The Best Adult Diapers of 2024

Adult diaper users face an almost endless number of options when searching for a product. Fancy marketing language can make any adult diaper, no matter its actual performance or quality, seem like the next best product on the market.

Here at Parentgiving, we carry around 300 brands and more than 7,500 caregiving and elder products that include adult diapers. We’ve received honest reviews over the years for some of the most popular adult diapers from thousands of customers with caregiving responsibilities or varying levels of incontinence.

The size of our catalog, the number of customers we’ve served, and our deep knowledge of how these products are made allow us to make spot-on recommendations the first time.

This resource pairs our decades of product expertise with the firsthand experience of our customers. You’ll come away with enough information to make an informed decision when purchasing your next adult diaper.

In this guide, you will find:

• How We Test & Select Adult Diapers
• The Anatomy of a Premium Adult Diaper
• Our Top Adult Diaper Picks
• Premium Incontinence Products vs Mass Produced
• Top 3 Myths About Adult Diapers
• Why Adult Diaper Fit Matters

How We Review & Choose Adult Diapers

We’ve had the good fortune of serving over 200,000 customers since we first opened our doors in 2008. That’s over 50,000 hours of customer service! Even better, our caregiving team is made up of actual caregivers, and our product team tours adult diaper manufacturing facilities quarterly so that we can stay on top of trends, improvements, and technology.

This level of experience and expertise informs our recommendations. It allows us to focus on what matters to our customers—not just what product labels say.

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Our Adult Diaper Selection Criteria

When identifying a great incontinence product, we consider 3 criteria:

1. Popularity

There’s a reason a particular brand or style of adult diaper gets purchased more often and with greater regularity than other brands or styles: It works. Repeat purchases often indicate a good product that satisfies users and caregivers.

2. Ratings

Assessing actual product reviews from real customers allows us real-world insight into different incontinence products. Ratings grant us a type of information that can’t be gathered from sales data or laboratory data alone because they relate directly to users’ experience.

3. Lab Testing

Certified lab results provide information about absorbency and other important performance points. All incontinence products use lab testing, but not all lab testing is equal. We adhere to and follow strict guidelines and best practices in all our lab testing.

Lab Testing Criteria for Adult Diapers

Lab testing is crucial when it comes to creating and/or finding a great incontinence product. At Parentgiving, we follow test methods recommended by the National Association of Continence (NAFC) and EDANA, a global association of businesses working along the nonwovens—“innovative, high-tech, engineered fabrics made from fibers”—and related industries’ supply chains.

In addition, we have worked closely with SGS-IPS, a globally recognized testing organization specializing in paper, nonwovens, packaging, and consumer products industries.

Here are our testing categories:

1. Retention Capacity Under Pressure

This category refers to how much liquid can be retained in the absorbent core of an incontinence garment as pressure is applied in a centrifuge. The centrifuge emulates real-world user experience by mimicking the pressures incontinence garments come under from variables like body weight and body positioning to assess where leaks might occur adequately.

2. Rate of Acquisition (ROA)

Also called the Rate of Absorption, this category refers to how quickly and efficiently liquid is absorbed into a garment. For this category, the lower the number, the better the rate of acquisition. Why is Rate of Acquisition important? The faster liquid is absorbed, the less time skin is in contact with wetness, reducing skin irritation risks. Quick absorption also reduces the chance of leaks.

3. Rewet Rate

The Rewet Rate measures an incontinence garment’s ability to “dry” between incontinent episodes without changes. It measures how quickly the surface of a garment once again feels dry to the touch after an episode. Again, the lower the number in this category, the better the product.

How We Test

The Limitations of Total Absorption Capacity

When it comes to incontinence products, not all metrics are equal—or sufficient. For example, the most common way adult diapers are marketed is in relation to their Total Absorption Capacity, which is the amount of liquid a product can absorb. While useful information, judging a product based on Total Capacity alone is sorely lacking, because the metric has nothing to do with the pressures and realities of real-world use.

In order to more thoroughly test incontinence garments and products, we rely on a variety of industry standard tests that put adult diapers into contexts that mimic actual use by real human beings to see how they hold up. We also conduct our tests through through third-party labs in both Europe and here in the United States, to ensure independent and unbiased test results. The lab conducted testing on approximately 40 different incontinence products over the last 3 years, and updating results on new and improved products, according to the following criteria:

Testing Retention Capacity Under Pressure

The protocols followed in this test meet SGS-IPS standard WSP 70.10, the Centrifugal Liquid Retention Capacity Test (Dry Weight vs. Wet Spun Weight). To test each garment’s Retention Capacity Under Pressure, the lab team dunks each garment in water. The garment is then placed in a centrifuge. As the centrifuge spins, it removes liquid from the garment – upon completion of the centrifuge cycle, the product is then weighed with remnant liquid trapped in the core (the working portion of any diaper). The more water trapped in the core equates to greater absorbency and performance.

Additionally, the test measures whether or not the liquid that makes it into the absorbent core is “locked in” or not. When moisture is locked in, it not only reduces leaks and protects skin but also controls urine smell.

The test doesn’t just look at the core, however. It also measures liquid retention in the top sheet—which is the layer closest to the skin—and how well the leak guards perform. These raised barriers at the edge of incontinent garments force liquids back into the absorbent core to control leaks and contribute to better absorption. Without a doubt, higher quality materials and construction yield better Retention Capacity Under Pressure test scores.

TLDR: The Centrifugal Retention Capacity Under Pressure Test measures how much liquid an incontinence garment can absorb and “lock in” to its core. It also measures how effective the leak guards are and how well the material closest to the skin absorbs liquid to prevent chafing.

Testing Rate of Acquisition

Testing the Rate of Acquisition (ROA) follows the protocols set forth in SGS-IPS standard NWSP 70.9/IPS-T022, the Rate of Acquisition Test, and NWSP 570.9/IPS-T022. This test aims to measure the speed at which an incontinence product absorbs liquid, as well as the product’s ability to retain that liquid. To do this, a .9% saline solution is added at a prescribed rate to the garment. The length of time it takes for all of the liquid to penetrate it is then measured. Repeat doses are added, and the length of time it takes for each of these doses to penetrate the garment fully are also measured.

The lower the score, the better and faster the incontinence garment absorbs and retains liquid.

TLDR: The Rate of Acquisition Test measures how fast an incontinence product absorbs liquid and how well the product retains the absorbed liquid.

Testing the Rewet Rate

Testing the Rewet Rate is also defined in SGS-ISP standard NWSP 70.9/IPS-T022. Following the test for ROA, researchers place pre-weighed filter paper on top of the incontinence product that has already absorbed the .9% saline solution in the test described above. Next, a predefined and known weight meant to mimic body weight is carefully applied on top of the filter paper and the product being tested. After a predetermined amount of time, the filter paper is measured to determine the amount of liquid it has taken up. As is the case with the Rate of Acquisition, the lower the Rewet Rate score, the better the product.

A lower rewet rate usually correlates to a drier feel over the duration of wear time.

TLDR: The Rewet Rate Test measures how much liquid an incontinence product can absorb across multiple wetting incidents.

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The Anatomy of an Adult Diaper

Understanding the anatomy of an adult diaper can help in making the right selection for yourself or someone in your care. While all adult diapers share this basic anatomy, it’s important to remember that construction, material types, material quality, and other considerations affect performance.

Here are the components of a contemporary adult diaper or incontinence garment, as well as some considerations to remember when searching for a high-quality product.

The Top Sheet

An adult diaper’s top sheet is the first point of contact for any liquid. All top sheets are hydrophilic, which allows liquids to pass easily into the absorbent core. In addition to this quality, a good top sheet should also be resistant to breakdown so that none of the inner absorbent material is able to push out through the top sheet. In the best quality incontinence garments, the top sheet is exceptionally soft for more comfortable wear during extended wear times.

Acquisition Distribution Layer (ADL)

The ADL sits between the top sheet and the absorbent core. It assists in directing liquid toward the core and in distribution across the entire core area to maximize absorption and retention. It also acts as a liquid storage area until liquid is fully absorbed by the core, and it can also function as a barrier to protect against rewet.

The Absorbent Core

The absorbent core is the working part of any adult diaper. It’s where liquid is directed, absorbed, and retained.

What separates a great absorbent core from a cheap one? A lot.

Material Composition – Superabsorbent Polymers (SAP) vs. Fluff

Every core is made up of a combination of SAP—materials that can absorb up to 300 times their weight in fluid without subsequently releasing it, forming a gel—and Fluff—usually cellulose fibers. The Fluff provides softness, helps diffuse liquid throughout the core, and helps speed the Rate of Acquisition. The SAP provides absorption and retention, provides a feeling of dryness, and is space-saving, ensuring a less bulky product. It also assists in odor absorption.

The right balance of SAP and Fluff is essential in an incontinence garment, or channel blockages can occur. Too much SAP will yield a bulky and uncomfortable core. Too much Fluff means lower absorption and retention.

Construction

Great materials and design are only as good as the construction of the finished product. New and properly maintained machinery, as well as skilled operators and quality control, are essential in properly constructing products.

How does poor construction affect users? Whether it’s poor closure tape construction, too much or too little glue, or missing side anti-leak barriers, bad construction, and design can result in embarrassing leaks, lack of confidence, and unnecessary difficulty for users and caregivers alike.

Leak Guards

Leak guards are the elastic ruffles around the legs that force urine back up and into the core, and not all adult diapers have them. This feature—the absence of leak guards—is a telling distinction that separates great incontinence products from average and sub-par ones. Still, not all leak guards are of the same quality.

A high-quality leak guard will be made from excellent hydrophobic, nonwoven material. It should provide a high barrier and should not stick to the top sheet when the product is opened. Leak guards should also demonstrate good elastication that can follow the shape and movement of the body, including when the wearer is sitting still or lying down.

Breathability

Breathability is a quality that defines an adult diaper’s capabilities to allow perspiration to pass through materials so that skin can “breathe” better. Achieving good breathability is complex because backsheets must hold moisture in, while still allowing air to pass in and out of the garment as a whole. The best adult diapers utilize materials and construction methods that prioritize breathability.

Welded Seams, Waistbands, and Side Panels

Welded seams, waistbands, and side panels constitute much of the rest of an adult diaper, and their construction and composition affect everything from the garment’s performance and the wearer’s comfort to caregivers’ experience in changing them. Choosing an incontinence product that uses excellent materials, as well as ultrasonic seam welding (as opposed to thermical welding) will ensure the product works as intended.

Composition: Nonwovens

Nonwovens are—outside of the absorbent core—the primary reason any adult diaper works as intended. Made of natural or synthetic fibers that have been bonded together chemically, thermally, or mechanically rather than woven, they can be made up of a single layer or multiple layers of the same or different materials. They are used in a diverse range of industries that include cars and clothing. In incontinence products, the topsheet, backsheet or barrier, side panels, and more are all made out of nonwoven material that is polypropylene-based or polymer-based.

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Our Top Adult Diaper Picks

Best Protective Underwear

Protective underwear is a category of incontinence products best suited for individuals whose protection needs are minimal and who do not need much assistance in dressing, changing, or toileting. These products look and mimic regular underwear, so they can be worn under almost any type of regular clothing—including athletic wear and other form-fitting wear—without appearing conspicuous. For individuals with new or inconsistent incontinence issues, protective underwear are an ideal product to try.

Rate of Acquisition Test

Centrifuge Liquid Retention Capacity

Rewet Test