Kawaii Baby Heavy Duty One-Size Cloth Diapers Review

This is a pocket diaper, which means it has an outer cover that forms a pocket. You stuff the pocket with absorbent material before putting it on your baby. The outer layer of the diaper is made of TPU, which is a waterproof fabric. The inside of the diaper is made of suedecloth, which is soft and allows moisture to wick away from baby's skin. Two inserts come with each diaper, and the inserts are made of microfiber. You can use just one of the inserts if that meets baby's needs, or you can add the second to act as a diaper doubler. The inserts are added to the diaper via an elasticized opening at the top back.

Kawaii Baby Heavy Duty One-Size cloth diapers are designed to fit babies from 8-36 lbs. There are snaps at the front that you use to reduce or increase the size. The rise adjustment goes from 13.5" to 19.5". The top opening is fastened by hook and loop tape, which can be set wide or crossed over in the front to accommodate a 14"-28" waist.

The newest version of these diapers (called Heavy Duty 2.0) have square hook and loop fasteners at the waist, and do include fold-back laundry tabs. The previous version of these diapers, which is still found for sale in many auctions and on used diapers sites, has rounded waist tabs that do not have a specific spot to fold back for washing.

For starters, the price is amazing. In a sea of $15-$20 pocket diapers, you can find Kawaii Baby diapers for $7 new as a single diaper, or just over $6 per diaper when you buy a dozen as a package. There isn't a lot of variety in colors available at for this diaper style at this price, but the colors available aren't unattractive. You can find pastel yellow, blue and green, as well as bright red, royal blue and olive green.

These diapers really live up to their heavy duty name. The microfiber inserts absorb plenty, even enough to work for heavy night-time wetters. The outer cover generally stops leaks as long as you can get a good fit on your baby (naturally, not every cloth diaper will be a perfect fit on every baby). The inner material is soft and doesn't leave red marks from the elasticized leg openings as long as the diaper is properly fitted.

For the price, you should get a really good useable life for these diapers. From 8 to 36 pounds should take most babies well into toddlerhood with a diaper that still fits. The rise adjustments tend to work well for most babies, too.

The diapers hold up well in the wash, particularly the newer version with the fold-back laundry tabs. The tabs keep the hook and loop tape from accumulating lint and also keep the fabric around the hook and loop tape from getting snagged and pilled.

Once you've stuffed the pocket with inserts, these cloth diapers are as easy to use as disposables. No pins or other fasteners are necessary. You just size the diaper to fit with the snaps, open it out just like a disposable, lay your baby on the diaper, and fasten it with the hook and loop tabs.

The outer material of the cover feels cheap to me compared to other pocket diapers. I can live with that for the cost savings, but the difference is noticeable if you're used to pricier cloth diapers. It doesn't feel like it's going to fall apart, but it feels stiffer and scratchier than some of my more expensive pocket diapers. The outer fabric also has a slight chemical smell to it that doesn't seem to go away even after many washings. It's not a strong smell, but it's noticeable when I'm changing diapers.

The snaps to adjust the rise are very stiff and can be hard to open. That's great when you want to keep the diaper at the right size as baby wears it. It's not so good when you want to open the diaper out to wash it. I'm concerned that the extra tugging with cause damage to the fabric around the snaps on my diapers. It hasn't happened to me, but I've heard from other moms who did notice some tearing around the snaps.

The pocket opening at the top back can be a little difficult to work with, especially when you're stuffing it with more than one insert. It's a pretty long reach to the other end of the diaper to get the inserts in straight, and the pocket opening isn't very big.

While the microfiber inserts do a great job of absorbing, they are prone to holding on to smells. You may have to bleach them or work some other laundry magic occasionally if they get stinky.

With the cost savings of a small company comes some trade-offs. Customer service can be hit or miss, with some parents reporting blazing fast responses and others saying they've waited ages to hear back about a problem. You may not always be able to get the exact colors you order, since a small company is more prone to running out of popular colors.