Tampon preferences

So I'm new to the whole tampon thing I never used then until after I had my son, my mother had me scared to death of them. I have tried 2 different brands 1 being Platex sport which is the 360 design and then the Walmart brand that's comparable to the tampax pearl and let me tell you I never thought thered really be a difference in those 2 things but the platex I forget it's even there. The tampax version it literally feels like a dry cotton ball shoved up there and I noticed after taking a new one out and looking at how it's designed they are truly a crappy design so it got me wondering does anyone actually like those? Do they hurt you or feel uncomfortable like they did for me? I'm genuinely curious because I practically have a whole box of unused tampax ones because they suck!