Bamboo, hemp or microfibre inserts for pocket nappies: which does what?

What does a pocket insert actually do?

Which? describes a pocket nappy as similar to an all-in-one, but with a pouch you stuff with a fabric insert. Wealden and Edinburgh say the same: the shell is waterproof; the pad inside is what holds wee. The UK Nappy Network glossary treats inserts as the absorbent parts that come with some nappies, and boosters as optional extras you add when you need more hold. West London Waste lists booster fibres as bamboo, cotton or microfibre.

This page is insert type for pockets and for boosting an all-in-one. It is not a wash-odour, detergent or compression-leak guide.

Which fibre is faster, and which holds more?

Which? overnight section is the line most UK parents meet: extra-absorbent boosters made from hemp or bamboo hold more liquid than microfibre or cotton. Real Nappies for London’s material paragraph is the same ranking in different words: hemp and bamboo are the most absorbent and take longer to dry; cotton sits in the middle; microfibre dries fastest and is less absorbent. Edinburgh’s pocket page names microfibre or bamboo as the usual stuffed insert pair.

• Daytime / short stretch. Microfibre’s selling point in those summaries is speed: it wets up quickly and is back on the airer sooner. That is why budget pockets often ship with a microfibre pad.
• Longer stretch or night. Which? points to hemp or bamboo when you want more hold. Real Nappies for London calls bamboo and hemp boosters particularly useful at night or for a heavy wetter.
• Slimness. Clean Cloth Nappies’ glossary (competitor jargon page, used here only for fibre labels) describes hemp as absorbent and relatively slim. A hemp booster under a bamboo pad is a common UK stuffing pattern; it is a bulk choice, not a safety rating.
• Mixed stuffing. You can pair a fast layer with a slow layer — microfibre deep in the pocket, bamboo or hemp nearer the lining — so the shell stays thin at the start of the day and the natural fibre does the holding.

Which? also names compression leaks — tight vests squeezing wee out like a sponge — as a fit-and-clothing issue, not a fibre ranking. That belongs on a leak page. Fibre choice does not cancel a too-tight sleepsuit.

Should microfibre sit against the skin?

Clean Cloth Nappies’ glossary states a use rule, not a product-safety verdict: microfibre is a synthetic, highly absorbent insert fibre that should not be placed directly against the baby’s skin. The same glossary lists stay-dry linings (microfleece / suedecloth) as the face fabrics that wick. UK Nappy Network’s liner entry is the Network’s version: polyester fleece and suedecloth are the stay-dry next-to-skin options; the absorbent insert sits behind them.

On a pocket that already has a stay-dry inner, the microfibre pad is meant to live in the pouch, under that lining. If you lay a naked microfibre insert into an AI2 or onto a cotton-faced nappy, you have put the fast fibre on the skin — the situation CCN’s rule is about. Natural-fibre inserts (bamboo, hemp, cotton) are the ones those glossaries treat as able to be the face layer, though many still sit behind a stay-dry lining.

This is a placement rule from a widely cited glossary, not a MayTally safety judgement and not a rash diagnosis. NHS changing advice for skin is still regular changes, front-to-back cleaning, and nappy-free time.

How do people stuff a pocket for day versus night?

Which? says most parents see at least one overnight leak with any nappy type, and that the usual reusable answer is the right mix of boosters and outer. It does not crown one fibre as an overnight product. Real Nappies for London puts bamboo and hemp boosters on the night / heavy-wetter list. Edinburgh’s pocket advantage is that you can change the insert to match the baby.

1. Day: one fast insert (often the microfibre pad the pocket arrived with), fully inside the pouch, stay-dry lining facing the baby.
2. Longer day out: add a thin hemp or bamboo booster in the same pouch, still behind the lining.
3. Night: Which? / Real Nappies for London point to hemp or bamboo for hold; many UK night stuffings drop the microfibre face and use natural-fibre pads only, still inside the pocket.
4. Unstuff before the wash so the shell and the slow fibres can dry apart — Edinburgh’s reason pockets dry faster than sewn all-in-ones.

In shortUse microfibre for speed, inside the pocket. Use bamboo or hemp when you want more hold and can wait longer for the dry. Cotton sits between them. CCN’s use rule: microfibre is not a next-to-skin layer. Which? and Real Nappies for London agree on the hold ranking; they do not publish millilitre scores for a named insert.