Playtex Gentle Glide Tampons, Deodorant, Multipack of 18 Regular and 18 Super Absorbency Tampons, 36-Count Boxes (Pack of 2) Review

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(More customer reviews)I've decided to do a side-by-side comparison of two very similar products: The Playtex Gentle Glide multipack and the Tampax Pearl multipack. Both are offered here on Amazon at roughly the same price per package, though prices will vary with time and/or seller.
Multi-pack: The Pearl offers 3 types of absorbencies in their multipack (8 super, 20 regular, and 8 lights). Meanwhile, the Gentle Glide multipack only offers 2 kinds (regular or super, but offers 18 of each). Each box contains a total of 36 tampons.
Wrapper: Each brand individually wraps their tampons with a plastic wrapper, though the wrapper on the Pearl tampons are slightly softer and make less crinkly sounds when you scrunch them. The biggest difference here, though, is that while the Gentle Glide identifies its brand name and the absorbency level of the tampon on its individual wrapper, the Pearl tampon wrappers have no writing on them and you can only identify which tampon is which absorbency by memorizing the color of the wrapper or checking with the box. This can be a bit of a pain, if you throw one of each type of Pearl tampon into your purse/backpack and forget which absorbency level corresponds to which color.
Applicator: Each brand has a smooth, plastic applicator with a narrow finger grip. While the Pearl applicator appears slightly shorter (4.75 in.) to the Gentle Glide applicator (5 in.), both tampons appear equivalent in circumference/thickness. When I removed the tampon from the applicator, both Super absorbent tampons appear the same size. However, Gentle Glide's regular absorbent tampon appeared to be almost 1/4 inch longer than the Pearl's. (However, this may be a random result, as for the purpose of this experiment, I only opened one tampon at random from each box, of each absorbency.)
Comfort/Composition: The Pearl is made of rayon and/or cotton fiber according to its box. Gentle Glide uses rayon fiber. Both have cotton or polyester strings. Both expand width-wise when absorbing fluid, rather than length-wise like other brands. Both seem equally comfortable. Both are made in the USA.
Absorbency: The FDA regulates tampon absorbencies, so the industry has come up with a standardized measure of labeling. Previously, there was no way of knowing and it was possible the "super" absorbent tampons in one brand was actually less absorbent than "regular" tampons in another brand. The agreed upon labels are as follows: light = less than 6 grams; regular = 6-9 grams; super = 9-12 grams; super plus = 12-15 grams. As you can see, there is still wide range within each range. So, I conducted a little informal experiment/test with a digital kitchen scale (what the heck? I'm bored). I dipped each tampon (again, selected at random) from each box in a cup of water and recorded the amount of water it soaked up when fully absorbed. (Yes, I'm using water--my butcher was fresh out of blood for the day.) Here are the results:
Pearl:
Light - 15g water
Regular - 27g water
Super - 38g water
Gentle Glide:
Regular - 24g water
Super - 40g water
Super Plus (I had this one lying around, so I tested it too) - 55g water
Conclusion:
There's no knock-out here. I would be happy to recommend either of these products. In my experience, they are two of the most comfortable tampons/applicators available on the market and most reliably absorbent.

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