This comparison of the old Pampers Cruisers and the New Pampers Cruisers is from Steph, who blogs about her problem solvin’ approach to parenting and life at Problem Solvin Mom.
The diaper on the left is a Swaddler, the diaper on the right is the new Cruiser design that we upsized to this past month. Previously the inner designs of the diapers were quite similar. Click to see larger image.Have you heard rumblings about the new Pampers cruisers design? I had no idea what was going on until I opened up a value box one day and was surprised by the new design. These diapers are being phased in across the country and will be fully available by March of this year. Between now and then there is no way to tell which design is in a particular package. In my opinion, this is definitely a “buyer beware” situation – if the new review below doesn’t sound like something you would like, definitely don’t stock up.
The new diaper design has a different inner absorptive material and no separate honeycomb layer. The inner layer used to cover ~90% of the old design, but is reduced to 60% in the new design. P&G claims the new material is 20% more absorbent than the old Baby Dry brand material (the mid grade diaper brand) – given the reduction in coverage it makes sense that the overall absorbency has been reduced. In addition, there is a difference between absorbency and dryness to the touch – the old style cruisers kept my baby’s skin dry (even overnight!) and that was the most important feature to me as a customer.
There has been a spike in customer complaints, a rise in 1 star ratings on the Pampers site, and a Facebook fan page created calling for P&G to bring back the old style design. In my experience, we went from no leaks to 2-3 leaks a day and a big red diaper rash. I’ve since switched brands and we been leak free for several weeks now. My baby’s bottom is much happier as well. I still miss the old cruisers design, and would likely go back if only I could. Have you tried the new cruisers design? If so, what did you think? Any suggestions for alternate brands, now that we are in the market?