So as the title asks… why so much extra material? I’d assume that it’s so it can fit a wide range of waists?
Anyway, my main complaint is regardless of size (currently trying abena M4s) there’s so much extra. For example there’s like an inch of extra plastic above my tapes that just sorta flap there and don’t do anything but be uncomfortable! Am I just doing it wrong?
Using this image as ref, o I’ve the tapes there’s the extra material and the material that’s tucked in under the tapes often moves around on me
How to Put On a Diaper
This article will show you on how to put on a diaper, something a lot of us older members scoff at, but also something that can be very tricky for the first time padded explorer. It will also show how to diaper someone else, in case you make very close AB/DL friends. Stuff You’ll Need…
Generally, I think the extra material is there as you said to provide a fit for a wide variety or sizes. If the extra material bothers you, you could always do what I do and fold it down when diapering. If I have extra material on the rise of the diaper I usually fold it down a little to decrease the overhang of extra material. As for the wings, once you tape the lower tapes try to stuff/flatten the extra material under the rear wing of the diaper. Hope this helps.
That isn’t “extra” material. It’s thee for a reason. You can’t have the padding extend right up to the edge of the diaper or you will be about guaranteed to leak over the top. The plastic also need to be able to stretch or bunch up with the elastic. If you had padding right under the elastic then it wouldn’t be able to stretch at all.
Now there may be some extra material on the sides, but as you guessed that is needed for fittng a wider range of waist sizes. Even so, you still need the sides to overlap by at least an inch or two minimum. This is so any pee that runs to the front side will be directed towards the back side. Without that overlap you will leak from the sides.
If the “extra” material bothers you, then you can easily tuck it in. Both at the waist and around the legs. This has the added bonus of creating a sort of damn that will redirect any potential leaks back towards the padding.
I am pretty sure the extra material is there to seal in the pad of the diaper from leaking out when laying down. I know some people that just fold it in without issue. I have also folded it down to keep my diaper from peeking at times. Also on some diapers that is where the waistband would be.
The short, short answer as to why these issues exist is that there are too few sizes of adult diaper.
There.
The vast majority of adults, for all their various body shapes and sizes, are crammed into only 2-3 sizes of adult diaper, versus 8-10 sizes for children, depending on how you count. Consequently, whereas diapers for children are trim-fitting with their stretchy, single-tabbed wings, adults are given oversized wings with no elastic and extra tabs that basically say, “We don’t know how this thing is going to fit you. You figure it out.” The comparison between diapering a child and diapering an adult is, consequently, somewhat like the difference between putting on normal shoes and putting on roller skates.
Diapers don’t need to fit as well as say, pants. They’ve usually got support holding them up (pants) and a “sloppy looking” fit doesn’t necessarily impact performance. For a business, reducing the number of models of product they have to stock on the shelves lowers their costs, and the same is true of manufacturers and distributors. So they’re only going to make as many different models as they have to.