My life as a menstrual cup devotee started as a crunchy-granola, hiking cliché, but I quickly realized how convenient a cup is both on and off the trail.
I was heading out on a long wilderness hiking trip, where the nearest pack of tampons on a store shelf would be 80 miles away. I needed something that would never run out, that I could wash, and that wouldn’t stuff the trash bag I had to carry back out of the mountains.
Enter the classic DivaCup.
After a couple of days figuring out how to get the DivaCup positioned comfortably, I realized that what made my cup great in the outdoors also translated to my regular, non-hiking life—I never worried about running out of tampons or pads, and I no longer had to wake up in the middle of the night to change them on my heaviest days. Ten years (and another menstrual cup) later, I’ve also saved roughly $540.
Last year I replaced my nine-year-old DivaCup with Cora’s The Easy-Does-It Cup, Wirecutter’s top pick in our guide to menstrual cups. It was a revelation: With its flexible material and easy-to-grasp shape, my Cora cup is the menstrual cup I wish I’d had a decade ago when I first fiddled with the DivaCup.
Our pick
This menstrual cup folds nicely, and its slightly irregular shape makes pinching and removing easier for seasoned and new users alike.
Of course, every person is different, and a menstrual cup may not be for you for a number of reasons. No two vaginas are the same, and getting the right fit can take some trial and error.
