Best overnight incontinence pads
Written by Nadim Assaf, registered pharmacist, Connect Mobility in Picton
Night is where day pads fail. Let's look at what holds till morning, and what you're paying per night for it.
Where to start
Night leaks are a different problem from day leaks. You're lying down for eight hours and nobody's changing the pad at 3 am. The product has to hold more, and hold it sideways.
For most people that means a night pant, not a bigger day pad. Here's where we'd start, by situation. Every product is in stock and the prices are ours.
If you're choosing for a parent and want the carer's side of it, we wrote a separate guide on that. This page is about the products themselves.
Why night is different
A day pad is shaped for sitting and standing, where everything runs down into the middle. Lying on your back, it runs to the lower back. Lying on your side, it runs to the hip and down the leg. That's why a day pad that's fine at the shops leaks in bed.
TENA builds its Maxi Night pad 440 mm long with a wider panel at the front and the back for this reason. Pants and slips solve the side problem a different way. They have a standing cuff at each leg, so whichever way you roll there's a wall.
The other difference is time. A day pad might be changed every three or four hours. A night product has to hold eight to ten hours, with no change, against skin that's warm and sweating. That's the job the heavy ones below are built for.
Pad, pant or slip
A pad sits in your own underwear and is the cheapest option. Try it first if leaks are light to moderate and you get up to the toilet once or twice a night. Firm fitting underwear matters. Continence Health Australia says a loose pair lets the pad move and leak.
A pant pulls up like underwear and has the leg cuffs. It suits anyone who walks to the toilet at night, and anyone who's self conscious about a pad. The MoliCare Mobile and TENA ProSkin pants have tear-open sides so you don't have to pull a wet pant down.
A slip is the all-in-one with tabs. It's for people who are changed in bed, or who can't manage a pull-up on their own. The MoliCare Premium Elastic 10 drop is the one the carers we supply reach for. It has re-closable tabs so you can check it without tearing it off.
Reading the drops
Every brand prints drops on the pack and every brand's scale is different. CHOICE says every brand uses its own rating, so comparing between brands is tricky. A TENA Plus isn't a MoliCare Plus.
Where a maker publishes a millilitre figure, it's a lab test. Water is poured onto a flat pad until it's full.
Hartmann's figure for the MoliCare Mobile 10 drop is up to 2,757 ml. Nobody produces that overnight, and a body that moves and sweats won't get near it. Use the number to rank products against each other, nothing more.
TENA doesn't publish millilitres in Australia. It rates the Maxi Night as the most absorbent pad in its range and the Plus Night pant as its overnight pant. Poise says its Overnight pad holds up to 2 cups. Depend rates Night Defence at 9 drops and says up to 12 hours.
What our customers reorder
The best evidence we have is what people buy twice. Our NDIS customers have reordered two night products every month since last October. They're the MoliCare Premium Mobile 8 and 10 drop pull-ups, and the MoliCare Premium Elastic 10 drop slip. Nobody reorders the one that didn't get them through the night.
Online, the night pant people buy in bulk is the Depend Real Fit Night Defence. The biggest single night order this year was 16 packs of it. It costs about $2.50 a pant, the same as TENA Pants Plus Night. Start there if you want underwear feel over outright capacity.
Abena makes a good product, and the San 10 pad holds 2,800 ml. But it needs its own fixation pants and it costs more per night than MoliCare for the same job. It isn't the one we'd point you to first.
Night products, side by side
Capacity figures are the makers' lab figures where published. Prices are ours in October 2026.
| Product | Type | Level | Lab capacity | Pack | Price | Per piece |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poise Overnight Pad | Pad | Light to moderate | up to 2 cups (Poise) | 16 | $15.95 | $1.00 |
| TENA Pads Super | Pad | Moderate | about half a cup (TENA) | 30 | $28.99 | $0.97 |
| TENA Pads Maxi Night Extra Long | Pad, 440 mm | Heavy | not published, highest in TENA pads | 14 | $15.95 | $1.14 |
| Depend Real Fit Night Defence (women) | Pant | Heavy, 9 drops | not published, up to 12 hours | 8 | $19.95 | $2.49 |
| Depend Real Fit Men Night Defence | Pant | Heavy | not published | 8 | $18.99 | $2.37 |
| TENA Pants Plus Night | Pant | Moderate to heavy | not published | 12 (L), 10 (XL) | $29.99 | $2.50 to $3.00 |
| TENA ProSkin Pants Maxi | Pant, tear sides | Heavy | not published | 10 | $38.99 to $44.99 | $3.90 to $4.50 |
| MoliCare Premium Mobile 8 Drop | Pant, tear sides | Heavy | up to 2,421 ml | 14 | $49.95 | $3.57 |
| MoliCare Premium Mobile 10 Drop | Pant, tear sides | Severe | up to 2,757 ml | 14 | $52.99 | $3.79 |
| Abena Pants M3 Premium 8 Drop | Pant | Heavy | not published here | 15 | $53.99 | $3.60 |
| Abena San 10 Premium 9 Drop | Pad, needs fixation pants | Severe | 2,800 ml | 25 | $56.99 | $2.28 plus pants |
| MoliCare Premium Elastic 10 Drop | Slip, tabs | Very severe | up to 4,380 ml | 14 (M, L, XL) | $51.99 | $3.71 |
| Abena Slip L4 Premium 9 Drop | Slip, tabs | Severe | 4,000 ml (Abena) | 18 | $73.99 | $4.11 |
The Depend Men Night Defence in the table is cut for men. The TENA Men and MoliCare Men pads are day products. They sit in a pouch at the front, so they're not built for lying down.
Boosters
If a pant nearly makes it to morning, add a booster before you move up a size. A booster is a thin pad with no waterproof back that sits inside the pant and soaks up the first 500 ml. The Abena Let Anatomic booster is $16.99 for 30. Our Rectangular Insert Pad Maxi is $16.99 for 28 and does the same job.
Never put a booster with a plastic back inside a pant. The plastic blocks the pant underneath and everything runs out the leg.
Skin by morning
Clean and dry the skin at every change, and consider a barrier cream or moisturiser. If the skin becomes red or sore, talk to a doctor straightaway.
Some people react to a particular brand's materials. If a rash appears after a change of product, go back to the old one and tell us.
The National Continence Helpline is 1800 33 00 66. It's free, and it can put you onto a nurse continence specialist near you. A proper assessment often fixes night leaks without a bigger pad.
We've written a full skin care routine for people in pads overnight.
Paying for them
Continence products count as NDIS consumables, which is low cost assistive technology. No quote, no report. If a plan manager looks after your plan, we invoice them directly. Our NDIS continence guide covers what's funded.
If you're not on the NDIS and the incontinence is permanent, the Continence Aids Payment Scheme pays up to $717.10 a year in 2025-26. It goes into your bank account, yearly or in two halves. Your GP or continence nurse signs the form. Monthly auto-delivery from us spreads that across the year.
Questions we get
Can I wear two pads?
No. The second pad's waterproof back stops the first one working, and the bulk breaks the seal at the legs. Use a booster, or move up one level.
How do I pick a size?
Measure the waist and the hips and use the bigger number. The MoliCare Mobile Medium is 80 to 120 cm and the Large is 100 to 150 cm. Too big leaks at the legs, too small leaks at the waist.
Will it smell?
All the products on this page have odour control in the core. What smells is a wet product left on. Change on waking, and bin it in a tied bag.
Can I get a sample?
Yes. Call us with the size and the leak level and we'll send a couple of pieces before you buy a carton.
Not sure which level?
Tell Nadim how many times you're up at night and which way you sleep. He'll pick two to try. Call 1300 216 888.
Where our facts come from
- TENA Australia, Pads Maxi Night (440 mm, wider front and back, highest absorbency in the range)
- Hartmann MoliCare product specifications (ISO lab capacities for the Mobile 8 and 10 drop and Elastic 10 drop, waist sizes)
- Abena Australia product specifications (San 9 and 10, Slip L4, Let Anatomic booster capacities)
- Depend and Poise Australia product information (Night Defence 9 drops and 12 hours, Overnight 2 cups)
- CHOICE, incontinence pads (drop ratings differ between brands, ask for samples)
- Continence Health Australia, continence products (firm underwear, skin care, helpline)
- Services Australia, CAPS ($717.10 for 2025-26)
- Our own reorder records, October 2025 to October 2026, no customer details
Checked October 2026.