Prefolds - What's the difference between Bambino Mio and Cotton Bottoms?

[chocolatemousse]

CB seem vastly cheaper. Their wraps look bad, but are the nappy bits essentially the same?

The cotton nappies are the same for both, it's just the wraps that are different. I tend to get a better fit with the cb ones, but the bambino mio ones have gussets which are good for runny poo. The cb wraps wash excellently the ones I have still look like new after being used on and off for a year. The Bambino Mio ones don't seem to wash as well. The cb ones do sometimes wick at the leg bindings if you have a heavy wetter, but the bambino mio ones do that sometimes aswell.

The BM wraps suit smaller sizes so you need more of them but theoretically they should fit beter. The BM wraps have gusseted legs which again should increase fit. I found that at the smaller end of the weight range the BM wraps fit better and at the bigger end the CB wraps fit better.
The BM wraps have a bigger velcro bit - at the bigger end of the weight range the CB velcro does not secure so easily with my wriggly baby. Having a vest on helps the fit.
The CB wraps seem to last longer (well, the size3 / medium would have to as it does 16-30lb's whereas you'd need 2-3 sizes of BM wraps to cover the same range.
I have generally been using the CB wraps but am now trying out a couple of BM ones.

And are they slimmer than terry squares? More or less absorbent? I like the idea that they're going to dry quickly.

They do seem slightly slimmer than terry squares. I would say absorbancy is as good as a pad folded tery square. They will dry quicker than any shaped nappy, but IME take slightly longer than a terry square to dry. But you can tumble than just for a bit to reduce drying time, and they can be put directly on radiators to dry which shaped nappies can't.

"they can be put directly on radiators to dry which shaped nappies can't"

really? i always have, doesn't seem to cause any problems...

It really bamboo nappies which go funny if you put them on the radiator IME. They go all crunchy. I was told that shaped nappies with elastic shouldn't go on radiators as the direct heat can weaken the elastic.

I think they say don't tumble elasticated nappies because the heat wastes the elastic.