Review: GladRags Re-Usable Pads with Contest

Obviously from the title you may get a clue that I'm going to talk about feminine hygiene and I realize not everyone wants to hear about that, if you don't you are more than welcome to click back to google.com and search for something else.

For those sticking around you will be privy to more personal info, a review on the pads and have a chance to win a sample pack ($88 value).

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Gladrags contacted me because they had read my interest in saving on household expenses and that I wanted to give them a try but I hadn't yet crossed that bridge. My main concern was that my heavy flow would be too much for the material and produce an embarrassing situation.

Gladrags sent three different sizes for me to try out, they sent one each of the pantyliner, day pads and night pad. Each one came in cellulose, a plant-based compostable material, inside a box.

My first 2 1/2 days are very heavy flow days, usually I wear an overnight pad through the course of these days to make sure there are no leaks. I do not wear tampons and they are very uncomfortable to me, but overnights work fine for these first couple of days. Since I had one night pad from them I knew it wouldn't last too long and did have my back up pads for changing during this experiment.

The overnight pad worked very well and I felt covered and leak proof. However, when I needed to change the pad out, I was glad I was home and not at work, so that I could clean it and toss it into the washer as I would have needed to grab one of the sacks in the stall to take it home with me.
I'm sure that may not be all that bad of an idea for those that have children in cloth diapers, but it is a mental challenge I will have to get used to with these pads.

The other two sizes worked perfect for the remaining part of the flow as it is pretty much light to non-existent the final 2 days and I could wear it the entire day without worry. The day pad was a pocket style that you put a liner in and the pantyline was simply, a liner - They were all cotton flannel material, though they do have some organic, undyed material as well.

Overall here are my thoughts on the trial period, both pro and con and even some of the con will just take some getting used to or figuring out ways to handle it.

PRO:
Ultra comfortable - I didn't feel like I was wearing a diaper or that the pad was rubbing, like many of the commercial pads to. Sometimes I even forgot I was wearing it.

Absorption - They really do hold a lot more than I thought, especially the day pad and pantyliner.

Personalizing - My pads came in different colors and that was nice in comparison to boring white ones, plus the coloring disguised some of the blood, so it wasn't such a contrast.

Snaps- All the pads came with metal snaps to hold them in place and I didn't feel the snaps at all.

Durable - After washing them I was curious how well the seems would stay and the material hold up, no problems ....and no stains

CON:
Changing them - I have to still get used to the idea that I need to carry a plastic bag (I didn't have their waterproof bag) with me if I am out when I change them, so I can bring them home to soak.


Soaking - I didn't have any bucket prepared to soak them in, so soap and cold water was used on them right away before washing them

Limited inserts - With the night pads I wish I could have added two inserts and spread them out a bit more to spread out the thickness instead of just the center of the pad where the 'holder' was.

Pricing - This can be a shocker at first, but when you buy a larger quantity the price per pad does goes down and if you figure out the math in what you are buying for commercial pads it should work out as a savings over the long term.

I would give the product a B+ overall and some of that is slightly biased from my own "ewww" factor in getting used to them. But comfort, absorption, durability and them staying in place, a solid A+.
They have a handy 'frequently asked questions' area if you have questions I may not have answered - Gladrags FAQ
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So how do you get your own to try out? Gladrags is offering a sample kit to one random person who comments below with your favorite product of theirs.

RULES:
1. Go to Gladrags.com and look over the products (they have more than pads)
2. Come back here to comment with one product you would like to try
3. Please make sure you have an email in your blogger id or you link your name to an email address or I won't be able to contact you if you are anonymous and I won't be able to contact you.
4. I will draw a random number based from the number of comments and contact that person
5. The contest ends and comments close February 18th 10pm EST/8pm MST time

Best of luck!

For more Gladrags info - they have:
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