Trest Elite Briefs Adult Diaper Review

 *For more information on how I do reviews see Diaper Test Methodology

Summary

The Trest Elite could theoretically have the most absorbency of any diaper on the market, with an incredible advertised absorbency of 9500 ml (321 oz). For reference, the average volume of urine produced by an adult per day is about 800 to 2000 ml so you’re talking at least 4 days of wear before you’d ever approach that limit. Obviously, it is completely unreasonable to be wearing a diaper for that long, so such capacity may be overkill. In our own lab settings with saline water mimicking urine and accounting for pressout leakage, we found this capacity to be more in the 3000 ml (101 oz) range, which would still theoretically provide 1~3 days of wear before requiring a change (which again is still a ridiculously long time to go without a change). In real world wear I found the overall absorbency actually works against its capacity because the highly absorbent tends to swell and create something of a dam, which stops moisture from making it toward the rear padding and instead directs it toward the leg gathers. This leads to leakage far sooner than you might expect, more likely in the 1500 ml ~ 3000 ml range. I believe it's the same issue as the NorthShore MegaMax and both are relatively slow when it comes to their absorption rate.

I’d like to give a special shout out to Brett for donating the sample for this review from our wishlist! All help is greatly appreciated as we try to build the most comprehensive comparison of adult diapers on the market. This was a really interesting one to review given its ridiculous capacity. This diaper comes with 3 different colored backsheets: white (shown in this review), blue and pink. From a price perspective I doubt many will find it economical, unless you can get by with only one change a day. Yet the Trest Elite diaper will easily provide protection for even the heaviest wettings.

Key Features:

• Plastic backsheet
• Thick landing zone
• Repositionable tapes
• Dual waistbands
  
• Standing inner leak barriers
  

Pros:

• Very high absorbency
• Extensive soft padding
  
• Strong tapes + durable

Cons:

• Very expensive unit price
  
• No wetness indicator
• Can get a bit warm

Product Details

For the purpose of this post I will be reviewing and referring to the medium-sized Trest Elite Diaper. However, other available sizes are listed below:

Packaging

Brand: Trest (by the JNA Corp.)
Manufacturer: Weifang Mimosa Personalcare Technology
Origin: China
Units Per Bag: 10
Cost Per Unit: $$$$
Dimensions (L x W x H): 34 cm (13.4") x 20 cm (7.9") x 26 cm (10.2")
Weight: 2.3 kg (5.1 lbs)
Available Sizes: S, M, L, XL
Advertised Absorbency: Ultra (9500 ml)

1.1 Trest Elite Briefs Packaging

Diaper

Backsheet: Plastic (poly)
Wetness Indicator: No
Standing Inner Leak Guards: Yes
Leg Gathers: Yes
Product Style: Tab-Style Brief
Refastenable Tabs: Yes
Number of Tapes: 2
Repositionable Tabs: Yes
Outer Color: White
Inner Color: White
Front Waistband: Yes
Rear Waistband: Yes
Folded Thickness: 3.3 cm (1.3")
Folded Length: 23 cm (9.1")
Dry Weight: 225 g (7.9 oz)
Fragrance: No
Diaper Dimensions (L x fW x mW x bW): 83 cm (32.7") x 66 cm (26") x 32 cm (12.6") x 65 cm (25.6")
Wing Shape (Front, Rear): Rectangular, Rectangular
Padding Dimensions (L x fW x mW x bW): 66 cm (26") x 29 cm (11.4") x 22 cm (8.7") x 39 cm (15.4")
Padding Wing Dimensions (fPW x fPH x bPW x bPH): 3.5 cm (1.4") x 13 cm (5.1") x 8.5 cm (3.4") x 18 cm (7.1")
Padding Wing Shape (Front, Rear): Semicircle, Semicircle
Total Padding Area: 1849 cm² (287 in²)
Tape Spacing (t1 x t2): 3.5 cm (1.4") x 14 cm (5.5")
Tape (W x L): 5 cm (2") x 4 cm (1.6")

 

1.2 Trest Elite Diaper

Laboratory Absorbency Tests

Total Absorption Volume (after press out): 3225 ml (113.8 oz)
Total Absorption Volume (before press out): 3325 ml (117.3 oz)
Time to Absorb Wettings (first to last): (55s, 50s, 58s, 79s, 81s, 79s, 88s, 95s, 104s, 104s, 113s, 112s, 109s, 103s)
Wet Folded Thickness: 8 cm (3.2")
Used to Total Padding Ratio: 92%
Total Padding to Absorbency Ratio: 1.74 ml / cm² (0.40 oz / in²)
Press Out Volume: 100 ml (3.5 oz)

Surface Dampness Rating: 9

The Trest Elite Briefs performed very well when it came to surface dampness. During the lab test there was little-to-no indication of surface dampness on the paper towel until the 4th wetting. This was backed up in real world wear with the backsheet proving remarkably resistant to surface dampness and the diaper never felt particularly clammy when wet. The only potential issue here is that sometimes the absorption can be slow, resulting in temporary pooling that will make the diaper feel quite damp for a short time.

2.1 Wet vs Dry Diaper After Capacity Test

2.2 Used vs Unused Padding After Capacity Test

"Real World" Absorbency Tests

Posture Tests

Standing-Sitting

Total Absorbed Volume: 1475 ml (52 oz)
Total Wettings: (1 standing, 3 sitting)
Leaked After Sitting: No
Used to Total Padding Ratio: 61%
Padding to Absorbency Score: 0.80 ml / cm² (0.18 oz / in²)

Standing-Sitting Rating: 9
The Trest Elite did very well on the standing-sitting capacity test. The first wetting while standing was easily absorbed with no sign of leakage and not a hint of leakage up on sitting shortly afterwards. I felt that there may have been a little initial surface dampness due to pooling but it wasn’t long lived. The second wetting while seated was again readily absorbed with brief pooling but no signs of leaks and no surface dampness after it was absorbed. The front padding had swelled considerably at this point but the rear padding was still completely dry. The third wetting performed much like the second wetting, but in this case the front padding had swelled so much that it started to block moisture and spread more up toward the wings. Again there was no leakage on the wetting though I had some concern that it would leak through the wings with the brief pooling. On the fourth wetting there was a modest leak through the lower right rear leg gather so I ended the test at that. During this wetting the front padding was very swollen and moisture was mostly redirected toward the wings and down along the sides. The diaper certainly could have absorbed substantially more than it did with tons of dry padding remaining at the rear. I suspect the reason it failed so early was that the incredible amount of padding swelling near the crotch and tendency for padding to fold inward between the legs (because of its width at the mid-section) meant too much moisture was able to pool near the leg gathers before being absorbed. Had it been able to wick moisture further/faster or direct it more effectively it would have absorbed an incredible amount of moisture, but in practice hitting anywhere near the real capacity doesn’t seem realistic. I believe most will find it can absorb 3~5 wettings during daily wear without leakage, but you’re highly unlikely to reach the padding capacity before leakage (particularly when seated).

Lying Down

Total Absorbed Volume: 1775 ml (62.6 oz)
Total Wettings: 5
Used to Total Padding Ratio: 62%
Padding to Absorbency Score: 0.96 ml / cm² (0.22 oz / in²)

Lying Down Rating: 10

The Trest Elite proved top notch when tested for capacity while lying down. The first wetting was quickly and easily absorbed with little sensation of surface dampness. Likewise on the second wetting the extensive padding easily prevented any leakage. It felt like there was a bit of pooling on the third wetting but it was temporary and there were no signs of leaks and minimal indication of surface dampness. Moveover, the much of the front and rear padding was still dry at this point when for most other diapers it would be saturated. There was a bit more pooling on the forth wetting and it felt like a little may have pressed up through the front padding and worked its way into the sides, but the plastic-backsheet prevented any leakage and I didn’t notice any obvious dampness afterward. At this point the front padding was mostly wet but there was still a substantial amount of dry padding at the rear of the diaper. The diaper finally leaked on the fifth wetting, which felt a bit soon given the large area of unused padding at the rear. The problem was that the padding at the mid section/crotch had swelled to such an extent that it formed something of a dam, blocking moisture from quickly reaching the rear padding and resulting in substantial pooling and leakage through the left leg gather then out through the sides. At this point the diaper had absorbed a huge amount of moisture and easily came out among the top performing in this category. However, it undoubtedly had room for even further absorption had it been able to direct further moisture to the rear padding. At the end of the test the diaper had swelled quite a bit. The padding still felt dry with little sensation of surface dampness outside of the side wing where the leakage occurred. For this reason you’re unlikely to ever approach the full capacity of this diaper but will likely get 3~5 wettings without leakage when worn lying down, easily enough for even the heaviest of bedwetters.

2.3 Pattern of Used vs Unused Padding Test Stand/Sit (right) Lying Down (left)

Daily Wear and Bedwetting

The Trest Elite diaper is ridiculously absorbent, but it would be very hard to come anywhere close to the absolute capacity of this diaper in a real world setting. During all my testing the padding at the rear never got wet in spite of multiple wettings. It pretty much always leaked before there would be any chance for the rear padding to absorb it. During the lab test when the structure wasn’t a factor it was able to absorb over 3225 ml (113 oz) after pressout, which is probably about the maximum theoretical capacity you could expect. However, during real world wear you’ll find that the diaper swells so much at the crotch/mid padding that it pushes inward and deflects additional moisture toward the sides where it’s more likely to leak. This is further amplified because the padding at the diaper’s midsection is so wide that it has a tendency to fold upward between the legs. During daily wear I found it would frequently exceed 2000 ml (67 oz) without any sign of leakage when worn all day. It absorbed less than that in the standing-sitting test but that’s likely because the design leads to leakage much sooner when sitting and if wet, while standing it will surely absorb a lot more before leakage as gravity will pull down the swollen padding creating a gap for moisture to move further back. When worn for bedwetting this diaper should be highly reliable and I’d expect it to absorb enough for even the heaviest wetters. Due to its very high price you’d probably only want to change this diaper twice a day (e.g. morning and before bed) and I think with its resistance against surface dampness and capacity that may be realistic. During testing I never had any skin issues from this diaper and it never felt particularly clammy. The backsheet is a soft plastic that won’t chafe against the wearer's skin, but due to its large size it’s not going to be great for active wear. If you could make it work well for active wear, the tapes have an incredibly strong hold. This diaper feels a lot like the NorthShore MegaMax or maybe even the Forsite AM/PM (to a lesser extent) in terms of its build.  All three diapers have a very similar thick plastic landing zone. I can’t say I’m a huge fan of the landing zone on these as it’s very stiff and contributes to noise when worn, but I don’t feel it’s particularly uncomfortable either. I think all these diapers are better suited to winter wear than summer wear and you’d be better with the Seni Super Quatro or Tena Slip Active Fit Ultima (if you prefer a plastic-backsheet) for summer wear. If you’re a fan of the MegaMax but it isn’t quite working for your capacity needs this diaper could be a great alternative.

Suitability for Bowel Incontinence: 10

The Trest Elite diaper is excellently suited for bowel incontinence. It has an extensive area of rear padding and generous standing leak guards. It also fits snugly with strong elastic waistbands that will retain odors and reduce the chance of sagging. Moreover, this diaper has a strong plastic-backsheet that should provide great security for those with bowel incontinence. That said, if you account for the cost per brief it may not be the best choice if you only have bowel incontinence as with bowel incontinence you’d want to change asap after a bowel movement.

Wear & Tear Tests

Fitting

The Trest Elite diaper is full featured with dual waistbands, repositionable tapes, standing inner leak guards and extensive padding coverage. I found the fit to be slightly on the larger side, but not so much as the ConfiDry 24/7 or NorthShore Megamax (which seems to have the sizes shifted one level up). It features a firm plastic tape landing zone very similar to the MegaMax or Forsite AM/PM, where tapes can be reattached to any point on the landing zone multiple times. The tapes are large and of high quality, I never noticed much in the way of weakening after multiple refastenings.

3.1 Trest Elite Briefs Fastener

Ease-of-Use Rating: 7

The Trest Elite diaper is very user-friendly. I never had trouble getting a snug comfortable fit with this diaper. If you don’t get the tapes right the first time then it’s easy to re-apply them to the large landing zone. This means the diaper should fit well for a variety of body types. However, you need to be mindful of placement, as the types are so strong that if they were placed anywhere outside the landing zone they will pull up part of the backsheet; generally I found this was an issue on the backsheet near the waistband so it wouldn’t affect performance much anyway. The waistbands also help with the fit and you’ll never need to worry about this diaper coming loose on you, even when very wet. Perhaps the biggest short-coming, at least for a care-giver environment, is the lack of a wetness indicator. The diaper has an all white backsheet and the best way to tell whether it's wet is the swollen padding. That said, if you change at a regular basis the shear absorbency and resistance to dampness mean you could probably also time it to change twice a day and never need to worry about leakage.

3.2 Trest Elite Diaper Fit

Comfort

Comfort Rating (dry): 8

I rank the Trest Elite diaper similar to the NorthShore MegaMax when it comes to dry comfort. This diaper has a very similar structure and material makeup. The backsheet is of a thick plastic, but also soft and flexible. The padding is thick and very soft, it extends well up the rear of the diaper with generous coverage. Perhaps the biggest detractor is the very thick plastic landing zone on the front. This is great for keeping the tapes in place, and indeed I never had an issue with this diaper coming loose, yet it reduces the overall flexibility of the diaper. I also feel that it reduces the heat dispersion in this diaper, so while it doesn’t get particularly clammy, it can get pretty warm and is probably best for cold weather wear. Aside from that, the padding holds up very well with no obvious signs of clumping or tearing. If you want a lighter feeling diaper than the Trest Elite won’t meet your comfort standards, but if you don’t mind something a bit thicker this diaper is nearly as comfortable as they get for a plastic-backed diaper.

Comfort Rating (wet): 10

The Trest Elite diaper was right up there with the NorthShore MegaMax when it comes to comfort when wet. Both perform exceptionally well at resisting surface dampness. The Trest diaper is well constructed and has no trouble keeping its form when heavier while wet. There was a lot of swelling, but little in the way of significant sagging or padding tearing. The backsheet is somewhat thick but also very soft and I didn’t notice much in the way of clamminess. If anything, because this diaper is so ridiculously absorbent that you’re likely to have a lot of dry padding even after several wettings, so you really won’t notice much change from its dry state other than it being a bit heavier. For this reason I give the Trest Elite diaper top marks when it comes to wet comfort.

3.3 Trest Elite Briefs Topsheet and Backsheet

Durability

Dry Padding Deterioration Proportion: 8.5% (topsheet), 7.1% (backsheet)
Shake Deterioration Test: 2 shakes to deterioration

Durability Rating (dry): 9
The Trest Elite is a very well built diaper. The tapes are among the strongest on the market and the padding is thick and highly resistant to clumping or tearing. During the dry durability test the only hint of deterioration was in the padding between the legs. This was likely due to the padding being exceptionally wide in that area to begin with so the collapse was not surprising and wouldn’t have detracted from absorbency. This diaper is pretty much guaranteed to hold its form with any amount of wear and the tapes don’t seem to lose much adhesiveness with multiple refastenings. The only thing to note is that you need to be a bit careful when applying the tapes to make sure they don’t come into contact with anything outside of the landing zone because they’ll tear off bits of backsheet if you’re not careful.

Durability Rating (wet): 10

The Trest Elite proved incredibly durable when wet. Though it should be noted that it’s hard to even get this diaper to a point one would consider wet since it absorbs to such an extent that there will almost always be a substantial amount of dry padding before you need a change. With that said, this diaper never showed signs of sagging, clumping or tearing. The padding held together incredibly well, but swelled substantially. I feel this padding swelling may have even helped with keeping the padding from deteriorating as the pressure on the topsheet and backsheet would keep it from coming apart so long as both backsheet and topsheet held strong (which they did). Additionally the tapes were excellent and could be refastened multiple times without losing their adhesiveness; even under the weight of the wet diaper there was no sign of tape weakness. This diaper seems to retain a snug fit under all circumstances and I can’t really think of anything I’d suggest as an improvement. It didn’t perform particularly well in the wet shake test, but I’ve found that isn’t a very useful metric in highly absorbent diapers like this one.

3.4 Trest Elite Briefs Dry Test Deterioration

Discretion Tests

Profile

Front Rise Above Waistline (Jeans, Sweatpants): 4 cm (1.6"), 4 cm (1.6")
Back Rise Above Waistline (Jeans, Sweatpants): 7.5 cm (3"), 5 cm (2")
Side Rise Above Waistline (Jeans, Sweatpants): 5.5 cm (2.1"), 4 cm (1.6")

Profile Discretion Rating: 5

The Trest Elite diaper makes little effort to conceal itself and will easily be noticeable under many outfits. It has a fairly high rise above the pant-line and obvious bulge at the rear when dry. That said, its snug fit makes it comparable to the NorthShore MegaMax in terms of discretion and I’ve ranked it just below because this diaper has a slightly larger fit. Of course, when wet to anywhere near capacity this diaper will swell to incredible proportions, which is also something you’d want to keep in mind. It’s probably better suited for bedwetting or around-the-house wear, perhaps longer trips for those who want the extra security.

 

4.1 Trest Elite Briefs Jeans Profile (left) vs Normal Underwear (right)

4.2 Trest Elite Briefs Sweats Profile (left) vs Normal Underwear (right)

 

Noise

Noise Rating: 6

The Trest Elite suffers the crinkling noise that many plastic-backed diapers produce, but I feel like the biggest contributor is the stiffer landing zone on this diaper. This diaper has very thick padding, much like the BetterDry/Crinklz, which I’ve found in other diapers has actually been good for dampening the sound. With a bit of care (underwear/meshpants) I think this diaper could be worn with little noticeable sound, but it would be hard to hide the “swoosh” you get from the stiff landing zone when sitting down or standing up.

4.3 Trest Elite Briefs Noise Profile

 

Odor Reduction

Odor Reduction Rating: 10
I’m giving the Trest Elite top marks when it comes to odor reduction. Not only is the padding highly resistant to surface dampness, but the strong tapes and high quality elastic waistbands ensure there are few opportunities for odors to escape the backsheet. I was expecting this diaper to perform similar to the MegaMax in this regard due to the similar construct, but I found it to be a bit better; perhaps on account of the increased absorbency.

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