Flip Trainer Review
I love cloth trainers like the Flip Trainer for potty training. While we are mostly successful with bladder control, my sons do have an occasional accident. With regular underwear, this means taking a whole new outfit in our diaperbag, changing clothes in a bathroom stall and carrying around soiled clothing until we get home.
Not with a cloth trainer! With a trainer the outer layer is waterproof. This means that pants stay protected and all I need to change is the trainer. With the flip cloth potty training pants, I only need to change the insert and the shell gets used several times. Both practical and economical!
As a Mom to 4 boys, ages 5 and under, I’ve had lots of gentle potty training experience. I cloth diaper 3 of my 4 babies and knew that cloth trainers were the best transition from diapers. They give more protection then regular underwear and come in many of the cute prints that cloth diapers do. In fact, many cloth trainers are made by cloth diaper companies I love. I’m excited to share this Flip Cloth Trainer with you! From the cottonbabies line of products, if you love BumGenuis, Econobums and Flip diapers then you’ll love the Flip Trainer. Check it out here:
I was gifted a set of econobum prefolds and covers when my second son was 8 months old and dove into pockets shortly after. Bum Genuis 4.0 diapers were our first pockets. When I started thinking about cloth trainers, I thought about cottonbabies and was excited to try the flip trainer. This training pant comes with lots of bells and whistles. Features include removable and adjustable side panels, adjustable rise snaps and an organic cotton removable insert that is held in place by velcro. In addition, the trainer functions like a cloth diaper shell and can be used multiple times before washing. This means that our diaper bag is a bit lighter. My son wears the trainer and I simply carry a few replacement pads for light leaks. While not as absorbent as our cloth diapers, this trainer does allow for a bit more accident then some of our other brands that are only for teeny tiny leaks. Take a look at our sample from Green Mountain Diapers here:
(Pinterest Image Below)
Below you can see the flip cloth trainer compared to the Bum Genius 4.0 I mentioned earlier. This is a well loved diaper and the elastic has relaxed a bit compared to when it was new. Both items are open all the way, the rise snaps are not being used. However, as you can see the flip trainer is still longer and more narrow in the cut. In addition, if you compare the wings, the flip wings are much longer and make up for the difference in distance with the front panel. The fit under clothing is far more trim with the trainer compared to the diaper. In addition, just like with the pocket, less or more absorbency can be used with the trainer. You can use one or several pads, add boosters and it’s all easy to change in a flash. However, while we haven’t had a bowel accident in these I imagine the whole diaper may need to be changed.
Overall impression. This trainer is aimed at fitting babies 20-50 pounds however it feels trim on my 42 pound toddlers. While the depth/crotch of the trainer has some room, the side panels feel tight and I hope to make it to 50 pounds because this really is a great system! While I initially thought this wouldn’t pull up and down easily, it does! In addition, the velcro at the front and back of the diaper hold the removable pad in place well. It took a few times, but my son can pull it up and down easily even in public. This comes in a really great range of colors and prints and the wings can be completely removed and changed. I opened up my sons’ underwear draw this morning and he grabbed the trainer and said “I want to wear this!” That makes me happy.
The features to this system are impressive. With all of the trainers, cottonbabies reports that you have over 200 look options. In addition to the organic cotton pads seen here, you can also use the flip disposable inserts from their flip diapering system. Shop the colors, inserts and a huge line of products from Green Mountain Diapers, home of the workhorse and legendary GMD prefolds. Make sure to read about the best books for potty training to help you along in your journey. Thanks for stopping by!
I like the design behind this trainer – being able to change inserts and make shells last longer. It’s especially ideal during the phase when they aren’t having #2 accidents anymore, because then there aren’t any messes to worry about on the shell.
BTW, love your fun new blog look! The social buttons weren’t working for me this morning, but now they are! Thanks!! – Anne
Great review! These look wonderful and I’d love to try them for my 3yr old…if he ever decides he’s interested in learning to use the toilet. Sigh.
Thank you for the great review.
That was a great review. I’m new to trainers and honestly wasn’t sure what made them different from a cloth diaper. I’d love to try these with my 2 yo who is starting to use the potty. I like that she could pull them down but unsnap them if she hasn’t a #2 accident!
These look great! I wish I’d have known about them when my daughter was in trainers. Thanks for sharing.
These look fantastic for kids to be able to pull up and down themselves as they learn to be independent and use the potty!
I love that its a trim fit personally!! But I have such a lean son that trim is always better for us!! I love that it is easy to use and pull up and down!!
I’d love to try one of these. We stopped using cloth diapers and now I’ve been putting them back on my 2.5yr old for potty training time. I have homemade diapers, gDiapers and some generic store brand of cloth training underwear. Crossing my fingers we win, because a new special one will encourage my son to want to keep it clean!! 😀
I have some Best Bottom trainers that I like but i like that these have side snaps
I’m glad I read this! My almost 2 year old will be potty training soon and I’ve been wondering what I should use! Thank you. Definitely going to have to see about getting some flip trainers for him. It seems like a great system.
I love the removable side tabs and the Velcro for the liners! I didn’t even consider Flip for trainers. Thanks a bunch!!
Great review! I love the way they look like big kid underwear but still kinda diaper like!
Thanks for the review, it was very timely! We may be entering PT soon at 19 months, 22 lbs. I’m glad that this option can fit now and be flexible in the future.
Thanks for the great review. I like how trim this is, it looks even trimmer than standard pullups. Perfect trainer, and I like that you just have to take along inserts instead of spare clothes.
We have started potty training our 21 month old and these are the only cloth trainers we own. I do like them and like how they look (more than big boy undies lol). i will say I find them a bit hard to pull on and off (we live in sweaty west Africa) but I feel much more confident taking my guy out in these then just regular undies. We still give our son options of big boy undies or trainers especially if he is tired or just drank a lot. He will choice these – loves the one we have with orange sides (his favorite color) and I am glad I can just change the pad for him to wear them again even if he has an accident
Great review! I love how you’re so detailed. Definitely interested in trying these out!
I love the idea of cloth training pants! I never got a chance to use training pants of any type with my daughter, she just decided she was done using diapers. I have a feeling we won’t be so lucky with my son though!
I’d love to try these on my toddler! I like that they work like a diaper shell, and you can change the insert out. Anything to help make potty training a bit easier.
I think my favorite feature is the Velcro that keeps the liners in place. That’s awesome for busy little humans lol