I can never go back to pads. These are great.I've done a bit of research before on menstrual cups, but the last time I seriously looked into them it was when the cost was 30$ for one, and I wasn't willing to commit to a size that might not work. Lately my cycle seems to have gotten a bit heavier and tired of ruined pants and mess in other ways I looked into these again. The little sterilizer eased some of my other concerns as the thought of boiling it in a pot I also use for cooking was unappealing.I can never go back to pads, and have always hated tampons. The cost efficiency and ease of cleaning and less environmentally impacting waste all seemed to make it worth giving these a shot. I'm glad I did. I've had these through two full cycles now, and honestly had also bought another set of "softer" ones that were supposed to be easier for beginners to use. The softer ones are too soft and don't settle right when I wear them. These ones do and I haven't had any problems with leaking. Any leaks I have noticed were more akin to light spotting, and usually one of the signs that is time to empty and clean the cup before putting it back in.Using the cups does require getting, hah, personal with insertion to make sure they're in the right place and properly opened. There are several easy how to and tips pages available with a simple internet search that will be more eloquent than I can manage, so definitely look into those if you give these a try.There's definitely an adjustment period on getting used to these and for the first cycle I wore these I could feel them. Towards the end of the cycle I realized they needed to be inserted a bit deeper, and it was just so comfortable after that. Also I'm no longer afraid of not being able to remove the cups, it's super easy to grab and pull out thanks to the little knobs on the end. I don't mind the slight suction feeling when removing them and a wiggle while pulling it out is usually enough to break the seal without causing a mess. I did read about gripping the bottom of the cup itself and pressing on that to break the seal first, that works too but just pulling it free works for me.Even being new to using the cups, most of the time it's not hard to make sure it's properly open inside, but I have had a few times where it wasn't. What happened was that usually within half an hour of standing up and moving around the rim would "pop" open inside of me, which is startling and uncomfortable for about a minute, but not what I would consider painful. I do feel that after the "pop" the cup is more secure, so I don't mind it. When I'm awake I tend to empty the cup roughly every five or six hours, before it gets full. I have no fear sleeping with a cup in, unlike when I was using pads, and a cup handles it just fine for about 8 hours. I try not to go much beyond 8 hours because especially on my heavy days that's when it starts "leaking" (spotting). I have had to do a quick empy/rinse/reinsert at work a few times, but especially once I got used to it, it was fast and easy. I've had no problems using the bathroom with the cups.The sterilizer is super easy to use, just plug it in, make sure it's got a bit of water in it, put the cup in position and the lid on and push the button. It gets hot and steamy, let it cool, and good to go. Takes about ten minutes? I haven't timed it, but also haven't felt like it takes too long. When I'm not on cycle it's easy to tuck under the bathroom sink or into one of the bathroom drawers and doesn't take up much space. Paired with a set of reusable pads against leaks I no longer fear for my pants and linens every month, and don't feel that residual guilt for throwing away extra plastic into the landfill.