Using a metal ring is incredibly dangerous and I highly suggest you stop. Cock rings are made to be stretchy so that they can be removed easily. If you become too erect and the metal ring can’t be taken off, you risk cutting off blood flow and severely injuring yourself. Real cock rings can be found as cheap at $3, please invest in one of those. — Respectable Tumblr Sex Advice Blog

There is nothing incredibly dangerous about rigid rings, nor are “real” cockrings made of stretchy materials. If that were the case, chastity devices and such would be putting people into hospitals on a regular basis, and they aren’t. ((Of course there are some legitimate cases of people making Bad Decisions With Their Penis Accessories, but they are far from the norm)) There are, however, a few things you want to be aware of when using a rigid cockring:

SIZE— You don’t want to size too far down, if at all, from the natural snug measurement of your anatomy. How do you know the right size?

1. Use a piece of string, narrow ribbon, or shoelace (my favorite) and bring it up behind your nuts ((testicles, testicular implants, plump labia majora, saline-infused tissue, or whatever other part of your body you deem to be your nuts in this situation)) up around the base of your dick, where it meets your body. Pull this comfortably snug but NOT tight. Mark your shoelace on both sides where it overlaps.
2. Measure the distance between the two marks. This will give you the circumference of your cock-n-balls ((Which is where your ring should rest. But you knew that right?)). For some brands, this is all you need. But for most brands, who size based on diameter, there’s one more step.
3. Divide your circumference by π (aka 3.14) to get your diameter.

MATERIALS— It’s true that with cheap metals, which may contain things like zinc, people can develop or have allergies. Most decent metal cockrings are made from surgical stainless steel, niobium, tungsten, or in some cases gold or titanium. These are the same materials used for body piercings, and are totally safe. Generally if you have a metal allergy you probably already know about it from mishaps with necklaces or mood rings won in vending machines.

PROPER USAGE— It is also correct that you shouldn’t wear a cockring that provides constriction of bloodflow (which not all cockrings do- some are more designed for perineum stimulation, while others are often sized with no constriction and are worn for aesthetic reasons) for too long. Typically 20-30 minutes of active constriction if the whole package is involved, an hour or so if just the shaft. If you experience discomfort or a loss of sensation while using ANY ring, rigid or stretchy, remove it.

Yes- rigid rings are harder to remove while erect. The key is to relax and go gently. If you stress, your blood pressure goes up, and the erection says firmer. Lube can help. Sometimes you can work your balls out of the ring during an erection, depending on the anatomy you’re working with, sometimes you can’t. Applying a cool cloth can help to return things to their flaccid state and make removal easier. If you absolutely cannot remove ANY form of cockring, you can head to your local ER. They’ve seen it all before (trust me- people have livetweeted the removal of all manner of foreign objects lost in rectums), and can help remove the ring.

The following are some favourite cockrings which have passed the Good Idea Meter test amongst my friends, colleagues, and myself:

• Velv’Or J’Naja is great for those looking for a comfortable rigid ring that provides a bit of perineal stimulation. After gifting one to a friend I received the most romantic text ever: “I am wearing the J’Naja and the pressure against my perineum makes me think of you~” Apparently it also meant shopping at Costco got extra interesting, and having sex with watermelons was more-than-briefly considered.
• Nob Essence’s Rendezvous ring is beautiful wood for your, well…
• basic sets like these Chrome Rings are great for testing out sizes before investing in something fancy (and can double as o-rings in a strap-on harness)
• Mr. S Leather has a glorious selection of all things cockring and it’s pretty hard to go wrong with any of them. Bonus “How to put on (and remove) a Metal Cockring” video on their classic Anodized Aluminum Ring page.
• Body jewellery, particularly the “captive ball ring” style, or even sized finger-rings can be great for those of us working with bodies which are more than a few standard deviations away from the majority cockring market. Measuring is pretty much the same, though you’ll want to familiarise yourself with your country’s ring sizing scale.

If you like the look and the idea of a rigid ring, but aren’t quite ready to commit to something which can’t be removed with a pair of safety shears? Tantus makes nice silicone versions of the classic and teardrop style rings, also Laid makes sightly stretchier but quite firm rings and slings, any of which would make a great alternative to a metal ring.

Used properly, rigid cockrings won’t send you to the hospital or make your dick fall off. Just make sure your materials are sound and you’re choosing the right one for your body. Just like any other sex utensil your first foray isn’t the place to get overly ambitious. And remember, if it can get a boner you can put a ring on it and it’ll probably feel pretty good.

Of course, there’s a slight difficulty in reviewing cockrings for me, that being my lack of a flesh penis. I have lots of cocks, but none that would derive any real benefit from a cockring, or which would allow me to really provide much feedback. So I had to select a suitable stunt-dick for this one. I have a few, but I went with someone who I knew would appreciate the bat-ness as much as I do. I handed over the red bat, and gave some instruction and a quick demo of this particular ring, and sent him off to do his thing.

The Bad Bat and Devil Bat (devil bat being the same, just in red) cockrings by Shots Toys are 100% silicone toys, save for the (removable) vibe in the bat head. I flamed one just to be sure, and yep- these are indeed silicone and not some weird “silicone blend” ((Protip: there is no such thing as a “silicone blend”. It’s either silicone, or it’s not.)). Huzzah! They’re semi-stretchy, so they do have a bit of a range of size to them, and can be used as a penis ring (in front of the testicles) or a proper cockring (behind the testicles), depending on how you like to wear your ring, and your penis size. It’s a fairly narrow ring as well, similar to the o-rings used in traditional strap-on harnesses, rather than the broader style of many other rings. This makes the sensation of constriction more intense in many cases, I have found. Putting the bats onto a penis can be a bit trickly, what with the wings and tail and head. They like to get a bit twisted up, even if you use the wings as handles to stretch the ring. Definitely takes a bit of fidgeting with to get it on aligned properly, and with no twists.

The vibe is removable, as I said earlier, which is really kinda nice. It also has a battery access door, so you can replace the batteries. It’s not a super powerful bullet though, it’s akin to most disposable vibrating cockrings, and is powered by the little watch batteries. The bat head is more pronounced, which is nice, and allows for more likelihood of clitoral contact (if the partner has a clitoris, of course). Placed upside-down, the bat head can gently buzz the perineum and testicles which is kinda nice as well. Since the vibe is a small watch-battery powered deal, it’s more of a gentle hum than a full-strength vibrator, and is likely not enough to get someone off when used against a clitoris. For me, the vibe in this is almost not worth mentioning- I need something deep, rumbly, and powerful. I know that there are those out there who do prefer something softer, or whose kink is teasing and orgasm denial who might find this ideal.

My chosen stunt-dick for this turns out to be slightly above average in girth and, despite the larger-than-many internal diameter of the ring, this ring was a bit small for him. He found that the ring was uncomfortably constrictive after a short period of time. Discomfort is generally not what one is going for with a cockring, and while they are designed to restrict the bloodflow back out of the penis he felt as if the overall bloodflow was being cut off too much. Perhaps if the ring were a bit broader, it might have been a better fit. He loved the bat aspect of it though, as I knew he would. His partner felt much the same as I do about the vibe- she is very clitorally oriented when it comes to her orgasms (as am I) and she found the sensation to be “interesting”, but not enough to get her doing the batty-bat. I dunno about you, but “interesting” is rarely a compliment, at times like these.

So the Bad Bat is cute and whimsical, and if you have used disposable vibrating rings before and liked those then it certainly might be worth a go if you’re like me and are drawn to all things batty. Just be mindful of your girth- if you’re average or a little under you’ll probably be fine, if you’re on the girthier side I’d be a little cautious unless you know you like a strong constriction.

Super huge thanks to the wicked-awesome folk at Early To Bed for sending these to me. Gotta love when folk enable my obsession with all things bat!