How this site works

If you are looking for information on cloth pads, feel free to look around and we hope you find this useful. The below information can help you understand some of the terms and ratings used here.

If you know of a brand that isn't up here, make a page using the Template and include the criteria below. Please also include a picture!

Where to buy


Reviewed

  • Were these pads reviewed on the Internet?

Styles


Materials


Sizes

  • For the sake of standardization, sizes here will be defined on a S/M/L scale

lengths:

  • XS (5-7in or 12-17cm)
  • S (7-9in 18-23cm)
  • M (9-11in or 23-28cm)
  • L (11-13in or 28-33cm)
  • XL (l13-15in or 33-38cm)
  • XXL (longer than 15in or 38cm)

widths:

(this is measured with wings closed so you can compare to the size of the gusset in your underwear for a good fit)

  • XS (smaller than 2in or 5cm)
  • S (2-2.5in or 6-7cm)
  • M (2.5-3in or 7-8cm)
  • L (3-3.5in or 8-9cm)
  • XL (3.5-4in or 9-10cm)

Also, please note that tags with s, m, l refer to length and swide, mwide, and lwide refer to width.


Absorbency

Absorbency levels can vary between pad brands, as needs can vary between women. What is a medium absorbency pad for a woman with light flow may be light absorbency for someone with heavy flow. However as a general guide, absorbencies are usually defined as:

  • Pantyliner - suitable for spotting or very light flow. May also be used for backup for internal protection. Usually doesn't have waterproofing.
  • Light - as absorbent or slightly more so than a pantyliner. Use on the first signs of your period or at the end, when you want something to protect your underpants but don't need anything very absorbent. May have waterproofing
  • Medium - This should be absorbent enough to last a 2-6 hours on the days of your period that you have medium flow, like the average disposable pad. This is the most common absorbency for a pad as you would expect to have most of this type in your pad stash.
  • Heavy - This would be used by women with a heavy flow or overnight. Almost always waterproofed or significantly thicker than other absorbencies.
  • Post partum/Night - some brands have a special level of absorbencies for these. Because night pads need to be worn for a long time they need to be very absorbent. Some women find bleeding slows over night, but some do not. Post partum bleeding is very heavy, so again, a very absorbent pad is required. Some women with a heavy flow find that these specialty pads are good for their heavy days.

Structure

Edges

Serged/Overlocked
Turned + Topstitched

Closure

Buttons
Metal Snaps
Plastic Snaps
Hook-and-Loop Tape


Cost

Unfortunately, sometimes when shopping for cloth pads, price is a consideration. However, the cloth pads market is just like any other; most of the time, you get what you pay for. More expensive fabrics, longer pads, organics and other more specialty items can increase the cost of a cloth pad, and comparing prices is really like (as they say), comparing apples and oranges.

But it is important to have an idea of the sort of price range a particular brand is in. So to give you the general idea of price, we have used the following price gauges. This does not tell you the value of the product; that's for you to determine based on what you're looking for and what the features are of that particular product, but this gives a basic price comparison.

Basic Price Guide Values

* $ inexpensive - These products are what most people would consider to be "inexpensive". They represent the cheaper end of the market, and may be made from less fancy fabrics or be lower absorbency.
* $$ average - These products are what most people would consider to be "average" or "Moderate" pricing. They represent the middle range of the market.
* $$$ expensive - These products are what some people would consider to be "expensive" or "Higher" pricing. They represent the top range of the market, and can include fancy fabrics such as organics and velours.

Price Guide by Country

because the cost of living is different all over the world, these price guides are given by country, to help give a more accurate reflection of the values.

North American-made Pads in USD for America, Canada, Mexico

* $ inexpensive ( under $4 for a pantyliner, under $7 for a day pad, under $13 for a night pad)
* $$ average (about $5 for a pantyliner, about $10 for a day pad, about $15 for a night pad)
* $$$ expensive (over $6 for a pantyliner, over $13 for a day pad, over $17 for a night pad)

Australian-made Pads in AUD for Australia, New Zealand

* $ inexpensive (under $5 for a pantyliner, under $9 for a day pad, under $12 for a night pad)
* $$ average (about $7 for a pantyliner, about $10-$15 for a day pad, about $13-$15 for a night pad)
* $$$ expensive (over $8 for a pantyliner, over $16 for a day pad, over $16 for a night pad)


Location

  • Where do they ship from? (where are they located)?

Comments

Are organic fabrics available?
Are there discounted kit packs or starter kits?
Do they sell wetbags or soaking pots?


Tags

The cloud of words in the bar on the left shows the names of all tags used on this site and how common they are, with larger font size indicating a more popular tag. Clicking on any tag will tell you the names of the sellers tagged with that word. Use "xs", "s", "m", "l", and "xl" for pad lengths, "xswide", "swide", "mwide", "lwide", and "xlwide" for pad widths, and "$", "$$", and "$$$" for price rankings of sellers. You can also select the materials the pads are made of and the styles they're made in.

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