorbent, has a super soft stay dry layer on top, and fits perfectly into the cover. The cover has flaps for tucking the insert into- unlike Alvas the inside flaps aren't too large, and the second layer over the snaps is also PUL which makes this truly wipeable.

Tips for ordering
When you order these, keep an eye out for either a buy-one-get-one deal (last time I saw this it was $9.99 for two) or a buy-two-get-one deal ($19.99 or so for the three.) You can order these with no insert, or your choice of microfiber or hemp.
Diaper Safari often runs coupon codes as well- check their Facebook page! And sometimes they even have yet another deal- when I ordered mine I got the B2G1 deal, a free pocket or cover for orders over $30, AND a free bamboo prefold with purchase of a cover. On top of all of that is free shipping. This site is definitely worth checking out!

Note: I purchased all diapers I am reviewing. I gave these a great review just because I really like them! No freebies here. :(

Alva cover review

It's review time again! I'm giving Alva another shot with their new diaper covers. These have a ton of features for a very reasonable price. At less than $5 each I couldn't resist. 

So, what do these covers have to offer?

   • Great prints

   • Double gussets

   • Front and back flaps for tucking

   • Front snap for inserts

   • Snap-down rise

   • Overlap snaps for extra skinny babies

Above is the teal blue chevron print. The color on the website wasn't appealing to me, but once I saw it I was sad I only got the one. 

Here you can see the front and back flaps for tucking your insert under. This is really the only beef I have with this diaper- the front flap comes down awfully far for little boys. I don't even have it snapped down all the way, and my son is nearly peeing on the cover itself. If I'm not careful to reach in and scrunch that panel up, I get wicking all the way up to the top and around the front. My four month old still sleeps on his back, so I really wonder how this will work with a butt-in-the-air belly sleeper?

The other problem that doesn't bother me a ton but may affect you- the snaps have a lining of suedecloth over them, presumably to stop leaks. However if this gets wet you can't just wipe down the inside and reuse the cover. I mean, you can, but I'm picky and don't.

Here it is stuffed with a charcoal bamboo insert and a hemp/cotton doubler behind. 

And here it is on a baby. The double gusset gives the diaper lots of room for inserts but doesn't quite do what I think of when I think double gusset. It seems like both gussets should be touching baby's legs in the event of a blowout, to prevent leaking. Only the inner one does. Neither elastic areas are particularly soft, so beware of that if you have a sensitive kid.

Problems
Only a few weeks later and these have navigated to the bottom of my stash. They fit OK over Alva's bamboo fitted with a bit of tucking, but I admit I'm not a huge fan of unsnapping a sopping wet fitted and we tend to use disposables at night.
If you use this with microfiber or charcoal bamboo inserts (which have microfiber in the middle) and have a younger baby who is generally on his back, you may get some nasty compression leaks out the top. Again, this is probably due to the very long front flap.
This diaper is VERY roomy through the crotch, thanks to the double gussets. If you don't have enough absorbent material inside you'll likely have gaps, which will cause leaking. You can kind of see in the photo above how the insert's edge is over an inch away from his bum? Pee will simply run down through the gap inside the diaper and sit directly on the PUL, eventually leaking through.

This cover is probably better suited to holding a thicker tri-folded prefold, a snappi'd prefold, or bulky nighttime inserts or fitteds.