Ring Size Really Counts

I like new things and I like to tinker. If you’ve been reading our blog for any time, you know that. I started trying male chastity devices about twenty years ago when I decided to review them. I quickly learned that fit made the difference between being wearable and pure pain. When I decided I wanted to surrender my sexuality, I had a lot of experience with chastity devices. I selected a custom-made Jail Bird by Mature Metal. Their devices offer a wide range of customization. Based on prior experience and very careful measuring, I believed that a 1-3/4 inch diameter base ring would be secure and comfortable. I was right. The initial cage was 1/2 inch too long. After I had that shortened, I have the device I wear to this day.

One thing bothered me a little. I could get more than one knuckle of my 2nd finger under the base ring where it goes over the center of my penis. The rule of thumb is that you should only be able to get up to the first knuckle of that finger anywhere under the ring if the fit is right and the device is secure. I had been wearing the Jail Bird for almost two years at that point. I had read that somehow the area the ring covers will shrink over time. So, I jumped to the conclusion that I lost some size there.

So, I ordered a 1-5/8 inch ring from Mature Metal. That is the next smaller standard size. When it arrived, Mrs. Lion unlocked me and we substituted the new, smaller ring. The next day I was in pain. The new ring irritated me and I was red and sore. Mrs. Lion put me back in the original 1-3/4 inch ring. All was well again.

Imagine that? Just a change in size of 1/8th inch diameter was enough to change the device from perfectly comfortable to miserable. When you consider that all the off-the-shelf devices offer only 1/4 inch size differences, it seems that it would be easy to get a ring truly too large or too small with no ability to find the right size. I was surprised such a small change would have such a dramatic result. The bigger surprise was yet to come.

I ordered a custom, 1-11/16 inch ring. That is only 1/16th inch smaller than the comfortable 1-3/4 inch ring. I reasoned that I wouldn’t even notice such a small change in size again. Boy, was I wrong! The 1 11/16th  inch ring irritated me after only one night of wear. I went back to the original 1-3/4 inch ring.

Yesterday, I decided to repeat the experiment. It bothered me that such a small change could cause me so much trouble. If you do the math (Circumference = π * Diameter), 1/16th inch increase in diameter adds about 3/16th inch of circumference. That’s less than a quarter of an inch! It made no sense to me that my skin would be so upset by such a small change. So, I asked Mrs. Lion to let me put the 1-11/16 inch ring on. I did. After a night’s sleep and a day of work I was irritated again.

I can understand why so many guys feel the need to lube under the base ring. It turns out that the diameter of this ring is critical for comfort. Changes, even very small changes, can spell the difference between complete comfort and a lot of irritation. I don’t think there is a good way to predict exactly which size will work. From a comfort perspective, finding the largest ring that won’t let one of your balls escape on its own is probably the most likely candidate for lasting comfort.

Over time, if the device isn’t comfortable, the chances it stays on is small. If my Jail Bird caused me the irritation that the 1/16th inch smaller ring caused me, I am very sure I would stop being locked up in a chastity device. Yes, I might have tried lubricating cream. But the simple fact that I had to work to remain locked up would have been an energy-draining distraction from the device’s real purpose: sexual control.