Condom Failures

1. You fail to lubricate them.
2. You use an oil-based lubricant such as vaseline or a mineral oil lube.
3. You reuse them.
4. You use them past the expiry date.
5. You store them for an extended time in a hot place (such as your wallet or back pocket).
6. For them to work, you need to take them off carefully to avoid spillage.
7. Some condoms are made of lamb gut. These are not suitable for preventing HIV transmission.

Condoms can also be used to keep toys such as dildos and vibrators clean.

Condom Types

Types of Condom
Photo	Type	Notes
	unlubricated	for oral, e.g. Trojan Regular.
	flavored	for oral, e.g. Trustex cola, also come in banana, vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. Regular laxtex condoms have a rubbery taste and are sometimes dusted with foul-tasting powder. For oral use, go for a flavoured condom that is obviously designed for oral sex.
	coloured	for pretending you are a black guy, or… Condomania makes a sampler of different colours.
	lubricated	for anal. e.g. Trojan Enz Lubricated or Durex Natural Feeling. Plain, garden-variety condom.
	lubricated with tiny ribs	for anal giving extra stimulation to both partners. These work much better than you might expect from looking at them. They don’t do much for vaginal sex, e.g. Contempo Erotica or Trojan Ribbed and Durex Ultimate Feeling.
	lubricated with tiny ribs and dots	These give the sensory illusion of small holes in the tip of the condom which is quite pleasurable for the male. Beyond Seven make them. This was my favourite back when I was having sex.
	lubricated with spermicide A V O I D	for vaginal sex for pregnancy prevention. Don’t use these for HIV protection since they increase the risk of infection by 50%. Don’t use these for anal sex either since the rectum can absorb the spermicide, e.g. Trojan Enz with Spermicidal Lubricant. You have to be careful on any condom order to make sure the condom specifies no spermicide. Most condoms come in both lubricated and spermicide versions.
	heavy duty	for anal. Life Styles make one as do Durex. For anal sex, you want to make sure there is no grit in the rectum. It will make short work of even the toughest condom.
	large and small sizes	For men with thick penes, larger condoms are easier to put on. A rolled condom has little stretch compared with unrolled. It is not just for bragging. Putting on standard condoms can be quite painful and difficult. Try a larger size if it takes you five minutes to get one on and your penis turns blue by the time you get it unrolled e.g. Trojan Magnum. If you want to get the fit just right, you can get custom fit ones that come in 55 sizes.
	extra thin	to give greater sensation. They are reputedly just as strong. The most famous of these is the original Japanese Kimono Microthin. Now American companies make them as well, e.g. Contempo Bareback, Trojan very thin or LifeStyles Ultra Sensitive.
	polyurethane	for people with an allergy to latex. Reputedly thinner and stronger than latex. Polyurethane is unaffected by oil-based lubricants. They don’t have that latex smell. I like these kind. I keep checking to make sure it has not broken the feel is so good. They are much less elastic than latex condoms so are quite difficult to put on. The most well known is the Durex Avanti.
	bulbous tips	And various special shapes. I think this is mainly just marketing. I can’t tell the difference in sensation. The theory is the condom can rub around on the tip of the penis. One such is the Trojan Very Sensitive
	female	These condoms are about $3.00 CAD each. They are very large and have a ring at both ends to hold them in place. The picture is not to scale. They provide greater stimulation for the male since his penis slides over the condom’s inner surface. They are not quite as safe as standard condoms for preventing HIV transmission. The inner surface of the condom is smooth but crinkly like cellophane, not ribbed. It provides quite a bit of friction, but I found it had a slightly brittle and scratchy feeling. You would think it should have a slightly textured inner surface. The male has to be careful to thread his penis into the condom when he thrusts. This is not as hard as you might think since the outer ring is huge — much, much bigger than the ring of a male condom. These are not recommended for anal use. The condom is gentler on the female. If you find yourself holding back because your female partner feels sore, this condom may be more comfortable for her. One such is the FC née Reality.

Condom Manufacturers

• Trojan
• Durex (Sheik/Avanti/Ramses)
• Mayer Labs (Kimono/Maxx)
• LifeStyles
• Okamoto Beyond Seven

Condom Web Stores

• CondomMania has a bewildering assortment of condoms. They even have condom vending machines.
  
• Condom Express has a particularly good website with the differences between the types of condoms explained with photos.
• SexToys has a modest assortment of the basic types.
• Rubber Rainbow has stores in both the USA and Canada. They do mail order and now have secure on-line ordering.
• Xessentials: basic condoms in Britain.
• SafeSexCanada: basic condoms in Canada.

Caveats