| Insulatard is a specific brand name for the isophane insulin made by Novo Nordisk. Insulins can get a bit confusing because everyone seems to have a different name for them. Basically, 'NPH' and 'isophane' refer to a synthetic insulin that's cloudy and is used as a basal insulin. 'NPH' is how it's refered to in the US and Canada. In the UK, 'isophane' is more commonly used. 'Insulatard' is the specific version of it made by Novo Nordisk. Eli Lilly make a range of similar insulins under the brand name Humalin.
There's nothing 'wrong' with these older insulins and in some cases they're actually preferable to the newer ones. Many people though find that they hit a wall with basal insulins that peak - eventually it gets to the point where you simply can't take enough basal insulin without eating a lot at first to deal with the peak. That's why a lot of people with T1 used to put on weight - with Insulatard and Humalin you do tend to feed the insulin, rather than the other way around. You can get reasonable A1Cs with them but you can't really get a good A1C on peaking basals without having a lot of hypos.
Lantus and Levemir can be a bit daunting at first, and there's usually a lot of trial and error in the first few days because your bolus doses usually need a bit of re-evaluation - because you're not peaking and troughing on your basal anymore, some boluses need to go up, some go down, and some stay the same. However, you can get some fantastic results with Lantus and Levemir. With a bit of work, you can get as good control as you would on an insulin pump - it's possible to get an A1C of under 5.5 on Lantus. In any case, it's certainly easier to get your A1C under 6.4, which is where it should be.  | 
