Depend

Incontinence is a common problem that can quickly limit your lifestyle unless you find the right tools to deal with it. Bladder or bowel problems used to mean staying at home to avoid accidents, but today there’s a large and growing selection of options for Baby Boomers who want to remain active and stylish despite incontinence.

Kimberly-Clark’s Depend brand debuted in 1984, when it broke barriers by advertising its “discreet and effective” products on television. Today, Depend is still the largest US incontinence product brand, and it continues to refine its products—and its image—with ads featuring young celebrities and athletes wearing newer Depend styles under tight clothing.

Here’s our review of Depend. We’d love to hear from you! Share your opinion by writing a review.

Product Description:

Depend offers 3 styles for women, 4 for men, 2 unisex styles, and bed and seat protection pads.

Unisex designs are:

• Depend Adjustable Underwear, a maximum-absorbency design which users can step out of or break away using side perforations. Two sizes accommodate waist measurements from 28 inches to 64 inches.

• Depend Protection with Tabs is also maximum-absorbency, and features several tabs to adjust the fit along the sides and to make changes easier. Sizes fit a 19-inch waist to a 49-inch waist.

Women’s styles are:

• Depend Silhouette Active Fit Briefs, moderate-absorbency slip-on hipster briefs available in black and beige that fit smoothly under fitted knit clothing like yoga pants. Silhouette briefs are available to fit hips from 34 inches to 54 inches.

• Depend Silhouette Briefs offer maximum absorbency in a waist-high, peach-colored brief for hip sizes from 34 to 54 inches.

• Depend Underwear with Fit-Flex Protection are made with Lycra for a close and invisible fit. Designed for moderate to maximum absorbency, Fit-Flex waist-high briefs are available in 3 sizes to fit 28-inch to 64-inch waistlines.

Men’s styles are:

• Depend Shields adhesive light-absorbency pads, designed to be worn with regular underwear.

• Depend Guards adhesive maximum-absorbency pads, also for use with regular undergarments.

• Depend Real Fit Briefs that provide maximum absorbency, feel like cotton, and are available for waist sizes from 28 to 50 inches.

• Depend for Men Underwear with Fit-Flex Protection, which are waist-high, maximum-absorbency briefs that are made with Lycra for comfortable stretch and fit, available for waist sizes between 28 and 64 inches.

All Depend undergarments and wearable pads have odor-control features built in, and all underwear are designed to protect against leakage at the leg holes.

Pros:

There’s a range of styles for men and women to suit different bladder and bowel incontinence needs, and the newer Real Fit, Silhouette, and Active Fit styles are designed to be especially inconspicuous under fitted clothing.

Depend products are easy to find at major retailers, and the brand’s online product selector makes it easy to find the right style. Depend offers free samples and coupons, and some online retailers make coupons available right on the product pages. Depend products are now on the list of items that qualify for tax-free Flexible Spending Account purchases in the US.

Cons:

Depend items are disposable, so purchases are an ongoing cost and the single-use nature may be a concern for green-minded shoppers.

Fine print:

None. Return and refund policy varies by retailer.

Cost:

Prices vary by style, package size and by retailer. For example, Amazon currently sells a case of 60 pairs of Depend women’s maximum-absorbency underwear, the site’s bestselling incontinence underwear product, for $37 (62 cents per pair). A 42-count package of the same item costs $25 (59 cents per pair) through Walmart’s online store. Depend men’s Real Fit briefs have a unit cost of $1.11 (sold as a package of 52 at $57.84) at Amazon and Walmart as of this writing.

Best for…

Seniors or caregivers for seniors with light to heavy bladder and bowel incontinence or irritable bowel syndrome; caregivers or users who want the convenience of a disposable product; seniors who want disposable protection that looks like regular underwear.