BabyKicks Premium Pocket Review

People often choose a pocket diaper system so that the level of absorbency can be customized by adding inserts into the pocket as you find your baby needs them. As such, there are several available options with the BabyKicks Premium Pocket Diaper. It is sold with a One Size Joey Bunz insert, 6 layers of absorbent hemp/organic cotton jersey, which is designed to be stuffed into the pocket on the front of the diaper. A synthetic Stay-Dry Liner is also included to lay on top of the inner fabric to help wick wetness from baby, if desired.

We elected to test the BabyKicks Premium Pocket with its double-layer Joey-Bunz Premium insert that is sold separately because we were curious as to how much absorbency we could get out of it.

Improvements to the old 3g Pocket:

• A new bamboo velour inner lining
• Stay dry liner
• Newborn snap closure
• Wider front panel
• Wider pocket opening to make stuffing easier

Absorbency

We like that both the insert and cover of this diaper are made of natural materials. Hemp is known for its absorbent qualities. The hemp insert itself seemed to hold a lot of liquid, but there wasn't much of a wicking effect, so this diaper didn't score well in the lab testing for absorbency.

Fit/Leakage

This BabyKicks Premium Pocket is thinner and trimmer than other diapers made from natural materials that we tested. It's rare to find a diaper other than a prefold that meets this criteria.

The diaper has “side snap closures”, meaning that the tabs snap underneath the front flap of the diaper. BabyKicks feels that this side snap design serves a dual purpose: to make it more difficult for a toddler to rip open the diaper and to avoid excess flap from hanging in the breeze when baby is on smaller settings. In our opinion, however, the side snap solution just seems counterintuitive not to have the front panel of the diaper flush against the skin as any gaps in the front of the waist invite leakage, particularly with boys. In addition, although we love the idea of the fleece leg gussets for comfort and avoidance of red marks on the skin, the gusset edges seemed to be a problem area for minor leakage during our hands-on testing.

In addition, a new feature of the Premium Pocket are a newborn snap closure (only on snap version) intended for an improved fit in the early days.

If you have a chunky baby and correct fit is an issue with the snap version of the Premium Pocket Diaper, consider trying the velcro version which their website states may have a larger size range. We did not test their Premium Pocket with velcro.

Comfort

This section of fleece along the leg openings BabyKicks calls “air gussets”, meant to improve air flow within the diaper and prevent rash, is definitely soft and comfortable for baby.

The inside fleece lining of the diaper cover started off amazingly soft, but became rough and pilled in no time. This is most likely because it's a natural bamboo/organic cotton fleece instead of a synthetic polyester fleece, which seems to keep its softness longer. This seemed to happen along the fleece leg gussets as well, but not quite as bad.

Ease-of-Use

There are several clever features unique to this diaper. The pocket where the insert is stuffed in is at the front of the diaper, rather than at the back like the other pocket diapers we tested. This is an amazing feature because you have a better chance of not touching anything really gross when you're removing the insert for washing. By the same token, if an insert is peeking out the back like in most other pocket diapers, a diaper explosion out the back isn't likely to get on the insert.

Although we really liked that the pocket opening was in the front of the diaper, this wasn't the easiest pocket to stuff (even though the Premium Pocket has been improved from their previous 3g Pocket Diaper to now have a wider pocket for easier stuffing). Perhaps this still held true because BabyKick's Joey Bunz Premium hemp/cotton insert is a little stiffer than the competing pocket diapers with synthetic inserts we tested. In addition, we tested the snap verision of this Premium Pocket Diaper. BabyKick's website states that the velcro version of the same diaper has a bit of a larger pocket than the one with the snaps, and, thus, may be easier to stuff.

Velcro versions of our Pocket Diapers have a slightly larger pocket and may be easier to stuff. They also may have a larger size range for a better fit on chunky babies.)

Both the insert and cover can be machine dried. Unfortunately, the inside of the cover retained some stains.

Conclusion

This diaper has some neat features and is well-made. While it's hemp insert does hold a lot of liquid, it doesn't wick moisture away from the skin because it has no sythetic barrier layer. We experienced some minor leaking, but this diaper is a step above prefolds and is worth looking into if a diaper made almost entirely of natural materials is at the top of your list.

Video

The following is a BabyKicks video regarding “How to Get the Perfect Fit with a Premium Pocket” on a newborn. This is different from how the diaper is used on an older baby, so it is well worth the viewing.