This Costco's entry into the adult diaper market and cases of these incontinence underwear can now be found at Costco Wholesale. At the time of writing this review they were only available in Canada but I was able to order them on Costco.com. They are reasonably priced $41.99 Canadian but I was able to buy them on sale. After the conversion to USD I paid about 33 cents per brief. At only 33 cents this is one of the most affordable incontinence underwear on the market. Each case contains four bags of 23 briefs for a total of 92 per box.
The pictures above and below are of the front and left side of the box. The back and right side of the box are identical and for that reason I did not publish pictures of them. Since these are available in Canada half the text on the box is in English and the other half is in French. All measurements are also in both standard and metric for that reason.
The above picture shows the UPC 096619261420 with item number is 7357952 for the Kirkland Underwear for Men. Costco's customer service number is printed on this side of the box and is 800-463-3783. They are available between 9AM and 9PM eastern time. This side also includes available sizing information, directions for use and distribution information. Although only available in Canada this product is made in the United States.
There are four bags per case and each feature perforations that make it easier to open the bag. The perforations run down half the side of the bag stopping you from totally ripping the entire bag open. The perforations also run along the entire top of the bag if you prefer to open it from the top. Each bag contains twenty three briefs in the small medium size. Waist measurements for this size range from 26 inches to 37 inches and we feel that they are accurate. Just note that with incontinence underwear the briefs are very stretchable and you may be able to wear the brief if you slightly exceed the waist measurements.
The picture below shows some of the features as well as how to use the product. One of the best features of this kind of incontinence product is the tear away sides that allow for quick and easy removal if the garment needs to be removed from a patient that is laying down in bed. Another great feature is the underwear like fit that is very thin making it more comfortable and discreet for the user. Finally the orientation information is indicated here and the back of the underwear is indicated by the size indication. In this case the SM printed on the waistline indicates the back if the underwear.
The picture above shows the thickness of the underwear when pulled from the bag. Even folded it is still very thin at 15 millimeters thick. After testing we measured the thickest part of the diaper at only 4.9 millimeters thick making these one of the thinnest incontinence briefs on the market. The picture below shows a top down view of the underwear still folded from the bag. Here you can see the waistline design as well as the size indicator S-M.
The next three pictures show a detailed close ups of the underwear. The first picture shows the product unfolded as worn and the remaining pictures show the inner absorbent liner as well as the outer shell. From a design perspective the underwear is bright white in color with a simple grey lined design along the top of the waistline. Inside the waistline the letters S-M define the backside of the brief to help the user with orientation. As seen below on both the right and left side of the picture the brief has tear away sides. These are perforations that help the user remove the underwear by tearing each side off. This is helpful if the user is in bed and can not stand up to remove the brief.
Like most absorbent underwear these do not feature a wetness indicator. Wetness indicators are usually found on adult diapers (tabbed briefs) and run along the center of the outer shell of the diaper to indicate when the diaper is soiled. Currently only Abena products feature wetness indicator on incontinence underwear.
One thing we wish the Costco Underwear for Men had were standing leg gathers. Standing leg gathers are pieces of fabric that run down each side of the absorbent padding that help stop leaks, especially if the user is laying down on their side. Costco strives for a premium product and we feel that they needed to include this basic feature to be completive with other brands.
We do like the absorbent padding has a slight bumpy texture to it. This helps slow down the spread of fluid when it makes contact with the padding. Another nice feature is the quick moisture wicking layer (as seen above by the blue rectangle in the picture above). This wicking layer was effective at pulling moisture down into the absorbent core during our tests.
