My partner and I are fans of safer sex, and avoiding pregnancy, but perhaps not the biggest condom fans. We have tried out a wide range, and found a couple of types of male condoms that work well, but decided to try these out. I will discuss the condom more generally, in the following areas: Insertability, Feeling during sex, removal, and efficacy.

1)First off, it was actually not that hard to insert. I know my vagina pretty well, and had a sense of when it was in the right spot. Still, I think that after one or two uses, most women would have little trouble with it. You squeeze the inner ring, turn it sideways without twisting the tube, and push it inside, as far as it will go, against your cervix. It is important to make sure that it is not twisted inside, but smooth and ready for the penis to slip inside. The inner ring is soft and pliable, and goes in fairly comfortably. I had my partner insert one for me as well, and he could do it without a problem. I found it easiest to lie on my back with my knees apart. But the directions also recommend squatting, or standing with one leg up on a chair, and other positions that might be less than sexy, in my opinion. Something nice about it is that you can put it in before sex or foreplay, and be ready for spontaneous action, which is an improvement from male condoms.

2) during sex, we both enjoyed the sensation. It was in some ways better than a male condom. My partner could feel more with his penis, and enjoyed the lack of tight latex around his penis. For me, it felt pretty comparable to a male condom, although perhaps a little better inside; because it makes for a different kind of friction than with a male condom, and it felt good. Still, it was somewhat more apparent that there was a foreign material between us than with a male latex condom. Also, my partner felt that it could be a little un-sexy to see the outer ring sticking out of the vagina, and covering part of the vulva. It certainly ruins any illusion of total nakedness, and makes it clear that there is a condom in the picture. Still, I felt much more secure when he came inside of me than with a male condom, because there is much more room for the semen, and little chance of seepage. We sometime have the problem with male condoms that after ejaculation, there is not enough room in the condom for the whole load, and it will start to seep up toward the opening of the condom. This might be due to the amount of semen that my partner produces, but it felt much more natural and stress free to have him come inside of the female condom. We didn't have the experience of these condoms being noisy that other reviewers pointed out, but we used sufficient lube and might have avoided noise issues that way.

3)Removal wasn't a problem either, as long as you twist the condom together right below the outside ring, making it easy to take it out without spillage.

4) the data on these condoms shows that they are not quite as effective as male condoms, with about a 5% pregnancy rate for the female condom, and about a 2% pregnancy rate for the male condom, given consistent and perfect use each time. (see plannedparenthood.org for a birth control efficacy chart).

Also, they are not latex, which could be a plus for some, though I do not have any information about whether or not they are suitable for allergic users.

One other thing to note is that I was unable to find clear enough information on the use of the female condom for anal sex, so we didn't try it, and I cannot comment on that possibility.

One of the issues with the female condom can be a pro, or a con, depending on your preferences. As noted, using the female condom requires there to be a ring outside of the vagina, making it difficult to ignore the use of the condom during sex. It is pretty big in comparison to the male condom too. The female condom can be noisier than the male, especially if there is not enough lube, which again adds to the obviousness of the condom. Also, insertion of the condom in certain positions seems reminiscent of an exam, at least to me. Instead of fighting this aspect, we made it part of the foreplay, by having my "doctor" insert the female condom before conducting "clinical research." Not sure how this would be for others, but it might be something to consider.