Snap vs Hook and Loop ClosuresThere
are number of cloth diaper options out there. For new cloth diapering
parents, one of the major choice options is whether to go with snaps or
hook and loop closures. Both of these have their own pros and cons and
I’ll break it down here to help you choose what will work best for you
and your baby.
Snap closure
What is a snap closure?
These
are the type of cloth diapers with several metal (or plastic) snaps pinned around
the front closure of the diaper. The snaps are then locked to
secure the cloth diaper.
Advantages
• Durability
Cloth
diapers with snap closures can go a long way. There are many parts of a
diaper (elastics or PUL) that can wear out sooner than the metal snap.
Metal snaps lasts years. You can’t go wrong with metal snaps when it
comes to durability.
• Secure fit
Cloth
diaper with snaps cannot be easily removed by babies. When your baby
becomes older, stronger and smarter, she will try to take off the diaper
for fun. It’s super easy to unhook the hook/loop closure. But with
snap, it takes a little more strength and cleverness to take it off.
However, this won’t be much of an issue if your child is wearing clothes
on top of the diaper. It’s more of an issue if you just want your baby
to run around the house with wearing just diaper.
Disadvantages
• Effortful
While
disposable diapers are almost effortless to use, it takes a little bit
of effort to use cloth diapers with snap closures. Despite such great
durability, snaps are my husband’s least favorite option, as he is often
confused as to which snap goes where. It takes few more seconds to
snap-snap than to just stick the hook and loop closure.
• Not ideal for changing diapers in the middle of the night
Snap
closure is not the ideal diaper to use when you wake up in the middle
of the night for a diaper change. It’s hard to see where the snaps
should go in darkness. You need some of light to be able to change the
cloth diapers with snaps.
The bottom line
My
friend, a seasoned cloth diapering mom, prefers snap closure. She
doesn’t find them to be that much more hassle than hook and loop
closure. She loves the fact that they last a long time. Having cloth
diapered for almost two years, she definitely prefers snaps over hook
and loop closure. Her snap diapers are still working strong, as oppose
to hook and loop diapers that have tabs that just wore out.
Hook and Loop Closure
What is a hook and loop closure?
Hook
and Loop closure (aka Aplix or Velcro) has gripping texture to fasten
two tabs together. Aplix and Velcro are both trademark names that are
not used unless Aplix and Velcro products are used in manufacturing the
cloth diaper. In general, the term “hook and loop” closure is preferred
choice of description for most cloth diapers.
 
Advantages
• Easy to Use
Hook
and snap closure is as convenient as using disposable diapers. It is
preferred by new moms, grandparents, daycare providers, babysitters, and
husbands like mine. All you do is to stick the tabs onto the diaper
and that’s it! My husband had no problems changing diapers with Hook
and Loop closure.
• Quick diaper change
This
is the best type to use for quick diaper changes. Though it’s only few
seconds of difference compare to snap closure - those few seconds is
precious when you have a crying baby struggling with diaper change. All
of my babies despised diaper changes. As soon as I would lay them
down, they would wiggle, whimper, cry, and turn. Sometimes, I had to
change the diaper with my baby standing up. So, whatever I can do to
make this miserable diaper changing fast as possible, I’m all for it.
Disadvantages
 • Less durable One
major issue of hook and loop closures is durability. After many wash
and dry, the hook and loop will lose its gripping strength. The tiny
loops will fade after a few months of washing, gripping will not be so
easy anymore. That means that your cloth diapers may stay loose and can
easily be out of place, especially if worn by active babies.
Every
year, manufacturers are doing their best to come up with better, longer
lasting, gripping hook and loop closure. My old version of bumGenius
cloth diaper lasted at least a year (considering that I washed it almost
every other day). Even after two years, it was still usable as long as
I place pants on top of it to prevent the tab from moving. For some
crafty mothers, when the hook/loop wears out, they would place metal
snaps on the diapers to extend its life.
• Not laundry-friendly
Hook
and loop closure seems to sticks to everything during laundry. Even
the brand new diapers with the laundry tabs have some issues. Somehow
the tab will undo itself from the laundry tab and stick to something
else. You will end up with chains of diapers with tabs sticking to
another diaper.
 • Prone to lintWhether
you laundry your cloth diapers or you simply use them on your baby, it
somehow catches lint and small debris along the way. Foreign things
stuck on it can reduce its gripping strength. Thought not often, I
would find myself taking out the lint from the tabs after laundry. Hook
and loop closure takes a bit of maintenance.
• Easy to remove
If
hook and snap closures are easy to put on, they are easy to remove too,
which can be a disadvantage. Babies can remove them without effort.
When my baby figured out that taking of the hook/loop closure is fun
thing to do, I found a solution to this. I always put pants on her! If
she’s wearing clothes on top of her diaper, she simply didn’t have
desire to undo her hook and loop closure.
The Bottom Line
Hook
and snap closures are very easy to use. It is the preferred choice for
new moms and husbands too. They are fast and effortless to put on your
child that makes them great for quick diaper changes and for night
diaper changing. Although hook and closures do have some minor issue on
durability and maintenance, they are over-all great cloth diapers for
moms who want to try cloth diapering for the first time or for those who
want an effortless diaper change every time.
Conclusion
My
recommendation? Try both! Whichever cloth diaper closure type you
choose, you will sometimes love them or hate them, depending on the
situation you are in. Even if you found that you love snaps better, you
will find yourself using hook and loop cloth diaper at times. You may
find that snaps are hassle and love the convenience of hook and loop.
You may not like it today, but you may like it tomorrow. Buy both and
use whatever is the most appropriate and convenient for every
situation. For example, you can use snap closures during the day and
hook and closure during the night for quick diaper changes.
What
do I like better? This is a hard question. I liked the hook and loop
closure for convenience in the beginning. But I did get disappointed on
how it wore out eventually whereas the snap never wore out (how can
it?). I liked the snap towards the end of cloth diapering season.
Which
diapers are sold more? Snap closure. This is because most cloth
diapering parents are seasoned users who care more about how long they
can use the cloth diaper rather than convenience.
I
hope my run down or pros and cons of snaps and hook and loop closures
can help you choose the best cloth diaper for you and your baby. Happy
cloth diapering!
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