Thanks to Jill's Baby Rabies Twitter party about a month (or two? I'm really horrible at keeping track of time) ago, I was able to win a FuzziBunz Elite Pocket Diaper. I have wanted to try FB's for a long time but I was afraid to make the purchase in case they didn't work well for Fuss. The buy 6 get 2 free promotion FuzziBunz did *almost* convinced me to jump in. However, I am glad I didn't because shortly after that promo, FuzziBunz announced the changes to their diaper line. Since I won one of the new diapers from Jill, I went on the hunt for an original on the diaper swap pages. After finding one, I started my observations and comparisons. The following list is what I have come up with so far.
There are only a few key differences in the Original OS pocket diaper and the OS Elite diaper:
1) The fit. The Elite seems to be a little smaller overall even though the rise is a little higher than the Original, this makes it super trim. The downside? It may not fit a chunkier baby. Fuss has chubby thighs, but the Elite and the Original both fit her really well. **I will mention that since I bought the old-style FB second-hand, the sizing discrepancy may be due to wear. I am working on correcting that with new elastics soon and will update when I can.**
2) The inserts. The Original has a regular microfiber insert that is quite absorbent, but like most MF isn't very soft. The insert in the Elite is "minky". Minky is designed to be more absorbent with less bulk. It is SOOOOO soft! I really LOVE the feel of the smooth minky fabric of the new inserts compared to the old. Size-wise, they are the same.
3) Snaps. There is an extra snap (4 instead of 3) in the hip-snap area on the Original. This snap is intended to make the leg holes nice and tight for smaller babies. I'd say it would work really well for even a baby as small as 5-6 pounds. However, the Elite doesn't have that extra snap. In my opinion, the reason for this is the leg holes themselves. They already seem to be more snug and have a smaller diameter than the original style which may have negated the need for the 4th snap. That's just my opinion, though. I could be completely wrong!
4) Buttons. The button locations on the Original to adjust the elastics have been said to cause irritation because they sometimes come out of their "pocket" as does the elastic. The Elite, on the other hand, has no exposed buttons or elastic. They have been moved to inside the pocket of the diaper instead.
I really like the elastic adjustments as well. They make the diaper less bulky when cinched to the smallest setting whereas, with snap-based adjustments, there is sometimes added bulk in the front of the diaper. The buttons are also less likely to dislodge while buried in the bottom of your diaper bag or while having a nosy toddler playing with the diaper in Wal-Mart. I also love that the FB comes with an extra set of elastics for replacing worn-out elastic after a few years! To the best of my knowledge, no other diaper company does this.
All-in-all, the Fuzzibunz Elite has become a favorite of mine, especially for tossing in the diaper bag to have for being out and about. It is one of the easiest diapers to travel with thus far. Though, I still love my Original, the Elite is much softer and really does seem to absorb more than its counterpart.
I apologize for the lack of photos on this post. I have about 14 comparison shots but have been having difficulty uploading from my computer. I have been trying for 2 weeks! Hopefully, once I get the new elastics and get ready for my re-review, I will be capable of uploading more than 1 picture at a time and taking half an hour to do just that.
