Softbums Pod Absorbancy Tests

Previously I compared the absorbancy of the Softbums (old style) Super Pods to the Softbums Dry Touch Pod. Now that I have had a chance to accumulate a few more types of pods I thought I would continue with the comparisons.

As I had mentioned in my previous post, these results do not mean that you should expect your pod to hold X ounces of pee, it is just to determine a baseline to be able to compare the absorbancy of one pod to the next. I also want to note that pretty much all of my inserts have come to me pre-loved, so a brand new insert may perform slightly differently. Also, Sarah from Softbums noted "that absorbency has a lot to do with washer type, detergent used, and compression. Most people have better luck with bamboo, especially if their baby is older, or they have a front loader. Most top loaders can get the microfiber to it's total absorbency, but front loaders sometimes cannot. And, keep in mind that prepping might take up to 10 washes for the pods to get fully absorbent. So, if you are new to cloth diapers, or this brand, keep washing!!!" 

On to the testing!

I started with the Small Dry Touch Mini Pod and Small Bamboo Mini Pod. 

Left: Small Dry Touch Mini Pod   Right: Small Bamboo Mini Pod

I added water to the inserts, ounce by ounce, checking if the water was holding after each ounce. The Small Dry Touch Mini Pod topped out at 6 oz (180 ml) while the Small Bamboo Mini Pod was completely saturated at 4 oz (120 ml).

 
Next on deck was the Large Dry Touch Pod. At 10 oz (300 ml) the O Pod was holding, 11 was questionable and by 12 oz (360 ml) it was completely dripping.

 The last pod I had available was the One Size Bamboo Pod. I was surprised by this one. I know a lot of people love this pod, and given its size I had expected it to hold more than the Large Dry Touch Pod. I found that at 10 oz (300 ml) the One Size Bamboo Pod was completely saturated, but not dripping, but as soon as I added any more water it came pouring right out.

There are two more Softbums Pods which I have not yet acquired, the Large Bamboo Pod and the One Size Dry Touch Super Pods.

Given that the One Size Dry Touch Super Pod is essentially a old style Dry Touch Pod combined with a Small Dry Touch Mini, I can estimate that the One Size Dry Touch Super Pod would hold approximately 16 oz (480 ml).

So, here is the absorbancy test results:

1. Small Bamboo Mini Pod: 4 oz
2. Small Dry Touch Mini Pod: 6 oz
3. [Old style thin] Dry Touch Pod: 10 oz
4. Large Dry Touch Pod: 10 oz
5. One Size Bamboo Pod: 10 oz
6. [Old style thick] Dry Touch Super Pod: 16 oz
7. One Size Dry Touch Super Pod: 16 oz (estimate)

If you are interested in checking out more of the pod options Softbums has available, click here.