Ed & Phoebe Swinger
Do you have a love hate relationship with condoms? You love the safety it provides to yourself and your partner but hate the insulating feel. The size of the condom, the material it’s made of, and how thin it is; all play an important role for safety, comfort, and increased pleasure for both sexual partners.
MEASUREMENTS
There are 2 measurements of a condom you want to pay attention to: circumference and length. Don’t just assume your size. Companies have been marketing condoms as, “mega” or “anaconda” when they are really just a regular size, so don’t be fooled by the marketing if you are trying to get the right fit.
MATERIALS
Condoms are made of different materials: Latex, Polyisoprene, and Polyurethane. They also have different thicknesses ranging from the thickest of 95 microns to thinnest at 15 microns; in the United States. Japan has a condom as thin as .001 microns and let me say….they feel amazing. They aren’t cheap, but they feel great!
Latex condoms will be the thickest, nice and stretchy, and less likely to slip off.
Polyisoprene condoms are thinner, stretchier, softer, clear, and odorless. This condom is a safe option for those with latex allergies. Beware, they can have a sloppy fit if you aren’t girthy enough. These condoms should not be used with oil lubricants; and hopefully never coconut oil as a lubricant…period!
Polyurethane condoms are THE thinnest condom made by Okamoto Condoms. They have no odor or taste and don’t insulate so you can feel the body heat by both partners. Their marketing materials say they are made of Sheerlon and meant to feel like a bareback experience. The downsides are a decreased elasticity and a loose fit so they can slip off, and 5X more likely to split or break during sex. They are also slightly less effective preventing STIs, simply because of their looser fit. In addition, they are not cheap at $3.00 to $5.00 per condom! Not the best bet for swinger sexcapades.
THICK OR THIN?
In the United States, our average condom is 40 micrometers thick. I scoured the internet in search for the FDA regulation that dictates how thin our condoms can be, but have yet to find the standard and the reason why.
In Germany, their condoms are 18 micrometers thick and in Japan, they are as low as .001 micrometers thick! They are so thin, you can barely tell anything is in the package.
SAFETY
Are thin condoms safe?
The United States condoms are considered Class II medical device which must meet the “water” leak test to endure no fluids can leak out of the condom.
Japan has a long history of innovation and quality when it comes to condoms so you can infer that they are fluid leak safe but again, I have run across no study that shows this.
CONCLUSION
If you want a better experience with a condom, be sure to find your right fit. Take measurements, use the charts, buy some condoms, and experiment. Discern for yourself if you want to go super thin for the cost of $3 to $5 per condom with the chance of it slipping off or breaking, or go for a slightly thicker condom to use with your play partners.
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