Grovia O.N.E. Review – The Kickstarter Cloth Diaper

When I saw the Kickstarter campaign for an innovative new cloth diaper last October, I couldn’t resist reading more. I wasn’t the only person intrigued by this idea of an accessible diaper concept. The Grovia O.N.E. Kickstarter Campaign met its $28,000 goal in just 4 days and surpassed their stretch goal of $60,000 in 30. This new diaper especially excited me for 3 primary reasons:

1. Snaps and aplix closures options in one diaper.
2. No prep materials.
3. Included booster.

I contributed to the campaign and had the chance to choose a single diaper. When I saw the pattern options, I immediately wished I’d ordered more. How could I choose between the whales (I’m from Seattle!), the brilliantly colored orange Koi, or the yellow dandelions? I liked the color options (except white), but I go for a fabulous print over a solid any day! I loved the Ur the O.N.E. print when it arrived, but I was thrilled to try the Koi as well. Koi is definitely a print you have to see in person to truly appreciate and I can’t wait to pair it with t-shirts all summer long.

The O.N.E. has eight features that combine to make it one of the easiest diapers on the market to use and care for straight out of package. The O.N.E. is an everyman’s diaper, intended to cut through confusion and eliminate the need to choose between features. In this respect, the diaper is highly successful – no prep, easy to use, versatile. While I like the O.N.E. and use it regularly, I actually found that I prefer the Grovia Hybrid in regards to fit and inserts. Here’s a breakdown of our experience with the diaper using snaps and aplix:

Fabric

The Grovia O.N.E. is an All-in-One (AIO) diaper that needs to be washed after each use. This means that, unlike the Grovia Hybrid, there is no need to buy a shell and inserts separately. The diaper itself has an outer PUL layer, a hidden absorbency layer, and an incredibly soft cotton inner. Each O.N.E. comes with one super-soft cotton-jersey soaker and a booster. The booster can be used alone on the small rise setting or snapped into the soaker for additional absorbency on the medium or large setting.

Dual Closure System

This is my favorite feature of the diaper in theory, but I find it less exciting in practice, primarily due to fit. Each O.N.E. comes as your traditional snap closure diaper, with cross-over tabs. The diaper also comes with aplix that snaps onto the existing snaps on the front of the diaper and the tabs. I like the fit with snaps, but prefer aplix to get a more exact fit on trimmer babies. This is very minor, but the soft side of the aplix will also show when using snaps on a larger baby.

The aplix itself is sticky and has remained so through washing, a huge plus for any aplix diaper. My biggest issue is the extra bulk the snapped-on aplix creates at the waist. It lays down well, considering the extra snaps added at the waist to attach the velcro, but I don’t like the look as much. I also removed the aplix before washing (as recommended) and found it inconvenient to snap back into place later. I simply grabbed the diaper from the laundry basket and used as-is, ignoring the aplix option.

Inserts

The O.N.E. inserts are designed to absorb without prepping and they proved very absorbent. I like how they only snap in one way and remain snapped in the wash. This means there’s no stuffing or collecting inserts in order to reuse the diaper. The channeled design also directs moisture into the absorbent core of the pad. I liked these soakers, but missed the unique curved design of the Grovia Hybrid’s soakers. I actually found that the soaker alone on the medium setting provided enough absorbency for night time – a big plus! When it comes to washing, these soakers take extra time to dry, but I’ve found this to be true of most absorbent soakers.

Fit

I like the fit of the O.N.E., but often find that the insert needs to be tucked in at the legs. The insert also folds down in the front to get a good medium fit on our baby, creating extra bulk. Combine this with the aplix closure option, and you are definitely sacrificing trimness for convenience.That being said, our O.N.E. diapers have worked well, with only minor leaks as we tweaked the fit.

Overall Impression

The Grovia O.N.E. cloth diaper is thoughtfully made and would make an excellent choice for many families. No need to choose between closures, figure out a complicated wash routine (you can even bleach it), or buy extra inserts. It also has some fabulous prints and comes from one of the most trusted cloth diaper companies in the industry.

Have you tried the Grovia O.N.E.? Which pattern is your favorite? Curious about the features of the Grovia Hybrid? Find my review here.