For many who are new to wearing diapers, they quickly find out that the store-bought products they try often end up leaking and not being absorbent enough. Alternatively, there may be a particular type of adult diaper you prefer to wear due to its look, feel, or fit that just isn’t absorbent enough for YOUR needs.
To make the diaper that you prefer to wear hold more there are many different types of booster pads you can use. A booster pad is an insert that you put into the diaper that will add extra absorbing capacity to it. They are made of an absorbent polymer core with a pass-through backing so that urine will easily pass through the pad into the diaper once the pad has reached its saturation point.
There are many different types of booster pads to choose from and a few things you should know about before making your decision. Luckily for you, I have tried many different kinds over the years so I can set you on the right path for your needs.
How Can I Make My Diaper Hold More?
If you need to wear diapers all the time it is important to find the products that work right for you. There are a number of factors for you to consider to achieve the level of comfort you like.
The most important of which is whether or not it is going to be able to contain what you need it to contain.
So if you have a specific product you prefer to wear due to how it looks or feels but you keep experiencing leaks you can always try adding a booster pad to it.
A good lineup of booster pads will come available in multiple different measurements and sizes.
Most booster pads are usually designed so that they can easily fit down the center of a diaper right between the leg guards.
Since there are many different types of incontinence products that people can use generally a good lineup of booster pads will come available in multiple different measurements and sizes.
The Northshore EternaDry is a great example of this. Below you’ll find a table laying out all the available pad sizes, their bag count, their price per bag as well as per pad.
| Measurements | Quantity | Price | Price Per Pad |
| (X-Small) 10″x 3.5″ | 30 ct | $10.99 | $0.36 |
| (Small) 11.5″ x 4″ | 30 ct | $12.99 | $0.43 |
| (Medium) 14″ x 5″ | 30 ct | $17.50 | $0.58 |
| (Large) 16″ x 6″ | 30 ct | $20.99 | $0.69 |
| (X-Large) 20″ x 10″ | 12 ct | $12.99 | $1.08 |
| (2XL) 27″ x 10.5″ | 10 ct | $12.99 | $1.29 |
This table shows the lowest quantity you can get of each size. Just like with any other type of incontinence product, if you buy a whole case that will help to reduce the cost per product.
I highly advise always starting with a bag first so you’re not stuck with a whole case of something you don’t want to use. This is true of diapers too. (when you can’t get free samples to try)
You can also easily see the variety of sizes there are to choose from. The length and width get progressively larger with each step up until you get to the X-Large and 2XL sizes.
These particular types of booster pads are basically like having A WHOLE EXTRA DIAPER inside of your diaper.
While the rest of the options sit nicely in between the leg guards these options go over them. They are basically a large booster pad in the shape of a diaper offering extra padding all the way around.
For a quick and easy comparison, I’ve collected the same metrics on the Tranquility Top Liner Booster Pads into the next table. This way we can quickly and easily compare the price per pad of similar-sized pads offered.
| Measurements | Quantity | Price | Price Per Pad |
| 10.5″ x 2.75″ | 25 | $15.54 | $0.62 |
| 14″ x 4″ | 25 | $13.75 | $0.55 |
| 15″ x 4.25″ | 25 | $9.81 | $0.39 |
| 21.5″ x 13.5″ | 12 | $9.98 | $0.83 |
| 32″ x 14″ | 12 | $13.75 | $1.15 |
(Prices may vary over time. Please click the provided links to see current prices on Amazon)
When it comes to comparing the offerings of Tranquility Booster Pads VS Northshore’s they both offer a similar range of products. Northshore did one up Tranquility though by making 4 different levels of pads that can fit nicely between leg guards.
They are all also a bit wider as well. This basically means they will absorb slightly more.
I’m actually surprised to see by comparing the two tables above to each other that Northshore is actually cheaper per pad than Tranquility is.
This could be due to the fact that I had to source the Tranquility prices on Amazon and the prices there can vary depending on the reseller of the product.
So be sure to check the links in the table above to see the pricing on amazon if you’re interested in how much they currently are.
Next up we have Abena Booster Pads.
| Measurements | Quantity | Price | Price Per Pad |
| Normal 15″ x 5.5″ | 28 | $14.99 | $0.54 |
| Abena Boost 24″ x 6″ | 20 | $19.93 | $1.00 |
| XL 22.75″ x 6.25″ | 20 | $12.39 | $0.62 |
Abena’s selection of booster pads has been slimmed down over the years. While their booster pad lineup was originally under the Abri-Let pads series of products they have it seems that these days they primarily offer the Abena Boost.
I do recall a time where they had a variety of sizes of booster pads just like Tranquility and Northshore. While the sizes you see in the table above are available on Amazon it is not clear if they are all still being manufactured.
Abena has been known to change their product selection from time to time. It’s also very possible I might be misremembering what products they have offered over the years.
Another booster pad I highly recommend as it is what I use regularly myself is the Livanew XL Booster Pads.
These are 23″ x 11″ and cost $12.65 for a bag of 12 pads. That comes to about $1.05 per pad.
This particular pad is much wider than the 6 inches I was concerned about earlier but it also folds at the seams allowing you to make sure that it folds into the leg guards creating a channel down the middle of the pad.
I actually demonstrate just that in this video.
When I asked my audience what booster pads they used they were all booster pads from the tables above with the exception of a few specialty types of products.
There is a website and company called AB Universe that makes booster pads called “Power Up” booster pads. Those seem quite popular but I’ve never actually tried those myself.
I have tried Tranquility, Abena, and LivANew booster pads and they all are pretty great. Northshore has a stellar reputation and I have a lot of respect for them as a company.
Even though I’ve never tried their booster pads myself I’m sure they are great quality and worth trying out.
In fact, I can actually say the same thing about AB Universe. Even though I don’t have as much, or really any, familiarity with the products I have had some interactions with the people who work there and they are really great people.
They are people who really care about the quality of their products and the experience of their customers. We will cover ABDL diapers in more depth in other areas of the site as even if you don’t like how they look they often are superior quality products.
Can You Double Diaper Instead of Using Booster Pads?
If you are in a situation where you have a cheap package of diapers that aren’t absorbent enough on their own you might be wondering if it’s okay to double diaper.
As one who has used these products for many years, and tried double diapering many times, IT CAN BE DONE SUCCESSFULLY. I personally don’t recommend it as any sort of regular practice to adopt as you are far better off spending the extra money on better products.
It can be done though in those tight situations where you find you need to or you just don’t want to let a product go to waste. Like when you have some sort of tape failure shortly after putting it on.
The key thing to remember is to slice openings into the outer layer of the diaper so that way the urine can pass through it into the next layer of padding. This is usually done with the use of an exacto knife or a pair of scissors.
Through this approach, you can double or even triple diaper yourself if you wanted to.
While it is certainly possible to do, I really advise against it if you can avoid it. Having multiple layers of plastic encasing your skin won’t be very good for it.
Especially when you can get the same effect with good quality diapers and the booster pads listed in the tables above.
Beyond that it’s a waste of material, it’s bad for the environment, and if those aren’t motivation enough, quite costly to the wallet!
We have a ton of great options available to us today and in the long run, it’s much cheaper to buy the more expensive products as you will use less of them.