condomsWhen buying condoms, I obviously want to buy something reliable.
In looking around, I’ve identified that some brands are thinner, others have different material compositions, others have different designs or sizes…
Do these things have any impact on how likely the condom is to break? If so, how do I identify condom brands/designs that are less likely to fail?
Feel free to assume I’m using them correctly, following instructions, and not using expired condoms. Also feel free to assume I’m not storing my condoms in the same drawer as my tacks.
Within the UK you can look for condoms that carry a ‘kite mark’ which is a trusted UK safety standard and meets stringent testing standards. In the rest of Europe condoms that carry the CE mark have met European standard set down by the EU
The link below gives some definition to this
http://www.studentadvice.cam.ac.uk/welfare/sexualhealth/condomsafetytests.html
I have discovered many UK brands when travelling abroad, and would always look for durex/mates. In the U.S. Trojan also has a good reputation.
As a rule of thumb when I have been travelling, if unable to obtain a condom that did not have a safety standard mark. I would always purchase from a pharmacy/chemist/drugstore. Never to purchace a ‘novelty’ condom, and to avoid condoms from vending machines unless I had no choice
Condoms are an excellent way to protect yourself from sexually transmitted infections, and as a contraceptive device, however no condom offers 100% protection, although if used properly a condom with a safety mark should offer over 99% protection from failure. It is also worth remembering that many lubricants are not always condom safe, so if you are using a lubricant check that it is not oil based as that will destroy the condom.
http://www.nakedtruth.idaho.gov/condom-dos-and-donts.aspx
In general (not taking into account counterfeit) condoms are tested according to standards if they are commercially available in a country that requires such testing practices. To obtain quality assurance information from a specific brand, you could ask them, and since making you believe their product is safe you would probably get an answer.
So, if condoms from a reasonably reliable producer are bought in a country where there are rules about this and/or they might be persecuted in case of failure to comply by these rules, you should probably not worry about reliability if you use them correctly.
Common condom brands usually have different condoms available of which some are marked as "extra safe" or "extra thick". These will generally be safer than other products of the same brand.
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