It seems rather silly that I even have to make a post about this, but unfortunately the information on the Hollister website isn’t very clear (no pun intended).
When I was looking at some of their ostomy pouching options on a supplier’s website, I came across one that listed “clear” and another that said “ultra-clear”.
Hmm, I wonder what the difference is… so onto hollister.com, where I downloaded a printable catalog and also searched for product through their website, and I became more confused.
To be clear (no pun intended), Hollister lists one pouch as “transparent” and another as “ultra-clear”. They give definitions for each:
Transparent: “For the wearer who wishes to wear a pouch with the contents being visible.”
Ultra-Clear: “Allows easy visualization of the stoma through the pouch film…”
Is that clear enough? (no pun intended)
Here’s a photo of all three styles they offer (transparent, ultra-clear and beige):
To be honest, there isn’t much difference in the transparency between the two “clear” pouches.
I can put fine-print text behind either of the see-through pouches and the text is legible, so I’m not sure why they’d even need both types.
The ultra-clear pouches do NOT have a filter on them, but you can get the transparent pouch with and without filters (#18103 (no filter) and #18193)
And here’s a quick video:
By playing the above video you agree to YouTube's Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
Hope that helps!
There is a big difference between transparent and ultra-clear. I was sent some samples from Hollister and the transparent is quite a bit thicker material than the ultra-clear – shockingly so. I have used the transparent for 6 years now and just today put on the ultra-clear sample. The transparent is a thicker, almost industrialize type vinyl. The ultra-clear feels like a zip-loc sandwich bag type material and is extremely “clearer” than the transparent. It is so thin that I am concerned about its strength and longevity, but I will see how long it lasts and how durable it is.
By the way, there is also a difference in material thickness between the transparent non-filter and transparent with filter. The filtered is thinner and more comfortable than the non-filter, though I find the drawback to the filtered ones being odor tends to leach through the thinner material.
Just my observations.
Hi Stan! That’s quite interesting! I wonder if something changed in the last few years (or at least since I wrote this article) as I didn’t notice any real differences in thickness between any of these.
Do you have any product numbers handy? I keep samples of everything I’ve used and I’d like to see if I have the same ones you’re referring to.
I know that Hollister doesn’t make any note of difference in thickness between any of these bags, but if there is a difference I’d like to update this article!
As a Newbie.. I was over whelmed with products. Names, used? Crazy. I took a Xanax and calmed down. Kidding. Through this site, and Eric, Front Butt, I felt more comfortable in my decisions. Thanks to all of you. Slot of knowledge here.
Thanks for posting this. The information is very helpful. I guess there are so many different options because people have so many differences in what they need. The person I am buying the pouches for is very particular – needs to be clear and without a filter, etc.
Whatever the reason, I’m glad we have options! I just wish that some of the terminology would be consistent across brands.