Huggies Little Snugglers Review

Little Snugglers diaper is the upgrade model of the three Huggies varieties, with a price higher than Snug & Dry, but below Huggies green diaper Pure & Natural/; It has a slightly above average price, boasts a soft outer cover, breathable sides, and specially designed leg cuffs for baby's little legs. It is widely available, and comes in sizes of newborn to size 2 (with larger sizes being called Little Movers). Diapers like Huggies, and their main competitor Pampers, have a perceived quality due in large part to brand recognition and popularity.

Performance Comparison

Given the brand name popularity of Huggies, and the perceived value of the diaper, we felt Snugglers would test better than it did. It scored a 4 of 10 in our absorption tests and earned an average of 5 for leaks. Both the absorption and leak scores were lacking. However, it seemed to score similar to diapers in its price range. Kirkland Signature Supreme had the exact same scores and was somewhat cheaper. Nurtured by Nature, a green diaper, earned a 5 in both metrics and scored higher for health. But our Editors' Choice, BAMBO Nature scored an impressive 9 for absorption in our tests and 7 for leaks, and it also had great eco/health scores with a 8 for both. All of which made it a better choice over Snugglers.

The absorption test for Snugglers (left) versus BAMBO Nature(right) are shown above. The larger green area indicates more surface moisture; less green indicates better absorption.

The leak score continued to be average in our tests with a score of 5. It did score better than the similarly priced green diaper, Seventh Generation Free & Clear, which received a score of 2, and Pampers Swaddlers which scored a 4 of 10. Huggies Pure & Natural scored lower with a 3; indicating that at least for Huggies brands, Little Snugglers did well by comparison. Earth's Best Tender Care scored significantly better with a 9 of 10, and it got a 6 for absorption, which made it better in both categories than Snugglers; with a green component, and a slightly higher price, it is hard to choose Little Snugglers over Earth's Best.

Comfort and Durability

Little Snugglers highest scores were in our comfort and durability tests. While these metrics are important, we felt they were not as important and absorption and leaks, or even health. So while scoring higher in these categories, with a 7 of 10 for both is a good thing, and it helped improve the overall score of Snugglers, we wished these scores had shown up in other test categories.

Little Snugglers earned a 4 out of 5 for the overall softness of the materials used, and it gained points for friendly back and side elastic, as well as being breathable. Overall, it appeared more comfortable when compared to the other diapers we tested. In its price range, Snugglers scored higher than other diapers for comfort. The two closest diapers in score for the price range, were Kirkland Signature Supreme with a score of 5, and Huggies Pure & Natural which earned a 6 of 10 for comfort. The lowest priced diaper, and last year's Best Value, Up & Up received a 6 of 10 score, putting it just lower than Little Snugglers for comfort; it was also cheaper with the same leak score.


Snugglers also scored well in our durability tests with a 7 of 10. It shared this score with Pampers Swaddlers, which had a higher overall score as well as higher absorption in our tests. Three diapers came close to a 7 in the same price range, with a score of 6 each; these include, Seventh Generation Free & Clear, Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive, and Earth's Best Tender Care. While all three were slightly more expensive than Snugglers, Swaddlers Sensitive and Earth's Best scored higher overall, which we feel gave them more value. Durability did not seem to be a metric influenced by price, with diapers that were more expensive, as well as cheaper, scoring poorly in this category. Walmart's White Cloud scored a 3 of 10 and was one of the cheapest diapers we tested, while Attitude earned a score of 1 and was one of the most expensive we tested.

Eco and Health

Eco-friendly is where diaper men are separated from the diaper boys; and like it's brother Snug & Dry, Little Snugglers is still just a baby in this realm. Snugglers scored just 1 of 10; without claims to the contrary we assumed that the diapers contained chlorine, and did not use renewable resources. However, it had lots of company at the bottom, with all but 1 traditional diaper scoring a 1 in this metric. Up & Up and Kirklands Signature Supreme were the only exceptions with 2s, primarily for their chlorine free processing methods.

On the other hand, the green diapers we tested all managed at least a 3. Even Snugglers cousin Pure & Natural, which we feel is a pseudo-green diaper, earned a 3 of 10. Given that many of the green diapers managed higher than a 5, like Editors' Choice winner, BAMBO Nature, with an 8, and Nature Babycare with a 7, we feel it would be great to see a brand like Huggies make some Eco-effort with their traditional product lineup.

Snugglers makes no claims about being good for baby by being free of possibly harmful components. With a score of 1 of 10, there really is nothing to get excited about in this metric. While several diapers we tested boasted "free" of fragrances, dyes, chlorine, and latex, with some even reporting the use of less SAP, like Nature Babycare, Little Snugglers has made no such claims or efforts. While no diaper is perfect, this one could certainly be closer. Both our Editors' Choice, BAMBO Nature, and one of our Best Value winners, Earth's Best Tender Care, diapers scored better in this metric with an 8 and 5 respectfully; thus proving it is possible to think of baby's developing systems while creating a top performing diaper. If budget is a factor, Kirkland Signature Supreme, which is cheaper than most green diapers on average, earned a 4 (high for a traditional diaper) for being free of chlorine, latex, and fragrances.

Best Applications

The budget conscious parent who has brand familiarity with Huggies is likely to be drawn to Little Snugglers. With a higher price than its little brother Snug & Dry, parents might purchase this diaper hoping for a better overall performing diaper for the higher price. However, with an overall test score of 44 of 100 in our tests, it scored only 1 point higher than the cheaper Snug & Dry. Our tests indicated that if the Huggies name is your driving factor, then Snug & Dry is a better option, with a higher absorption score and lower cost. If money is your driving factor, then there are cheaper diapers available with higher overall scores, like Cuties. Cuties scored higher overall with a 49 of 100 compared to Snugglers 44, plus its price is significantly less on average. If eco-health is also important to you, Editors' Choice BAMBO Nature earned an impressive 82 of 100 in our tests (with an 8 for both Health and Eco) all in a similar price neighborhood.

Conclusion

Overall, Huggies Little Snugglers ranked 13 out of the 24 diapers tested. It just didn't measure up to the other diapers in its price range, green or traditional. All of which make it a diaper not worthy of its popularity.

There a cheaper, better diapers that offer more for your dollar, like our Best Value pick, Cuties. In addition, while it might not have scored as high as Snugglers overall, Target's Up & Up, the cheapest diaper we tested, scored a 39 of 100; giving Little Snugglers competition for significantly less cash.

The photos below show the absorbency results for Cuties (left), Up & Up (middle), and Little Snugglers (right).

Other Versions

If you are feeling adventurous, Huggies also offers Huggies Snug & Dry and Huggies Pure & Natural. In general, Snug & Dry performed about the same as Little Snugglers with only 1 point difference in overall scores. Pure & Natural, Huggies green diaper, scored lower than its two brothers with a 42 of 100 overall score, with lower scores for absorption and leaks. However, in general, all Huggies varieties failed to score well in our tests and in our opinion, Pure & Natural, went so far as to be offensive by pretending to be green.