Watery gushes.

Watery gushes need some textured material to grab and absorb them so that they don't spread to the edges of the pad's surface. Flannel and terry do the job well. PUL for waterproofing or wool or synthetic fleece for a water resistant backing can help distribute flow inside the pad so that you can wear it longer between changes. The heavier your flow is and the greater the the gushes, the more area coverage you'll need.

• Recommended materials: Flannel or terry tops; terry + hemp jersey cores; PUL, wool or synthetic fleece.
• Recommended Sizes: Shorter for lighter flow and longer for heavier flow.
• Recommended Pieces: Any Toppers and any Backups; add Soakers for heavy flow.
• Recommended Sampler Sets: Standard Variety, Long/Heavy or Short/Heavy

cotton terry top

Thick or Clotty.

If your flow is mostly thick or clotty, you'll want to avoid silk and flat cotton topped pads. Flat cotton tops feel wet and silk tops develop a crust when thicker flow doesn't permeate.

The good news is that you can almost certainly get by without any waterproofing.

• Recommended materials: Flannel or terry tops, terry cores.
• Recommended pieces: Toppers and Soakers, mostly, unless you need the area coverage provided by Backups.
• Recommended Sampler Sets: Any of the all-natural or all cotton and hemp options.

My flow varies a lot.

Flannel is a good all-purpose topping when you don't know what you're going to get. You may want to err on the side of terry if you're worried about any surprise gushing.