(Seen here with Happy Heinys (cow print) and Grobaby (lavender).)
Note: Review made at the time was without the use of diaper creams and only pee-time. Poop-based reviews were made in another post here.
The Baby Kangas One Size Pouch Diaper, a creation by JamTots, hails from Canada and is one of the many baby-related products that the company churns out regularly. It is the only diaper in the market that features a front zipper to allow easy removal of inserts. This means no more sticking your hands into icky pockets and such to remove soiled inserts. To prevent wicking or leaks from the zipper, a flap has been added to the inside of the diaper to cover the zipper.
All Baby Kangas come with a 90-day warranty on the elastic, workmanship and fabric plus a lifetime warranty on the snaps. For more on the design, features and look of the diaper, do refer to Baby Kangas’ website here.
Style
One size pocket and comes in snaps.
Cost
I bought this in Malaysia and it retails for around $70 depending on which store you bought it from. I didn’t find any supplier that stocks this here in Singapore.
Accessories & additionals
JamTots inserts are made from either hemp, hemp fleece or bamboo and come in sizes or one-size depending on what you like. Depending on how you fold their inserts, you can get up to nine layers instead of the usual 3 layer per insert like with other brands as each insert consist of at least 2 to 3 layers.
Care info
Like all other pocket diapers, Baby Kangas is a single use diaper so the shell and inserts must be washed at least TWICE before the first use with 1/2 to 1/4 of the recommended amount of additive free detergent (no enzymes, phosphates, softeners, bleach and optical whitening agents). The amount depends on the load of your wash. After each use, knock off poo solids into the toilet, remove the inserts, fasten the laundry tabs and place in a wet/dry pail (depends on your system) until washing day.
Although Baby Kangas recommends a pre-cold rinse cycle before the actual wash, I have washed the diapers with a normal wash cycle and on regular water temperature. (Here in the tropics, we are not able to choose the temperature of the water for most washing machines so worry not.) Hang out in the sun to dry (fleece-side up for the diaper shells) – this is important as the heat from the sun will not only dry your inserts and diapers faster but it will “bleach” away stains too.
Verdict
General
Like FuzziBunz, this is not a very popular brand compared to bumGenius and Rumparooz. One of the reasons, I suppose, is that they do not come with inserts. You have to purchase the inserts separately and while some may prefer this, depending on the cost of the insert, you may end up paying more than what you would for brands like bumGenius and Rumparooz.
In terms of prints and colours, Baby Kangas only come in 14 solid shades – not a lot if you ask me.
I’ll be honest, I really like the idea of a front zipper although at the end of the day, it doesn’t really affect anything MUCH as I’d still have to remove her diaper and thus find myself removing the inserts from the pockets. Of course, so far, Eva has just been peeing and if the diapers were covered in poo, I may just sing a different tune.
In terms of sizing and cut style, this is almost the same as bumGenius and FuzziBunz. Just snap down to the appropriate size and voila, you’re done.
Application (stuffing/removal, use, fit and bulk)
It has quite a number of snaps compared to FuzziBunz but it’s the standard method – snap down to the right size and snap on her. It is quite trim and roomy – the cut style is similar to bumGenius, I feel and the elastics around the waist and legs are just nice. Eva came away without any red marks at the so-called tight spots.
With the front zipper, I found it very easy to stuff the pockets and remove them without worrying about spillage or leaks. In fact, there was much more room in the pockets compared to other brands, allowing me to adjust the inserts and lay them flat as bunched up inserts can affect absorption. I felt that it was easier to slide the inserts in and out despite rubbing up against the PUL compared to other brands.
It’s not too difficult to put on Eva although some people may find snaps to be quite challenging once their babies start to wriggle about. Of course the insert is already in as I usually stuff the pockets right after they are done drying. Removal is easy as well; just unsnap and slide from under her. I changed her diaper after four hours and discovered that her bottom was dry while the insert was slightly damp. The microfleece fabric was almost dry to the touch as well so that’s definitely a plus point. Pretty good absorption if you ask me since all cloth diapers reach full absorption after six washes!
Washing & drying
Because these are snap diapers, there are no laundry tabs. So just remove the insert from the shell and put it aside until washing day.
Like the bumGenius and FuzziBunz, the diaper shell and inserts dry pretty quickly – I do my baby laundry at the end of the day and in the morning, I have clean and dry inserts & shells waiting for some sun therapy.
What’s next?
It’s a pity that these don’t already come with inserts. I would have ordered more but after adding up the cost of getting the inserts separately, I decided that it just wasn’t worth it.
