ON LATEX

SAFE SEX TIPS YOU CAN USE



by Mike and Marla

Thanks to the genius of our publishers and the generosity of The Rubber Tree, we are able to proudly present to you, dear readers, the first of an ongoing series of condom reviews.

While enough has been said and written about the necessity and wisdom of using condoms in this day and age, critical comparisons of these latex life jackets are virtually non-existent.

As with restaurants or compacts discs, condoms vary wildly in quality. You may venture into a new restaurant to try their pasta, or risk some cash on a CD you think you may like, but do you really want to be spinning a roulette wheel when it comes to choosing your condoms? Well, have no fear - we're here to help take the guesswork out of your next trip to the contraceptive aisle.

We received a box of 25 condoms from The Rubber Tree for this article. As we only had four days to do the story, we had a little picking and choosing to do (talk about deadline pressure). We wanted to make this review as systematic as possible, to give each condom a fighting chance, so we limited our choices first to lubricated condoms. We set aside MAXX Plus and MAGNUM (Mike was too intimidated by the condoms whose diameters were larger than a silver dollar.) This cut the pile almost in half.

We then decided that this would be a blind test (like the Pepsi Challenge!) We would pick from a handful of condoms without looking at them, open one behind our back, and then put the wrapper under the bed until the "test" was over. That way we wouldn't know which condom we had until we looked at the wrapper.

We picked five, without duplicating brands, and threw in one studded condom for good measure. We vowed to write down any comments before looking at the wrapper, shuffled the deck and began. So without any further ado ... the envelope please:



Plus Beyond 7
Japanese - 55¢
This one was short, small and constricting. We don't know what the "Beyond 7" refers to, but it certainly can't be inches. If it refers to lasting beyond 7 minutes, even that might be pushing it because this was one of those condoms that constantly feels like it's about to fall off.

Marla: * Mike: *

Trojan Plus
American - 30¢
Ooooooh ... it's a Glad Bag. This one was thick and crinkly, like an old balloon that you find underneath a couch cushion. Marla said it had a "nasty odor" and she'd use one of these again only if it were the condom of last resort.

Marla: * Mike: **

Kimono Micro Thin Plus
Japanese - 55¢
We didn't have much to say about this one, but that was good. We both agreed it felt thinner and smoother. Marla said "it felt like it wasn't even there."

Marla: **** Mike: ***

Sagami Type E
Japanese - 55¢
It's ribbed!!! We thought there weren't any ribbed condoms in our sample, so this was a surprise (it didn't say so on the front - you had to read the fine print on the back). But it was all downhill from there. It was short and hard to unroll. These are on sale for 30¢ at The Rubber Tree for the next few weeks, but we don't recommend that you go out and buy a case.

Marla: ** Mike: *

Rough Rider - studded
American - 30¢
Yeeeeeee-hah! Git along little doggies!!! Marla really enjoyed this one. She said the studs felt bigger when it was in the package, but it made her feel like she was "melting" nonetheless. Mike was kind of drunk for this review and said that once it was on he felt like he "was going into battle."

Marla: ***** Mike: ***

Sheik
American - 30¢
This one felt like coming home, like putting on your favorite pair of Levi's. This happened to be the last one, so we knew which one it would be. Perhaps that caused us to be a little biased, but it's with good justification. It opens easily, unrolls smoothly and is more lubricated than any of the others. Marla said "it felt much more natural than the others." A real winner.

Marla: **** Mike: *****



Please see a reader response to this article.


"On Latex" is sponsored by The Rubber Tree, a non-profit Seattle Zero Population Growth Project and dealer of latex and other safer-sex products. The Rubber Tree is located at 4426 Burke Ave. N., across from Wallingford Center. Send a SASE and get a mail-order catalog, or call them at (206) 633-4750.

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Contents on this page were published in the July/August, 1993 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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