The Metal Worx Cock Ring is a durable, solid construction of stainless steel. Because of this, is it completely sterilizable (as many items are not), as well as 100% hypoallergenic. The locking case that the ring comes in is amazing packaging - made of stamped black aluminum with smooth edges and aluminum corners and seaming. The case has a built-in lock as well, in a latch form with two matched keys that lock and unlock with an easy half-turn.

The stainless steel ring itself has no discernible scent or taste to it. Buffed to a high polish, it is completely smooth all the way around and the metal gleams under direct lighting. It was a bit heavier weight than we originally expected, which was shockingly a good thing, and the lock on the ring portion is also heavyweight and solid (built into the design of the ring), so that bit is also added to the weight of the piece, making it a bit cumbersome for the wearer.

In doing some research prior to our purchase, we used a set of solid metal rings of different sizes before we chose the size Medium (which is actually a Large, according to Pipedream Products' website at 2" diameter). While my partner normally wore a 2 1/4" ring regularly, we found through our researching that you should downsize at least one size to make sure the ring isn't easily removable from behind the testicles and around the base of the penis. If you can easily remove a solid ring with lube while flaccid, you can very easily lose this heavier ring while locked because of a little bit of sweat. Since the ring is meant to be worn for other things than strictly intercourse, due to it's locking nature, if a solid ring can be fit and slid into and out of place, then so will the locking ring - get me? Downsizing to the middle size prevented this from happening - and it was snug, but not uncomfortable nor restrictive and did not cause any circulatory issues as it's generally worn flaccid and not necessarily erect. Much like a chastity device, it creates a bit of discomfort when the penis becomes erect, but according to him, it still was not painful in the slightest.

In our experimentation, we also found that this issue was also the case with most other styles of harnesses, cages, and similar devices. They will primarily all fit the same way, downsizing by one size, unless there is a severe case of undescended testicles. We encountered this at an event we attended during our adventure. In the case of this couple, I spent some time speaking with them about the sizing issues and she mentioned that the solution they found was in wearing a separate, somewhat smaller silicone ring around the testicles alone until they were relaxed enough to fit a ball stretcher into place (in their instance, a stainless steel donut-looking stretcher). Once that was in place, they followed up with the locking cockring around the base of the penis and scrotum & the stretcher. From the looks of it, it's probably not the best idea to be wearing it outside of the house unless he's wearing a kilt or attending a fetish function, because there will DEFINITELY be some stares otherwise.

Back to our ring... when we first took it out of the case, all shiny and beautiful, it had a bit of a squeak to it at the hinge area. Just a drop of silicone-based lube at the hinge portion made the squeaky noise disappear immediately and it never returned during the few weeks of its use. We washed it well in hot water and air dried it overnight to be sure that any lube residue was removed from the remainder of the ring, so there was no staining of any clothing or bedding that ever occurred, and only the tiny portion of lube trapped in the confines of the hinge was what remained, just where it belonged.

The locking cockring also has the capability of wearing it semi-permanently, or perhaps even as a potentially permanent fixture. It also has the capability of being worn while showering, swimming, bathing, hot-tubbing, etc. without any discernible damage to the ring (we even tried the hot/cold test, hopping back and forth several times from the over-heated hot tub to the super-cold pool, off season). Sadly for him, bicycling (a passion of his), was completely out of the question while wearing this. Regardless of any lock placements that we attempted, no matter where we tried to put either the hinge or the locking mechanism, it was either in the way immediately, worked its way to being a huge discomfort, or was visible entity fairly quickly - and within mere minutes!

Originally, I purchased the ring at the request of a former boyfriend who confided that he "may be submissive" and wanted to try it out in the bedroom before deciding for sure (and test, we DID!).

Functionally, the locking ring did it's job very well - but potentially, there could be improvements. While I'm no engineer and can't tell you how to make the modification, the area that's slotted where the lock goes through the ring could be moved. Maybe the lock direction could be changed, or a different locking mechanism altogether than a tiny padlock would work. Either way, a change would be a help to this for wearing longer-term.

The problems we found were primarily during our "away" time from one another. While he had to work, he preferred wearing the ring, but if he happened to get up and shake someone's hand, leaning across his desk... "BANG!" (oops!!!). And during his fitness events, which he did at competition level, it was very easily seen because of the cumbersome lock (no matter the style we used - be it master lock, diary locks, or even metal-free disposables). We tried numerous "quick fixes," but it seemed that none did any help whatsoever. We attempted to flip the lock downward, behind the scrotum. We tried turning it to the side and tucking it under his testicles. We even tried flipping it upwards and wearing a sports cup or a jock strap over the top, but no matter what trick we tried and what we did to camouflage the locking mechanism, it either wiggled loose and peeked out or we found an entirely new set of issues! Problems we encountered included the lock banging against things when flipped downwards (chairs, bike seats), showing visibly when bending over, and even thumping against numerous different styles of cups he tried.

Within a few weeks, we retired the cockring to the locked case it came in. At that point, it became a symbol instead of a piece that was actually wearable and functional, primarily because of his job and extracurriculars being far too important to jeopardize if it became outwardly visible or noticed by a coworker.

We broke up more than a year ago, but although the case has gone through a couple of household moves, being accidentally left in a rubbermaid tub out in the rain for 3 days and subjected to a humid storage facility, both the ring and the lock are still in absolutely perfect condition, looking new in every way (even the keys!). Sadly, the poor lockbox didn't fare so well, as it wound up with some surface rust due to the water damage from the rain and humidity on the aluminum exterior, but the interior is still perfectly intact, as well. It wasn't the box that had those fun and humorous memories of those crazy events, it was what was contained inside! I'm still in contact with him today... maybe I'll give him a good laugh (or a good scare) and ship it to him! ;)