We Compared Charmin's New Smooth Tear Toilet Paper To Regular With One Tear-Iffic Winner

The frustration we experience when our toilet paper constantly rips outside the perforated lines is enough to ruin a perfectly good trip to the restroom. This isn't just aggravating though, it also requires us to use more toilet paper than necessary and contributes to needless waste. However, Charmin seems to have presented a solution for unwanted tearing by saying goodbye to the straight edge after a century and introducing its new Ultra Soft Smooth Tear toilet paper, which has an appealing scalloped edge.

With the brand saying it spent five years perfecting the new design (per Business Wire), we have to wonder: do differently-shaped edges really make a difference? We decided it was only right to test this out for ourselves and compare the tearing quality of the original Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper to the recently released Smooth Tear addition. By testing these rolls head-to-head, we were able to come to a conclusion on whether or not the new scalloped edge version is really better than the original.

To conduct our experiment, we went to our nearest Walmart and purchased a pack of Charmin Ultra Soft and Charmin Ultra Soft Smooth Tear toilet paper. The new Smooth Tear was abundantly in stock, and we were able to get a pack of six rolls for about $8. The original Ultra Soft had fewer options, so we grabbed a larger nine-pack for around $21. Once we had our rolls for comparison, the testing between the two consisted of tearing it off at both an angle and straight down from the toilet paper holder. Since different people will have different habits for how they tear their toilet paper, we felt it wise to try different angles. We even went as far as comparing the tearing quality between toilet paper that is over and under-hanging on the dispenser.

After conducting four tears on each roll of toilet paper — one at an angle and one straight down on an over-hanging roll, and one of each repeated on an under-hanging roll — we found that whether the toilet paper was overhand or underhand doesn't seem to have an impact. If you have long been uncertain about which direction the toilet paper should be hanging, let this be your sign to place it however it looks most pleasing to you. However, the angle at which we tore it and the difference in square and scalloped edges did showcase a significant difference.

When comparing Charmin's new Ultra Soft Smooth Tear toilet paper to Charmin's original Ultra Soft product, we found that the scalloped detailing on the Smooth Tear made a noticeable difference in providing a level and easier tear. Even the sound it made was softer and more gratifying than the typical square cut we are all so used to. When ripping the Smooth Tear at an angle, we got the smoothest results and that oh-so-satisfying sound. While taking the same toilet paper and tearing it straight down didn't give us quite the same fulfilling results, it still didn't rip outside the perforated lines.

On the other hand, the square Ultra Soft toilet paper ripped outside of the lines both times we tore it at an angle, but when removed in a straight downward motion, it maintained its desired shape. The sound and tear on the square paper was more blunt and forceful than with the new scalloped design. While these differences in toilet paper are slight and either type can be made to work for your bathroom needs, we have to hand it to Charmin's team for a brilliant design that does, indeed, make a difference, even if it's a small one. Life is made up of many little joys, and it looks like we are adding smooth-tearing, scalloped-edged toilet paper to that list.