I have a few questions about flats....

[snugglebutter]

My favorite diaper for 12months and older is a trifolded GMD red in a Flip. My red's are falling apart and I'm considering trying out pad folded flats instead, but I've never used flats. For equivalent absorbancy, would the large GMD flats work? I just feel like I don't know what I'm doing lol.

Also, how is the lifespan of flats compared with prefolds? Most of my prefolds have made it through 4 kids, though these red's are going to barely make it through 2. If flats don't last very long I will probably just stick with more prefolds.