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The Aisle Super Pad Is the Best Reusable Menstrual Pad I’ve Tested

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An illustration of a reusable menstrual pad.
Illustration: Dana Davis; Photo: Aisle
Nancy Redd

By Nancy Redd

Nancy Redd is a writer who covers health and grooming. She has tested dozens of hair dryers, toothbrushes, and pairs of period underwear.

Aisle’s Super Pad, a reusable cloth menstrual pad that is soft, extra-large, and reliably absorbent, is truly superlative.

After three decades of menstruating and over three years of covering period products for Wirecutter, I’ve mopped up my menses with everything from sea sponges to homemade interlabial pads (video). Nothing I’ve tried compares to the Super Pad in terms of comfort, capacity, and—dare I say it—charm.

Soft and highly absorbent, this pad wears and washes better than the competition.

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Now, not everyone needs (or wants) to plunk down roughly $22 for a single menstrual pad, no matter how many uses it may afford. But among reusable pads, the Super Pad is, to me, well worth the additional spend. Compared with other options, which absorb less fluid, become horribly stained, shift around too much in underwear, or irritate skin, the Aisle pad feels like a security blanket for the vulva. Call me Linus van Pelt (video), because after years of exclusively being team period underwear, only using pads or tampons in order to review them, I now cannot imagine parting from my Super Pad.

I’ve spent the better part of a year bleeding onto eight types of reusable pads. A few months in I noticed myself subconsciously saving the Super Pad for the heaviest day of my flow, feeling confident in its capacity to handle whatever clots and other uterine chaos comes its way.

The Super Pad is extremely effective as a standalone period product, fitting into most traditional brief-style underwear. Yes, it’s gigantic, but it’s not bulky, and its padding uniquely has a slight warming effect that is soothing but that never veers into coochie furnace territory like some items I’ve tested, even on the hottest of summer days. In addition to the Super Pad, Aisle offers two smaller sizes, the Maxi (about $19) and Mini (about $16), which cover less surface area and are rated to absorb less fluid compared with the Super Pad.

Unlike other reusable cloth pads I’ve tried, the Aisle Super Pad stays put. The plastic snap is more secure than the hook and eye closures on some other pads, yet it isn’t noticeable while in use. This pad, due in part to its large size, also shifts around less than others, so you’re less likely to experience a leak.

Aisle pads’ dark green or crimson red retro prints are inviting and evocative, like a delightful DIY project sewn from snips and scraps by the coolest crafter as a coming-of-age present and to be gifted with a hand mirror and a dog-eared copy of Our Bodies, Ourselves (or my first book, Body Drama). If prints aren’t your thing, minimalist menstruators can purchase the Super Pad in solid black.

Aisle recommends rinsing the pad in cool water before laundering it. The company also recommends line drying the pad to extend its life. Yet after each of the more than 40 times I’ve haphazardly thrown a bloodied Super Pad into my washer and dryer, with no pre-soaking or special care, it has miraculously emerged unstained, softer than ever, free of frays or pills, and ready to serve again.

Compared with other reusable cloth pads I’ve tested, which quickly became stained or crumpled beyond recognition after washing, my trusty Super Pad remains in great shape.

Aisle suggests that the lifespan of the Super Pad is about five years, which softens the $22 price point considerably. Taking advantage of Aisle’s three-or-more bundle discount and investing in nine Super Pads costs around $150 and reduces the need for mid-cycle laundry. This $30 per year investment is generally less than what using disposable pads over five years of monthly cycles might cost. All menstrual products, including this pricey pad, are health savings account (HSA) and flexible spending account (FSA) eligible thanks to the CARES Act.

I love that the Super Pad is breathing new life into the idiom “on the rag.” But heed my warning: Like a luxe hair dryer and other nonessential upgrades, once you start wearing Aisle’s reusable Super Pads to manage your period, you may never be satisfied with lesser pads again.

This article was edited by Tracy Vence and Catherine Kast.

Meet your guide

Nancy Redd

Nancy Redd is a senior staff writer covering health and grooming at Wirecutter. She is a GLAAD Award–nominated on-air host and a New York Times best-selling author. Her latest nonfiction book, The Real Body Manual, is a visual health and wellness guide for young adults of all genders. Her other books include Bedtime Bonnet and Pregnancy, OMG!

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