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I live in Canada, arguably the best country in the world to conduct
this sort of research. In addition to any number of 24-hour drug
stores the size of university gymnasiums, Canada. has specialty shops
catering to every conceivable sexual predilection. However, I limited
the test sample to condoms that are 1) readily available at Drug
stores or bathroom walls etc.; or, 2) available on any number of
Internet retail sites.

I tested condoms that seemed to be the most advanced and innovative.
For instance, I tried the Trojan Warm Sensations condom, but I did not
try Twisted Pleasure, a variation on the more common ribbed condom.
With one exception, I chose condoms without the spermicide
Nonoxynol-9, which recent studies have suggested may increase the risk
of HIV and other STDs.

My boyfriend and I graded in four categories.

1) Feeling, by which I mean proximity to the real thing. How much did
it feel like there was no condom at all?

2) Lubrication and ease of application. How well-lubricated was the
condom? Did it stay lubricated? (To keep the playing field level, we
used no outside lubricants.) Did it go on easily? Was it ill-fitting?
For the most part, we stuck with normal-sized condoms. (Among the crop
of larger-sized models, the standout is the Trojan Magnum. And for
those men really eager to impress there is the Trojan Magnum XL, the
Hummer of condoms.)

3) Aesthetics. Some condoms have only a slight latex scent, others
smell as though you're making out in a tire factory. And while most
condoms look alike, a few unfortunate specimens made us wonder whether
their designers had some kind of plumbing work in mind.

4} Protecting the payload. We need a condom that fully protects the
wadd of ejaculate so
it can be consumed at a later time.

Price was not a major consideration, since none of the condoms we
tested were exceedingly expensive—they all averaged about $12 for a
pack of 12. (Lambskin condoms cost considerably more, but we did not
test them, as they're porous and don't necessarily prevent disease
transmission.) We graded on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being the best. Here
are the candidates from worst to best.

RESULTS

Trojan Shared Pleasure Warm Sensations
Price: 12-pack $7 to $12 (Prices vary widely, depending on the
pharmacy, supermarket, or Internet site where you buy them.)
"Pleasure" is Trojan's marketing buzzword. The Warm Sensations condom
is coated with a special gel that is supposed to heat up with
intercourse. There are any number of drawbacks to protected sex, but
I've never found low temperature to be one of them. We couldn't fathom
the point of this condom, and, indeed, the special heating gel did not
add to the experience. As for lubrication, the moistening agent on
this Trojan (as with many other Trojans) took on a dry, powdery feel.
And the rubbery smell that seems to grow more distinct with use
doesn't exactly keep you in the mood.
The wadd was neatly kept in the tip and was readily available for my
boyfriend to taste together.

Feeling: 3
Lubrication/ease of application: 2
Aesthetics: 3
Protecting the payload: 4
Total: 12

Trojan Her Pleasure
Price: 12-pack $8 to $13
Her Pleasure offers a "unique texturing designed to help provide extra
sensation for a woman's most sensitive area." Translation: This condom
has weird cross-hatchings at its base. Her Pleasure provided none of
the fun that Pleasure Mesh did. My partner, meanwhile, said it was
probably best "for awkward angles." (I did not pursue the point.) In
addition to the pungent rubber smell and too-tight fit, the
lubrication was insufficient.

Feeling: 3
Lubrication: 2
Aesthetics: 3
Total: 8

Sagami Type E
Price: 12-pack $7 to $15
For some reason, the people at Sagami Rubber Industries in Tokyo made
the Type E an eerie shade of green. Unless you're into weird Asian
porn, or like to pretend a lizard lives in your shorts, you may find
the look of this condom disconcerting. The Sagami Type E offers
several layers of stimulation—an inch of small nobs, then an inch of
mesh, then several more inches of nobs. In practice, the Sagami was
fine, and the bells and whistles added to our experience, but we
couldn't get over the ridiculous appearance.

Feeling: 2 to 5 (5 if you like the kinky stuff, 2 if you don't)
Lubrication: 3
Aesthetics: 1
Total: 6 to 9

Trojan Pleasure Mesh
Price: 12-pack $8 to $13
This condom is a streamlined improvement on the standard ribbed
condom. Ribs, which are made by stretching and folding the latex of
the condom, tend to flatten out after a few minutes. They have always
been more about novelty than function. But the latex of the Pleasure
Mesh is striated, like a storm-fence laid over a flat wall. My
partner's reaction, if not as enthusiastic as my own, was favorable.
She reported increased stimulation, but added that "without good
technique, [the mesh] won't make much difference." Lubrication was
adequate.

Feeling: 3
Lubrication: 4
Aesthetics: 3 (Just don't stare at it.)
Total: 10

Kimono
Price: 12-pack $10 to $16
The Kimono had a creamy, even luxurious, feel. ("Velvety," was my
partner's word.) Presentation matters, of course, and we liked the
well-packaged Kimono immediately. The box, matte-finished cherry red
and adorned with lotus leaves, looks Zenlike and lovely on the bedside
table. The individual foil packages inside come in easy-to-tear pairs
(in contrast to Trojan's annoying, waxy, sausage-string approach). The
Kimono went on easily with virtually no latex scent. Alas, nothing's
perfect—the lubrication did wear off slightly.

Feeling: 5
Lubrication: 3
Aesthetics: 5
Total: 13

Trojan Extended Pleasure
Price: 12-pack $12.99
According to the box, Trojan's new Extended Pleasure contains "a
special lubricant that helps control climax and prolong sexual
excitement for longer lasting lovemaking." (This "special lubricant"
is benzocaine, a common anesthetic.) A little glob of gel sits, rather
conspicuously, at the tip of the condom. While a little scary-looking,
this numbing agent is a good idea. Short of getting a pre-coitus shot
from your dentist, Extended Pleasure probably offers the most
effective short-term solution for early ejaculation, a common problem.
The sex does indeed last longer. But I advise washing your hands after
application, though, as the desensitizing lubricant spreads. (Two
words: numb lips.) The extra lubricant also helped with Trojan's
dryness problem.

Feeling: 4
Lubrication: 4
Aesthetics: 3
Total: 11

Pleasure Plus
Price: 12-pack $12 to $18
The Pleasure Plus condom is not related to Trojan's Pleasure line. Its
maker is the Global Protection Corporation of Boston (no connection to
the Pentagon or Rand, as far as we could find). The company has
managed to get gushing advertorials placed in magazines like Glamour,
Cosmopolitan, and GQ. At the Hustler Store on the Sunset Strip here in
Los Angeles the salespeople are agog over Pleasure Plus. The buzz, it
must be said, seems justified, at least where the woman is concerned.
I thought it was just slightly above average, but my partner insisted
the Pleasure Plus was the best condom she'd ever used. To the touch,
it felt to be only barely lubricated, she pointed out, but the
moisture was more than adequate and long-lasting. It was also
odorless. My partner was so enthusiastic about it that at a certain
point I became jealous of the condom. Her final assessment: "It
doesn't feel like there's anything on." (And she wasn't being paid by
Global Protection.)

Feeling: 5
Lubrication: 5
Aesthetics: 5
Total: 15

Trojan Supra
12 pack $9 to $12
The Trojan Supra is billed as "ultra-thin" ("ultra" being Trojan's
second favorite word, after "pleasure") and for once the superlative
is apt. This condom, made not of latex but of microsheer polyurethane,
was my favorite. Its airy feel—like a diaphanous tunic—transported me
to an earlier, unjaded time, when sex was new and condoms were fun.
What's more, it had an almost sweet odor to it. My partner said it was
agreeable enough (she was still dreaming about the Pleasure Plus, I
think). One major drawback: The Supra is only made with Nonoxynol-9.