Condom technology expands for extra small/large customers
Perhaps it's the next best thing since sliced bread or, at the very least, it's a conversation starter, but a German research company is in the testing phase of a new spray-on condom.
The Institute for Condom-Guidance, located in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany, has been working on the condom since spring 2006.
“We had first a very big interest in Germany,” said Jan Vinzenz Krause, the condoms' inventor and project coordinator. “And the public reaction from men to the spray-on condom was quite positive. We got around 9,000 guys from all over the world who registered as a tester.”
The condom itself operates mainly the same way a regular condom does by creating a thin latex barrier between the male and female to lower the risk or pregnancy and transference of STI's. It's just the application differs from what we're used to.
“The condom is very easy to put on and fits like a second skin,” Krause explains. “The man puts his erect penis into a tube-like device, then you have to push a button and within a few seconds the penis will be sprayed with latex and the condom is ready for use.”
Removal is just as simple, as with a conventional condom, you just roll the condom off the penis, and it can then be tossed into the garbage.
Logistically, besides being a spray-on, there is one other difference between Krause's condom and the more traditional one, and that's that you won't find a tip, or reservoir, on the spray-on variety. But Krause explained that it doesn't pose a problem when the man ejaculates because when it comes to doing a timeline of condom technology, the tips are a recent addition.
“The tip is a very new invention for a condom developed in the last 20 or 25 years,” said Krause. “Using the spray-on condom it's not necessary that we have this reservoir or tip. The sperm goes into the bottom of the condom and the sperm will [stay] in the bottom of the condom. So it is not a problem.”
The condoms target market is aimed at about 20 per cent of the male population. The Institute conducted research in Germany regarding the median penis size of the country's population, and found that about 10 per cent of men had a smaller penis size, with an additional 10 per cent tipping the scales as larger than average. Those 20 per cent told the Institute that they had a harder time finding conventional condoms that fit comfortably, and were excited to hear that a spray-on version was being tested.
One of the perks to using the spray-on condom according to Krause is the smell.
“Can you remember when you used the condom for the first time?” asked Krause. “When you [hold it], it smelled like latex, and it was awful. But with this spray on condom you don't have to touch the condom, only when you throw it away, but when you put it on you don't have that problem. Your fingers, it's really great, they don't smell.”
Additionally he believes that it makes having sex safer for both partners because, as Krause pointed out, usually it's dark when the condom gets put on, and sometimes it becomes difficult to see which side of the condom is the inside versus the outside. And of course, if you put it on inside out, it then has to be thrown out and you start all over, which isn't exactly conducive to keeping the mood.
“At the moment we are using prototypes,” Krause explained. “So the prototype I have here at my lab, you can imagine [it's] like [a half litre] bottle of water. If you measure the thickness of the tube it's about 10 cm. The prototype is quite a bit bigger then we plan to develop the real product.”
Price-wise the condoms are expected to retail for quite a bit more than normal condoms do, but compare favourably to specialty condoms.
“You buy the tube [for] around 15-25 Euros [$20-35 CAD] and you can use the tube many times, so it's one investment,” continued Krause. “Then you buy the latex, and one box is seven-10 Euros ($10-14 CAD) and you can make around 10-20 condoms with the latex material depending on how thick the condom is. So the condom price will be around one Euro for one condom, and compared to other condoms it is a little bit more expensive than the regular condoms.”
However close the product is to being market ready, the last, and hardest, hurdle the company has to leap is approval from the European Union, which has strict condom regulations, before sales start in Europe. Which means that we shouldn't expect sales in North America to start for at least another year.
Once the condom does become available to the masses, look for the Institute to use coloured latex, such as they're using during testing. Popular colours so far include red, blue and yellow.
“With the spray on condom it's like going to a tailor if you want to make a perfect suit, shoes or something,” concludes Krause. “The tube is like your tailor, you get a tailor-made condom that fits perfectly.”
The Institute for Condom-Guidance, located in Baden-Württemberg, southern Germany, has been working on the condom since spring 2006.
“We had first a very big interest in Germany,” said Jan Vinzenz Krause, the condoms' inventor and project coordinator. “And the public reaction from men to the spray-on condom was quite positive. We got around 9,000 guys from all over the world who registered as a tester.”
The condom itself operates mainly the same way a regular condom does by creating a thin latex barrier between the male and female to lower the risk or pregnancy and transference of STI's. It's just the application differs from what we're used to.
“The condom is very easy to put on and fits like a second skin,” Krause explains. “The man puts his erect penis into a tube-like device, then you have to push a button and within a few seconds the penis will be sprayed with latex and the condom is ready for use.”
Removal is just as simple, as with a conventional condom, you just roll the condom off the penis, and it can then be tossed into the garbage.
Logistically, besides being a spray-on, there is one other difference between Krause's condom and the more traditional one, and that's that you won't find a tip, or reservoir, on the spray-on variety. But Krause explained that it doesn't pose a problem when the man ejaculates because when it comes to doing a timeline of condom technology, the tips are a recent addition.
“The tip is a very new invention for a condom developed in the last 20 or 25 years,” said Krause. “Using the spray-on condom it's not necessary that we have this reservoir or tip. The sperm goes into the bottom of the condom and the sperm will [stay] in the bottom of the condom. So it is not a problem.”
The condoms target market is aimed at about 20 per cent of the male population. The Institute conducted research in Germany regarding the median penis size of the country's population, and found that about 10 per cent of men had a smaller penis size, with an additional 10 per cent tipping the scales as larger than average. Those 20 per cent told the Institute that they had a harder time finding conventional condoms that fit comfortably, and were excited to hear that a spray-on version was being tested.
One of the perks to using the spray-on condom according to Krause is the smell.
“Can you remember when you used the condom for the first time?” asked Krause. “When you [hold it], it smelled like latex, and it was awful. But with this spray on condom you don't have to touch the condom, only when you throw it away, but when you put it on you don't have that problem. Your fingers, it's really great, they don't smell.”
Additionally he believes that it makes having sex safer for both partners because, as Krause pointed out, usually it's dark when the condom gets put on, and sometimes it becomes difficult to see which side of the condom is the inside versus the outside. And of course, if you put it on inside out, it then has to be thrown out and you start all over, which isn't exactly conducive to keeping the mood.
“At the moment we are using prototypes,” Krause explained. “So the prototype I have here at my lab, you can imagine [it's] like [a half litre] bottle of water. If you measure the thickness of the tube it's about 10 cm. The prototype is quite a bit bigger then we plan to develop the real product.”
Price-wise the condoms are expected to retail for quite a bit more than normal condoms do, but compare favourably to specialty condoms.
“You buy the tube [for] around 15-25 Euros [$20-35 CAD] and you can use the tube many times, so it's one investment,” continued Krause. “Then you buy the latex, and one box is seven-10 Euros ($10-14 CAD) and you can make around 10-20 condoms with the latex material depending on how thick the condom is. So the condom price will be around one Euro for one condom, and compared to other condoms it is a little bit more expensive than the regular condoms.”
However close the product is to being market ready, the last, and hardest, hurdle the company has to leap is approval from the European Union, which has strict condom regulations, before sales start in Europe. Which means that we shouldn't expect sales in North America to start for at least another year.
Once the condom does become available to the masses, look for the Institute to use coloured latex, such as they're using during testing. Popular colours so far include red, blue and yellow.
“With the spray on condom it's like going to a tailor if you want to make a perfect suit, shoes or something,” concludes Krause. “The tube is like your tailor, you get a tailor-made condom that fits perfectly.”
