Wicking Technology of Baby Diapers

I’m not qualified to answer any of your questions, but I did want to say thanks for the  Youtube link. Who knew diapers could be so fascinating?

explosive liquified bowel movements?

there ought to be some technology there applicable to clothing

The hydrophobic polypropylene base layer of the diaper is conceptually similar to a hiking base layer. In fact, many of us remember when PP was the material of choice decades ago. Frankly, I don’t dislike PP, but some people complain that it retains smells and doesn’t hold up over time. But the other hydrophobic polymer fibers used in base layers are functionally similar, generally speaking. I know that there are a lot of proprietary fibers, and different people have different favorites, but I tend to think that a lot of it is marketing in the the end.

The hydrogel that retains water in the adsorption layer of the diaper would not be well-suited to backpacking applications, because we don’t generally want to hold onto the heavy water. They have many biomaterials and biomedical applications, they are of course used for contact lenses, and are even used for remediation.

It’s my own fault, because I saw the title. But I was eating a sandwich and this thread didn’t help my appetite.

“explosive liquified bowel movements?”

Hard image to unsee.

I’m having a hard time seeing how this relates to hiking clothes.  Diapers are all about moving liquids, that show up in sudden batches, away from baby’s bottom.  Hiking clothes must handle both vapor and liquid forms that show up slowly and continuously.  Diapers need a storage medium, while hiking clothes are all about evaporating things away.  Maybe I’m just being dense.

“explosive liquified bowel movements”

Anyone with kids knows exactly what this means!

Trivia:  My father-in-law invented that gel-forming storage material as a research chemist at Dow Chemical many years ago.  He later left Dow to run a spin-off company trying to monetize the stuff in consumer oriented knick-knacks.

Nothing could absorb that much that fast. It was going up the top or out the legs, depending on how the diaper fit.