[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I'm not a regular Charmin user. Our household usually tries to save a few cents and goes with one of the better store brands, but when given the opportunity to try a sample of Charmin Ultra Strong through BzzAgent, I figured it was worth a shot.
The first thing that I noticed when putting that first roll on the spool was that this was not the usual TP. It is noticeably stiff, but not in a bad way. Some brands are pillowy soft, but not this guy. Again, not in a bad way at all. You can just tell that this stuff is different. It's got some substance to it. IT feels . . . solid, firm. At this point, I was not sure how to feel about this. I mean, it was kind of interesting, but how would it feel in the end, no pun intended.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised. I was concerned that the stiffness would come thorough once put into use. That fear was unfounded however. Things felt good, still solid, but not uncomfortable by any means. To the contrary, the solid feeling made it really seem like work was getting done. Another plus, there was no tearing or breaking apart and no little balls of fuzz if you know what I mean. There was also no tearing through layers like some TP's give you, which means less layers are needed. So, as far as I'm concerned, this is good stuff. Solid and durable, but not scratchy or uncomfortable at all. Personally, I would use again. Charmin Ultra Strong really made me feel as if I was getting something accomplished.
Now, sharing the house with two girls, I was wondering how things would go over. My five year old daughter did not notice any difference until I asked her about it. Even then, she wasn't too interested. It did the job and that was good enough for her. Although, she was kind of impress when I held a doubled over piece under running water to see how long it would go before disintegrating. That was surprisingly long, especially when you consider how most brands would fall apart more-or-less instantly.
The wife on the other hand had a differing opinion. She prefers something a bit on the softer side, so the Charmin Ultra Strong wasn't her favorite. She didn't totally dislike it and said that she wouldn't have a problem using it again, but given her druthers, she would probably go with something with a little more cushion to it.
In reality, we will probably continue to buy based largely on price, but all things being equal in that regard, I would go with the Charmin Ultra Strong again. Super soft it is not, but it's more than soft enough as far as I'm concerned. And I challenge you to find a tougher, more durable toilet paper.