Heavy wetters or the wrong cloth nappies?

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Does anyone out there have a c. 8month old son and successfully use cloth nappies? I am having difficulty finding anything that doesn't leak with DS2.

With his brother we used tots bots when he was little which are very bulky but come with a waterproof wrap and do work. Even then we ended up using disposables when the weather was warm because otherwise he got so uncomfortable. When he got older we bought some Pop-ins (dream dri because we don't have room for lots of drying) with the intention of using them with the new baby. They worked ok for the toddler except on long car journeys etc. when they weren't absorbent enough so we still end up using disposables some of the time.

DS2 is a lot smaller than his brother and a lot more mobile than he was at the same age. He screams blue murder if you put him in the tots bots because they are so bulky and restrict his movement. The Pop-ins just don't work at all. They leak after only a few minutes. I've tried strip-washing etc. but that's not the problem. They're just not that absorbent and seem to fall in the wrong places. So now I have borrowed some Bum Genius which a friend of ours uses and swears by - same thing. If I change him every 40 minutes or so it's ok. Any longer (especially if he naps) and he's soaking wet. So every nap, or if we have to leave the house and there's a chance I won't be able to change him for a while, we're back to using disposables.

I am getting quite annoyed that after spending literally hundreds of pounds on cloth nappies I'm still only using them about a quarter of the time. My older son is not yet 2 and a half and between them they are quite capable of producing mountains of washing without all the leaks and the nappies themselves. I'm about to go back to work and am beginning to think I should just give up, sell the cloth nappies and use disposables full time.

Any advice?

Extra boosting?

Pop-ins never lasted more than five minutes on my DS3 and I hated them.

With BGs I use V3s I use the large microfibre insert plus a small bamboo or hemp booster or the small microfibre insert plus a large bamboo insert - the combination of microfibre and bamboo seems to do the trick while microfibre just goes yucky squeezy very quickly.

With Totsbots EFs i bung in an extra microfibre or bamboo booster.

With Ittis I fold the third little snap-on booster to the front to catch the deluge, they last pretty well.

I could try extra boosters in the BGs I guess but I don't want to make them too bulky. I remember with the Totsbots when we tried to use them for over night with DS1 with the boosters as well as the bulk of the main nappy the poor kid was practically in traction with his legs stuck out at right angles.

The pop-ins are a pain. We trialled them for a week before we bought and somehow they worked then (maybe DS1 was dehydrated or something) and then as soon as we coughed up and bought them they suddenly became hopeless.

Pop-ins are useless IMO, I got a couple free and only use them in dire straits. dS is a heavy wetter but I do find that the fit of the nappy was important. Fuzzibunz fit him better than Bumgenius but the Flip is excellent especially with the cotton insert.

Oh, a dedicated (and expensive) night nappy is probably what younneed for the nights but I never bothered with that. dS is still in disposables at night

Have tots Bots fluffles, and am stuffing with motherease nappy at night, also use bamoo boosters in a variety of daytime nappies. Have found the wrap used makes all the difference. ImseVimse being the best for my boy. I think different shaped dc's need different shaped wraps.
Used mothercare smart nappy to start with they were utter rubbish for him.
Am buying small lots off ebay to try.

Have you tried the p'tits dessous inserts? they are brill - very absorbent, but slim fitting as well.

I use bumgenius 4 with a terry square folded and put in the pocket or 3 of the buig bumgenius boosters plus a hemp booster, they onloy last 2-3 hrs max though. Have never ever managed to find an overnigth wwashable solution for DD but she can leak out oif a disposable in 3hrs so think she's just a wee monster

I used charlie bananas for DS until he was 12mo with pretty decent results, but the flooding/leaks started while he was getting bigger and more mobile, but he's now reached a snug fit again on a wider popper setting. I bought some second hand bambino mios in the meantime and they are amazing, I use large ones with the insert folded 4x, I have had no leaks at all so far. I find if you go for the larger size wrap, tuck the gusset in really well ('frills in' instead of 'frills out' like disposables) and avoid vests that can wick - I stopped using poppered vests as soon as he got more mobile because they seemed to get caught up and wick almost every time. Hope you find some that fit asap!

Bamboo boosters will probably be your way to go - don't add too much bulk, bit add lots of absorbency, and are very cheap to buy.

Have you tried Rumparooz?

They are my favourite nappy & hold more than my other nappies. There are 2 microfiber inserts that can be used in different layouts, but one is cut away so less bulky.

I think a hemp booster for naps is a good idea too.