The Packer Gear harnesses ((I have the boxer-briefs, but I can’t imagine the standard briefs being dramatically different)) are everything I wanted out of the rodeoH and didn’t get. They’re an awesome alternative to SpareParts Tomboi and in some cases, actually better. Yes- Packer Gear is made by CalEx. I’m as surprised as you are. I still don’t like CalEx as a company but of the “big four” major sex utensil companies they’re far from the worst. I give them some modicum of credit for recognising at least part ((now let’s see if we can get trans women to be included too eh?)) of the transgender community by starting to make packing products which are surprisingly good and affordable.

I have the boxer-brief style which is really a bit more of a trunk cut on me, but I appreciate that. True boxer-briefs can come down a little far on my thighs which can bunch up inside my 501’s (which, let’s be honest- if I’m packing I want that shit to get noticed). Despite being unable to find a size chart anywhere online [UPDATE! SheVibe now has waist size-range measurements available on their site], and the sizing options being XS/S, M/L, or L/XL, they fit fantastically. I got the L/XL and they fit me just right. For reference I wear an XL in my Vagina Dentata American Apparel Hot Shorts, a Large in Jockey Cotton Stretch Low-Rise, and I’m a solid size 16 in Lucky Jeans. I’d say someone a size larger than I am would still be quite comfortable in these, two sizes up might be a little snug depending on where you carry your weight. 95% cotton/5% spandex and a nice wide waistband means these are comfy enough to wear all day, and not just on days when you’re in a pinch because you forgot to do laundry.

There’s a bit of a lovechild of rodeoH and SpareParts Tomboi thing going on with these, and I like it. Inside you’ll find a vertical flap system akin to SpareParts designs. The vibe pockets are a little weird but also smart- there’s a horizontal one on the inside flap near the top (placed above where the base of a cock would be), and there’s a vertical one in the middle of the top flap. I thought this was strange until I realised that this put one bullet squarely on a potential fuckee’s clit and one squarely wedged into fucker’s junk pressing against the base of your cock. It works surprisingly well to add pressure bio-feedback with thrusting on top of vibration. Someone actually thought about this really intelligently! Slightly less well thought out is the placement of the packer-nutsack-securing-strap. This is located on the inside of the innermost flap, which is great for being able to keep your whole packer inside your underpants, but won’t work with STP style packers. In contrast SpareParts’ Tomboi puts this feature directly below the o-ring, which means your cock is dangling outside your underpants when packing- it’s a little odd. Win some you lose some I suppose.

The o-ring on Packer Gear harnesses is firm, firmer still than that on rodeoH. It also looks smaller when I compare them side-by-side. Surprisingly though it held up to and accommodated a much wider variety of sex utensils than rodeoH ever did for me. Headier cocks like Shilo and Woody/Mustang were a little tricky to get back out, but worked just fine. Silk Large, Leo, and Curve all worked beautifully. You’re definitely not going to get Maverick or Randy in here though, which I can wrangle into SpareParts ((with the help of the plastic baggie trick)). The stitching has held up through my game of Will It Fit?, something which rodoeH failed on the first round. The stitching on these all-around is really well done, and even has enough give around the thighs where some underpants get that weird thing where the thread is tighter than the fabric.

So about that “better than SpareParts in some cases” statement. I love my SpareParts harnesses, and I have nearly all their designs (I don’t have Bella, and while I own Sasha it’s been missing for over a year. This is what you get when you lend out sex utensils without making a card-catalogue checkout system first). The problem I have with most versions of Tomboi is that they’re made out of that swimsuit fabric which is really great for the standard harness styles but when worn as underwear and you sit for any period of time? They make you get a bit swampy. The exception to this is that they make a micro-modal version that is REALLY HARD TO FIND but is my favourite of the underpants harnesses. The fact that Packer Gear is 95% cotton means no swamp-crotch no matter how long I wear them or how many vinyl diner booths I sit in, and for me that’s kinda a deal breaker.

I’m really stoked that these exist. Being CalEx also means a higher likelihood of these being available in areas where there aren’t any so-called “progressive” sex shops ((yes, I’m putting that in quotes. I have some Opinions about how progressive places actually are when “gender expression” seems to completely forget about the feminine side of the trans spectrum, where gay male sexuality seems an afterthought, and where men (with the exception of trans men) feel generally unwelcome.)). For those of you who live in the breadbasket states or rural areas that only have big chain sex shops or strip-club annexes, there’s a decent chance you’ll be able to find these there. Given how difficult life as a person with A Case Of The Genders can be, in this case it’s almost a blessing that these are made by one of the big sex corps.

I’ve long struggled to have a good answer to someone who wanted a harness that didn’t trigger their dysphoria, that wasn’t marketed towards “lesbians”, and that wouldn’t break the bank. rodeoH seemed so promising and I know some people love them but I’ve had zero success with them. SpareParts are great but they’re not cheap. Making your own is an option, but not everyone is handy like that.

So now there’s an answer, and that answer is: Packer Gear.

Thanks SheVibe for carrying these and providing me with a pair. 

A note from Lorax:

Sometimes, when you’re in this line of work, you end up with sex utensils intended for anatomy that you don’t have. So it was with the OxBalls Gym-Boy. It’s languished in a drawer for some time now, occasionally making an appearance at a workshop, but never really seeing much action. I briefly considered putting on my best bedroom eyes and asking Daddy for a hand, but I wasn’t sure if this would fit- him OR me if it did fit him. I definitely needed someone to help. Seriously- we tried this out and using the Gym-Boy without a cock really leaves something to be desired. Conveniently, Evie was coming over to squeeze my cocks and borrow a few. And the rest? Well… read on…

When I first got it i was pretty intrigued. Would it stay on? Would it make my penis more or less usable? Jesus this thing is heavy! The Gym-Boy is a pretty serious looking piece of kit. At almost 9″ long, 6.5″ circumference and weighing over half a pound it looks pretty much like a large(ish) hollow dildo.

Now, a note about penis function as a trans woman. Sometimes… it doesn’t. Estrogen and testosterone blockers can definitely conspire against the possibility of ever getting an erection again for many of us, which often comes as a blessed relief, but for those of us who aren’t totally opposed to using our genitals in accordance with the user manual, an inability to maintain a firm erection can be a bit of a shame. Strap-ons are always a good option in such cases, and my first inclination was to try using the gym-boy with a harness (more about that failure later) as I was concerned it wouldn’t work as advertised when my erection inevitably softened, however I was pleasantly surprised by just how tenacious the things grip is once on.

Speaking of which: GETTING IT ON.

So the Gym-Boy is basically a big old hollow dildo made out of a rubber that feels like a cross between a soft silicone and one of those dreadful jelly toys, don’t worry though, no toxic shit here ((Made out of OxBalls’ Super-Flex TPR, Gym-Boy is phthalate free, skin safe and suitable for use with water, oil, silicone and hybrid lubes. Yay!)). Because the sheath is completely solid at the end to get your penis into it means forcing the air out. This is as hilarious as it is awkward. First you’ll want to get hard and lube up your penis, then lube the inside of the cocksheath, squeeze as much air out as possible and slide it on to your cock. I say “slide” but that’s really not an accurate term. If you managed to squeeze most of the air out it’s going to grab your penis and suck hard in it’s attempts to fill the litteral vacuum that has been created. The sensation is one of an over enthusiastic rubbery blowjob being given by someone who’s only instruction in the art of fellatio was to “suck hard”. It was initially both shocking and slightly painful. It basically felt like a penis pump. I squeezed the thing to let some air back in and the aggressive suction was relieved. This was better, but I was still only half way into the thing. Squeeze a little more air out.

~PARP-squelch-PARRRRRP-TOOT-squeltch~

Seriously, I know they warn you that it will make terrible noises when you put it on, but I was literally rolling around laughing at this point. A few more minutes of the sort of noises young kids get immensely excited over making with their hand and their armpit and I finally had the thing on.

The Gym-Boy has a built in sling for your testicles, after a few minutes of fishing around (estrogen has shrunk mine to the size of raisinettes and sometimes they get lost) I eventually managed to get mine through and held firmly in position. The whole arrangement was really pretty comfortable and felt suitably secure, however I was still uncertain that the whole thing would really stay put in use so I decided to try putting on a harness over top. This was a mistake as there was simply no way to do this without completely crushing my testicles. Bruised and somewhat wiser, I gave up on this approach and took the harness off. If you’re crafty, I imagine it would be perfectly possible to customize a harness to work with the Gym-Boy, but most off the rack models are not going to work.

Now as it happens, during this first test none of my partners were available to help test so I was on my own with no one to stick it in. I’m honestly glad I was because what with all the sound and fury getting the damn thing on entails, I’m pretty sure any mood would have been totally killed. Just to recap, this is NOT a romantic toy. You’ll either need to disappear to another room to put it on, or have a partner for whom the mood is not a thing that can be killed by several minutes of furious farting noises, or, as it would later be dubbed, cock-queefing.

Lacking outside assistance, I decided to get an idea of the sensation range the wearer might expect to get during sex by using it a bit like a Fleshlight. This was pleasant although due to the tightness of fit, the suction, and the totally smooth interior, there was not a lot going on. I should also note that hormones and T-blockers have left me with considerably reduced sensitivity so I wasn’t expecting a whole lot here anyway. The experience did leave me feeling that the Gym-Boy would be a great alternative to a strapon as it remained firmly in place despite of the vicissitudes of my erection.

Now it was at this point when I had an idea. I normally can’t get of through masturbation without the aid of a Hitachi ((now known as the Magic Wand Origional)) , so I figured what the hell, maybe I’d still be able to feel it through the Gym-Boy. HOLY FUCK This may be the best idea I’ve ever had. Turns out the rubber is the perfect medium to carry the vibrations to, well, pretty much everywhere. I think I was coming in about three or four minutes. It was probably the fastest I’ve reached orgasm in the last two years.

Since this first trial I’ve had the opportunity to use the Gym-Boy with three of my partners and it has been a resounding success. It totally stayed on and felt good while I was the one topping, and being fucked in the ass with it was great, and generally much nicer than someone using a strapon or just a dildo on me. Used as intended, I would say this is a great cock sheath (plus it functions as barrier protection which is a bonus ((to a degree- TPR is safe but semi-porous, so be sure to check with the manufacturer about how to disinfect for multi-partner use. OxBalls does not recommend boiling or dishwasher cleaning their TPR. Instead they suggest hand-washing with hot soapy water or a medical cleanser.))) but here’s the thing— you would be INSANE to just use it as intended. Combining a wand-style vibe with the Gym-Boy is, in my opinion, an absolute must. It is simply the best vibe add-on ever made (provided you have a penis handy). Position the head of the wand such that you’re hitting your partners clit (if they have one) AND the shaft of the Gym-Boy and you have possibly the worlds best vibrating sex toy. Seriously, if you have a penis in your life you need these two toys.
No really.
NEEEEEEEED THEM.
It’s that good.

So a couple of notes in summary:  After some experimentation I’ve decided that silicone lubes work better than water based ones for use on the inside of the Gym-Boy. It’s easier and less flatulent getting it on with a good silicone lube. This is not a spontaneous toy, and there is no way to use it in a seductive fashion. There just isn’t. But, if you can get over all the noise, and you have a wall outlet handy with a wand plugged in, everyone involved is very likey to have some wake-the-dog-wake-the-neighbors-wake-the-whole-damn-street kinda sex. Personally, if I’m feeling toppy, this is almost a must have item. It’s ability to stay on and give me a reliably usable cock to work with is just fantastic, and would be reason enough to recommend it over a strap on, but with a wand vibe? It is simply the most fun I’ve had with my penis.

Closing comments from Lorax:

I have a bit of sad news— OxBalls has discontinued the Gym-Boy. BUT! I dug around and it looks like my friends over at Tool Shed Toys still have some in stock! So go get them now. The folk over at OxBalls say that they’re replacing Gym-Boy with a new design, but I have no information as to what that might be yet. I will update with any new information as soon as I receive it. Tool Shed Toys also has a few of Gym-Boy’s stouter, girthier, more textured predecessor, The Dude, in stock.

There are other similar cock sheaths on the market, and I suspect that Vixen’s Ride-On will work similarly to the Gym-Boy in many regards. Ride-On is more realistic in sculpt and smaller overall, which might be a plus for some folk. Ride-On is also 100% silicone, which makes it more expensive, but also fully sterilisable. Vixen also makes the Colossus, for those who really like girth. Colossus won’t carry vibration the same way Gym-Boy does, due to the softer and thinner silicone of the sheath.