Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants: A good Alternative to Huggies Little Swimmers
Written: Apr 11 '02 (Updated Jan 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheaper than Huggies, Comfy fit, lower rise, elastic gathers
Cons: Colors
The Bottom Line: A swim diaper is a necessity in the pool! These are a good choice.
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| marytara's Full Review: Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants |
It is an absolute necessity for health reasons that children who are not potty trained wear some sort of diaper made for swimming in the pool. Regular disposable diapers are not an option as they will expand and hold several gallons of water and then explode which is not only a health hazard but damaging to pools filtration systems.
My son has been taking swimming lessons since he was around 7 months of age. Since we go to the pool on a weekly basis we are quite familiar with the somewhat limited options for swim diapers. We have tried both re-usable swim diapers and also disposables. As he had recently outgrown his Kushies cloth swim diaper (reusable) I headed to the store to pick up a package of disposable swim diapers. I was very pleased to see that my local grocery was carrying Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants because up until that shopping trip the only disposable swim diaper that the stores near me carried had been Huggies Little Swimmers.
About the Product
Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants come in 3 sizes. The coloring of the diaper and the quantity of diapers in the package varies by the size. All of the diapers have a "wave" type pattern that covers the front and the back and are gender neutral. The varieties are as follows:
Small 16-28 pounds, 12 count of green/aqua diapers
Medium 24-34 pounds, 11 count of green/purple diapers
Large 34+ pounds, 10 count of orange/blue diapers
The biggest difference and feature that is the Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants claim to fame is that it has a 360 degree wrap-a-round elastic waistband. The waistband is several inches wide and goes all the way around. In the back it is marked with the words "Back Back Back" so you can be sure that you don't have the diaper on the wrong way (it matters). Despite the wide waistband this diaper still fits the way a regular diaper or pull-up would and is relatively low waisted, meant to fit trimly. Its very important that the diaper fits trimly or you could have troubles with leaking.
What we like...
Cost
First off the difference that I noticed between Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants and the Huggies brand was price. These were $2 cheaper per package of the same quantity of swimming diapers. If you are someone who is at a pool frequently you know that you go through a package of these diapers pretty quickly so any cost savings you can realize is a good one. A package of 11 Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants cost me $5.99 vs almost $7.99 for the same quantity of Huggies Little Swimmers.
Fit
This diapers are trim fitting and not bulky. Compared to the Huggies brand they have a lower rise which I feel makes them more comfortable for my son. The wide elastic gathers around each leg and all the way around the circumference of the waistband insure that they diaper fits snugly.
Function
Compared to other swimming diapers we have used (both disposable and cloth) these work great. I'm quite pleased with them and I am confident that any mess my child might make in the pool will be contained to within the Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants.
In addition, Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants do not contain or soak in extra pool water and swell up like a basketball. They also don't weigh my son down in the pool or hinder his swimming ability. These are all things to consider when choosing the right swim diaper for your child.
What we don't....
Fashion
The busy wave pattern in bright contrasting colors is a bit noisy and distracting. Of the 3 color combinations available the only one that I find to be remotely attractive is the size small (blue and aqua waves). Size Medium's green/purple combo screams out Barney Colors to me which I am not thrilled with. Of course, my son takes a size medium too.... Size Large's orange and blue is just plain yucky as I dont' think the 2 colors look that great together. This is not that big of a deal because we put a swimming suit over the top of the swim diaper because I like him to wear a bathing suit. However, Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants are designed with the intention that they can be worn alone without a bathing suit over top.
Sizing
I would like to suggest that Luvs check out the sizing ranges they have picked for these diapers. My son is actually on the border for the weight limit between the small and medium diaper. He is not a small boy and is around 28 pounds at just 16 months. I was realistic in my thinking that the size small would be too small for him and I opted for the mediums. The mediums fit him perfectly but I anticipate that he may be into the size large soon. I can't imagine squeezing a 34 pound child into these size medium swimpants. My recommendation for others is to get the size up if your child is in the upper portion of the weight range as these run small.
Availability
Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants are not sold all year round but instead are seasonal but only when they are "seasonally appropriate". This may be fine for summer swimmers but some of us swim year round!
Also, this is the first time I'd seen them carried in stores near me though I've known of the product for almost a year now. Since Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants are just starting to make their way into the market here locally and are at a low price so I will probably stock up. I'm betting that in the peak of summer these will be marked up to a higher price. When swimming season draws to a close its also usually a good time to stock up on disposable swim diapers as well.
overall
We'll buy these again! They work just as good if not better than Huggies Little Swimmers and Luvs Splashwear Disposable Swimpants have the added benefit of being less expensive.
For more info
http://www.luvs.com
According to Luvs, these diapers are the official swim pant of SwimAmerica (www.swimamerica.org) which is the nation's leading learn-to-swim program.
If you are interested in Water Babies check out my review on the topic:
http://www.epinions.com/content_59216924292
Recommended:
Yes
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marytara
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