Nappy Reviews: bumGenius v4.0
Friday, March 27th, 2009The bumGenius One-Size is one of the top selling nappies in the UK- its neat design, ease of use, reliability and functionality appeals to a wide range of parents, and in many ways this nappy bridges the gap between disposables and reusables. I must admit, when I first got my hands on one of these I remember doing a little skip around the house and gushing to my husband about all its little features, it really is a great little nappy!
The bumGenius 4.0
RRP: £15.99
- Ease of use: 4/5
- Comfort: 4/5
- Aesthetics: 3/5
- Slimness of Fit: 3/5
- Night Time Effectiveness: 3/5
- Value for Money: 3/5
- Drying Time: 5/5
The bumGenius is a fantastic pocket nappy comprised of a soft polyester outer shell with a laminated PUL on the inside, a fleece liner inner layer, and 2 microfibre inserts which are stuffed into the open ‘pocket’ at the back of the nappy. The new version V4 fastens with a choice of Aplix tabs (a high quality brand of velcro) or Snaps and has snaps down the front which enables you to adjust the size of the nappy as your baby grows.
Although it may seem bulky at first, the bumGenius can be used right from birth, and should fit most babies until they reach potty training and as one-size nappies go, the bumGenius is not too bad. My 15 month old still wears hers very comfortably on the medium size setting. The Aplix crossover tabs allow maximum adjustability across the waist, and the bumGenius features laundry tabs so you can stick the Aplix to these to prevent them sticking to the rest of the laundry in the machine. Aplix tabs are great for putting a nappy on in super quick time- although as your baby grows in dexterity and becomes increasingly curious, be wary as little fingers will be able to undo these! This is where the new V4 Snap option really comes into its own- Snaps are much harder for little fingers to undo!
The bumGenius washes really well, and the super soft fleece inner does not pile at all. They are very hardwearing and in my opinion, are one of the best reusable nappies on the market. Although, the aplix tabs on the Bumgenius have been known to gather lint and curl easier than that of other similar brands, so do bear this in mind.
The new version 4.0 comes complete with 2 microfibre inserts- a trim newborn one, and a thicker one-size insert, which also features poppers to allow you to adjust its length. You can use both or either one at a time depending on the age of your baby and how much absorbency is required. These inserts simply get stuffed into the back pocket and the whole piece is placed on the baby. After use the inserts can be removed before popping it in the bucket, or some people find that by placing the whole piece in the machine, they will naturally seperate during the wash cycle. Either way is fine.
The beauty of pocket nappies like the bumGenius is that they dry super quickly, the cover itself will airdry in around 30 mins, and the microfibre inserts will be dry and ready to use in a little over that. This makes this nappy perfect for those who do not have, or do not wish to use a tumble drier! It also means that fewer nappies in total are required to keep your rotation going.
Should you decide you need some extra boosting (perhaps when your baby gets older and starts to do bigger wee’s)- most other inserts fit the bumgenius (although do not use contoured inserts). The P’tits Dessous Bamboo Inserts are really absorbent and work well inside a BG.
The bumGenius, along with most pocket style nappies, is favoured by nurseries and childminders as it is so easy to use, and when they are provided ‘pre-stuffed’ they are just as easy to place on the babies as the disposables- so if you will need to use some form of childcare this is worth keeping in mind!
The bumGenius now comes in 8 gorgeous colours, including pastels, white and brights.
Order bumGenius 4.0 one-size nappies now
tagged under: bumgenius.nappy.reusable nappy.reviewABOUT THIS AUTHOR
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I’ve bought a whole set of BG’s (18), I’ve been using them for 6 months and yes they are great (apart from at night at the moment for some reason?) but they are starting to look very scruffy already! Threads coming off, velcro strip starting to come undone - is this normal? I’m so sad because they are gorgeous.
Hi Leah,
Hmm that does sound quite unusual. What temp are you washing them at, and if you are tumble drying are you making sure you only use a medium or low heat?
The bumgenius are guaranteed for 6 months from purchase, which includes covers, linings and closures for properly cared for products.
The bumgenius do usually wash very well, if you are concerned you can find more info about the product and guarantees here http://www.bgnappies.com/customer.html
This nappy is fabulous, we had been using the all in one version until we where given one of these to test. With the pocket bit I can add extra stuffing to deal with my daughters night time pee deluge, yet it still has a slim fitting between the legs. Easy to adapt the size as the child grows. I love the bumgenius range and have never had any problems or leaks despite some spectacular poo explosions! Highly recommended. If these were given out in the Bounty packs more mums would choose to use washables!
Love these so much! I bought them for my 3 month old but tried one on my tall and slim nearly three year old the other day and they fit well! I really hope these will last us all the way through to potty training!
Hi there,
I am having problems with the ammonia smell coming out of the boosters.
The instructions (form the US) say to wash them using Dawn detergent which is not available in the UK. Any suggestions or alternative methods?
Thanks
Hi Gloria,
Well the Dawn is just a dish soap, and the concept behind this is that the dishsoap binds to the oily substances that have built up on the nappies and rinses them away. You can take a look here for more info on ’stripping’ your inserts http://www.fill-your-pants.com/pdf/bumgenius
Hope that helps!
I see,
thanks Laura. So the likes of Fairy would do just fine? The only problem is how much to use it is VERY “bubbly”:) A teaspoon should be more than I enough.
THanks
Great review! My love for these has been boosted just yesterday when we left the DC’s with DH’s grandmother and she managed to change Naomi’s dirty nappy without any problem whatsoever - possibly the closest to the ease of a disposable you can get!
A month or so ago I bought 3 bumgenius nappies to try out along with disposables and I am noticing that they are already staining with poo (the lining and Velcro tabs). The company I bought them from said to leave then dry when removed (rather than soaking them) and to wash them in a 60 wash. I was hoping to buy more as I find them very easy to use, however I am concerned that this will only get worse and I wont be able to use them until potty training.
Has anyone encountered the same problems and could offer some suggestions?
I am wondering what I am doing wrong???? These nappies have been a nightmare for me…my boy is five months and leaks either from the leg or back at nearly every nappy change!!!! I have to change him max every 2 hrs!!!! They wash OK and dry OK but as for night time, don’t even go there, I change bedding at least twice a night. I am switching to disposables at night now, I can’t take any more of it!! I’ve followed all instructions to the letter so it’s not, as far as I can see, the way they are put on him. Awful nappies, really regret buying them.
Hi. I loiked these nappies at first but now my osn is 12 months old havent been able to use them for a few weeks. He needs changing every hour in the day or his clothes get wet. I have tried washing them as suggested with dish soap but no difference. Also they are so bulky that I cant get any trousers to fit him- either too tight around waist and too long in leg or fit legs but cant do up around waist. Havent been able to use them for months at night because he is soaking wet by the morning and wakes up freezing cold. If he gets a gastro bug they also leak diarhoea down his legs and the paper inserts dont seem to hold the poo properly so you are left with a nappy thats covered with poo which is just gross and means you have to wash them immediately. Am so disappointed as they were so expensive to buy and the resale value on ebay seems so low especially as the v4 has just come out. my husband is really unhappy that we have wasted so much money on these.
I found that the slight poo stains that built up on my DC’s nappies went away, along with the ammonia smell some have commented about, when they were line dried in the sun - something to do with sunbleaching according to my mother in law!
Another thing I’ve seen people commenting about is leaking through the top and leg holes. In my experience that is due to the thickness of the liners you use [and you really should use liners for ease with getting rid of poo!] I tried the ones that came with my council free nappies first. They were so thick the wee just rolled across the liner rather than going through so if any liner was sticking out the wee followed. I have since been using bambino mio flushable liners which have the advantage of being flushable [yay!] and are thin enough that the wee goes straight through, and the poo stays put. This means I only get leakage when he wee’s a lot - doesn’t happen often - or when he’s ill and sitting in a wooden highchar. Very gross, only happened once, don’t think its fair to blame the nappy!