Neither the best nor the worst nappy available (Tesco Nappies)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Tesco Nappies
Date:	18/07/09 (82 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Comfortable, cheaper than premium brands

Disadvantages: Swells hugely when wet, leaves my granddaughter's bottom damp and clammy, tight

When my granddaughter visits I usually use Pampers nappies, simply because this is the brand my daughter buys for her and was also the brand I bought for my own children years ago. However, sometimes I rebel and this week is rebellion week so I have decided to try a packet of Tesco Super Fit nappies.

After using around half of the packet I have mixed feelings on them. While they keep my granddaughter's clothes dry I am not completely convinced about their effectiveness at keeping the wet away from her skin. I say this because after wearing one of these nappies her skin feels clammy sometimes whereas Pampers will generally keep her skin feeling perfectly dry and healthy.

These nappies are designed to be stretchy so are supposedly ideal for when your little one is getting around. This claim is correct to a degree but I do find the Tesco nappies are very one-size-fits-all and certainly don't fit individual child shapes as well as similarly designed nappies. My granddaughter has been comfortably in Size 5 (Junior) nappies for a while now and despite the fact that she is well within the weight range for this brand they sometimes feel a little tight and more restricting than her usual Pampers.

The sides of the nappy are elasticated to allow for freedom of movement but personally I don't think they have enough give and as the sides are fairly wide and bulky I can see that my granddaughter cannot quite lift her legs as well when she is wearing her training pants or Pampers. The leg holes are lower than I thought they would be considering this nappy is designed to allow toddlers to walk and climb unrestricted, my granddaughter is two years old and a proficient walker so this causes no problem but I suspect a child who is less steady on their feet may struggle a little.

Bedtime is surely the test of any nappy, especially if your child sleeps through for the full 8+ hours. These nappies have kept my granddaughter dry with no leaks for I would say 98% of the time, with the 'leaky' episodes occurring only when she has had an extra drink before bed and obviously has had a rather full bladder. They have never leaked on a dirty nappy and don't leave those horrible beige patches on my granddaughter's bedsuit which happens particularly with Huggies nappies as those just don't seem capable of holding poo and wee in the same nappy!

The tabs have all been fine on these nappies, worth a mention as supermarket brands are notorious for having poor nappy tabs in my experience. These grip well and I have not had one fail or come open while my granddaughter is wearing her nappy, another good point is that they are easy to remove when it comes to nappy change time although on the flip side I wish they would consistently enable me to wrap the nappy and secure it with the tabs as often they won't stick again properly once they have been removed once.

The nappies have a cloth-like feel and appear to be comfortable on my granddaughter's bottom, they are not as soft as Pampers but much better in texture than some appalling Morrisons nappies I bought earlier this year. They swell up rather a lot when wet which I think looks very uncomfortable but then my granddaughter usually tells us when she is wet straight away so this isn't really an issue, however if your child doesn't tend to notice a wet nappy then you might want to keep an eye on how much it's swelling as (if you remember from earlier) these nappies can leave the skin damp if left for too long.

I bought a pack of 24 nappies which cost £4.29, not much cheaper than my much preferred Pampers actually and I must admit the quality is lower in many respects. I'd like to say I'll buy them again but for us the disadvantages far outweighed the plus points. However, I will say that nappies are very much a personal choice so if your baby suits these then that is excellent news as there is a saving to be made. My niece for example uses these nappies for her thirteen month old son and she swears they are the best she has ever used; he is, of course, a very different shape to my granddaughter as all babies are so different that one brand cannot suit every family.

Summary: I really cannot decide about these, they're not great nappies but are not appalling either.