Stayfree Maxi Pads Versus Always Maxi Pads
I wear super pads, and I hate when companies unapologetically change the pads I’ve been accustomed to. Not only did Kotex redesign the packaging to a grotesque red chrysanthemum on the outside, the sticker cover has little red flowers all over it, which made them look very gross. In addition, suddenly after this new design, they LEAK! I decided to buy a package of Stayfree Maxi Pads and Always Maxi Pads to compare which pad I would start using. No more Kotex for me. And the red flowers-you have to be kidding. GROSS. They used to be muted blues and purples. Red flowers don’t look hygienic. They remind us how gross our period actually is.
So, let’s compare Always Maxi Pads to Stayfree Maxi Pads. I bought one package of each. The Always Maxi Pads are called Always Maxi Super. The Stayfree Maxi pads are called Stayfree Maxi Super. Both packages were $2.89 each. Stayfree Maxi Pads offers two types of super pads.
Stayfree Maxi Pads Super Advanced Protection pads do not have wings. The package is purple, and the pads are white with simple backs. They come in a purple sleeve. Stayfree Maxi Pads Super regular pads do have wings. The package is the standard royal blue, and the sleeves inside are pink. They seem to be lightly scented. There were sixteen pads in the package.
Always Maxi Pads Super come in a blue package with a window thorough which you can see the green sleeves around the pads. There were sixteen pads in the package. I am a bit offended that always is also using red on one of its products, which is distasteful, but for the supers, green is not a terrible color to deal with.
Unfolded, the pads look very different from each other. The Stayfree Maxi Pads are more quilted with their “four wall protection.” The Always Maxi Pads are a different weave pattern, and are made of a different fabric. The Always Maxi Pads were thinner than the Stayfree Maxi pads in both width across the pad and depth. The Always Maxi Pads appear to be longer. In addition, they were slightly longer than the Stayfree Maxi Pads. When you press down on the center of a Stayfree Maxi Pads, you can feel the density of the protective core. The Always Maxi Pads cores do not appear any denser.
The cut around the pads themselves is something to notice. The Stayfree Maxi Pads seemed to be cut better around the sides. It didn’t flounce up, and seemed to be quite straight and even. The Always Maxi Pads seem to be unevenly cut. They are also stiffer in texture and tend to have sharper edges than the Stayfree Maxi Pads.
One thing I liked about the Always Maxi Pads was that the tape strip cover was attached to the plastic sleeve. It was a swift movement and only one piece of trash. In addition, the tape over the wings was one piece, so it was really convenient. The Always Maxi Pads have the wings tabs on the top of the pad, and they are much simpler to deal with if you save applying the wings until last and don’t forget to do so. The blue print on the tape cover is nice, and it does not look gross or offensive.
The Stayfree Maxi Pads have three tape covers to remove; one per wing tab and the one along the back. In addition, the bottom pads in the package I purchased were stuck to the bottom of the bag. Someone in the Stayfree Maxi Pads factory should have caught this manufacturing goof up before I bought it. Now all the plastic sleeves must be ripped to get the pads out of the bottom of the bag. Very unsatisfactory.
The tape on the Stayfree Maxi Pads is in thin perpendicular lines. On the Always Maxi Pads, there are two solid patches of tape along the back, so it is a little more secure when it comes to shifting. The wings on the Stayfree Maxi Pads are flimsier than the ones on the Always Maxi pads and they don’t stay put. But the pad pretty well stays in place as it should, so it’s not a really big issue unless the wings start to rub your thighs.
As far as absorbency, the Stayfree Maxi Pads were superior. They took the wetness away quicker than the Always Maxi Pads, and they seemed to hold more, though I did not experiment with overfilling them. The Always Maxi Pads had a lower confidence for me, even though they were longer. They seemed to soak through much quicker and need changed more often. The Stayfree Maxi Pads did not leave me feeling self-conscious. The problem with the Stayfree Maxi Pads actually is that the cover material tends to pill immediately.
I tore up one each of the Always Maxi Pads and Stayfree Maxi Pads. Interestingly enough, the fibers of the Stayfree Maxi Pads were denser, tighter, thicker, and superior. The fibers of the Always Maxi Pads fell apart easier and could be pulled apart much more quickly. Stayfree Maxi Pads, the maxi pad my mother always used, is my new pad of choice. I like Always. They have a great texture, but I just can’t feel confident in them. My period is bad enough without having to worry about leaks.
In the end, Kotex told me the reason for their ucky new design was consumer response. My response was repulsion. They also told me the leakiness of their “new model” was a fluke to the package that I had bought. Kotex sent me coupons for free product to try to win me back. I tried them again. They leaked again. I never had Always Maxi Pads that leaked, I only had a lowered confidence in them for how quickly they needed changed. Stayfree Maxi pads are better than Kotex and I trust them more than Always. It may be the Always package I had purchased was inferior, and not all of their products are like the pads I had bought. This was a two package experiment, but for me the experiment is over.
