Mother ease Wizard One-Size Duo Diaper Review

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When you start learning about cloth diapers, you quickly find out that there are three basic styles of cloth diapers, and every cloth diapering parenting has a personal preference:

All-in-two (AI2) diapers have a waterproof cover that can be reused and inserts that are replaced at each change.
Pocket diapers have a waterproof exterior with an inner pocket in which to stuff the perfect amount of absorbency.
All-in-one (AIO) diapers have the inner absorbency sewn into the exterior waterproof cover.

Each of these styles has its advantages and disadvantages, and each one has had its own moment to reign supreme as my favourite diaper style.

It may come as a surprise to no one but me that with twins in cloth, the cloth diaper style that requires no snapping, folding or stuffing is my current favourite. (For those who’ve been paying attention, that would be the AIO.) I’ve already reviewed the very effective Mother ease Wizard Uno AIO diaper, which is the only Canadian-made AIO to pass muster at our house. For those of you looking for the performance of the Wizard Uno at a lower price point or for those of you simply playing for team AI2, let me introduce you to the Mother ease One-Size Wizard Duo.

One-Size Wizard Duo Specs:

10–35 lb
3 rise adjustments
double row of waist snaps, hip snap on the wing tabs
4 insert types: unbleached cotton, bamboo, stay dry and stay dry nighttime

Duo Fitted Inserts snap into the Duo Cover with snaps at each corner of the diaper. The inserts have elastic all the way around, creating a double barrier against leaks in combination with the cover. Once the insert is snapped into the diaper, the performance and fit is identical to the Wizard Uno, except that the Uno has a centre rise snap and the Duo cover does not.

Benefits of using the Wizard Duo system:

Economical: For 24 diaper changes, you only need six to eight diaper covers.
Effective: The inserts stay perfectly in place thanks to the six snaps, create an extra barrier against leaks thanks to their all-around elastics and are absorbent enough without extra boosters.
Simple: Buy twenty inserts for daytime (I would recommend either bamboo terry or stay dry) and four overnight inserts, choose six to eight covers and you’re set!
Space-saving: Stack the inserts next to the change table and you’re good to go! A few inserts in your diaper bag take up a lot less space than a few full pocket or AIO diapers.

Drawbacks to consider:

Did you poop or was it me?

If you are lazy (or you have multiple children in diapers), you may not enjoy snapping and unsnapping inserts at each change.
The night time insert is marketed as “12+ hours without any leaks,” and while this may be true for some kids, I, however, do need to add a booster. I find the Duo very easy to boost, since I can simply slide an extra insert under the Duo insert.
If you want to cloth diaper from birth, you’ll need to buy newborn or size small Duo covers and inserts as well, although most one-size diaper systems don’t fit well from birth anyway.

Let me tell you a secret: I use my Wizard Duos like AIO diapers. That is, I snap in the insert, use it once and then wash. My life just never seems to be organized enough to have a clean insert handy in the right spot when I need it! But if you’re committed to the Duo system, you’ll have inserts at all your change stations and in your diaper bag, and you’ll have a lot more space in your diaper drawer than I do!

If you’re looking for an AI2 cloth diaper system that WORKS, then I am happy to tell you that the Wizard Duo is the best AI2 cloth diapering system I’ve tried (and I’ve tried many). And the best news, in my opinion, is that it’s 100% Canadian made! (And the second best news is that Mother ease is slaying like Buffy with its prints! I want to own them all!)