Mind the Gap

So, at this time last year I was trying out one of those inexpensive Chinese devices that I had bought from DH Gate. I spent some time modifying it, and for a while it was a pretty decent device.

At least, for a little while. Over the hot summer, I discovered that the ring cage style just was not a good fit for me, between the skin pinching, etc., so that device went into the back of the sock drawer with some of the others.

However, for most guys, chastity devices are like the Holy Grail; we’re always looking for one that’s just a little more comfortable, or a little more secure, or a little more… something. So, over the winter, I ended up with yet another device. It needed no modification (which, in some respects, was one of the annoyances for me) except for maybe a light polishing of any edges. It’s comfortable. It’s very wearable. And it’s shiny and unobtrusive.

Dubbed (for reasons beyond my understanding) the A272, it also goes by other names on the DH Gate site, Ebay, and Amazon. I wrote a little review on The Chastity Forums back in February:

Well, we may have a winner here:

This solid tube model finally came in, and I have to say that this is one of the most comfortable units I’ve tried.

I had ordered a spare ring to experiment with, and ended up removing the integrated lock section to wear as a full-time cock ring, and I’d been very happy with that, so I ordered an entire cage for less than $20.

I had some concerns in ordering the 45mm cuff ring because it’s only a hair over 1-3/4″, and I prefer the 1-7/8″ solid rings), but the ergonomic shape (it’s a cast ring) is surprisingly comfortable to wear. I was concerned that adding a cage and 4am erections would be painful, but it turned out to be barely noticeable.

The width makes it less likely to move around or slip, and the cage itself is surprisingly light weight (the unit came in just under 6 oz), making daily wear much less of a problem than my 12 oz Fort.

While I do prefer the shape of the Fort/CB3000, this has an open-end cage that makes it easy to use at the urinals, and easy to keep clean. Size-wise, it’s just a bit smaller than the Fort/CB3000: 33mm (1-5/16 inside) vs 35mm (1-3/8) and 60 mm long (2-3/8) vs 70mm (2-3/4) – but measuring the length of these things are tricky. The inside diameter is just small enough to keep me from slipping out, even in the shower, while the Fort needs one of those KSD inserts to keep things in place – although that’s partly due to the weight. Also, the size and shape of the cuff ring make pulling out (for me) more difficult. Of course, this is in a shower in the New England winter; it’s possible that a shower after a hot summer day when everything is loosened up may be different.

It came with a ring with 3 pointy teeth on it to fit across the guide pins (the teeth are underneath), but they were too painful to even put on. I had a chance to grind them back to something more reasonable, but not sure when I’ll get a chance to try them.

Well, it’s summer here in New England, although the weather seems to be more akin to April at the moment, but I’ve had a good four months in and out of this thing, and while it’s not the perfect device, for the $25 or so that I spent it’s very, very good. It’s as comfortable as my CB3000, and as shiny and cool looking as the Fort. It’s also only half the weight of the Fort, and the ergonomic cast ring holds it in place very well. And better, the end is an open cage design that is easy to use at a urinal.

I know everybody loves to see pictures that aren’t directly from the website, so here we go:

I did buff out the machined edges on this cuff ring; it’s not that they were actually sharp, but I could still feel them with my fingers. But they came free of burrs and nicks, so I was pretty impressed.

And I also ordered a spare ring, but since there wasn’t any need to modify this one, I machined off the locking tangs and wear it as a cock ring. It’s surprisingly comfortable.

 

The cage is a solid tube, and the welding around the entry and exit were smooth. The slightly bent tube gives it an angle similar to the CB3000 or Fort once it’s attached to the cuff ring.

 

Here are all the parts. That anti-pullout thing is way too sharp for my tastes, although I have no doubt that some of you live for that sort of thing. One of these days I may try to grind them down to something wearable for normal humans, just to try it out.

 

And here’s everything assembled, just the way it would be hanging from my tonker: 5-3/8 oz, or 153 grams for you people in the rest of the world. This is just under half the weight of The Fort, and the wider, flatter cuff ring is much more comfortable than the round rings, and more wearable than the customer stainless steel ring that I made myself.

And since there should be at least a small element of trepidation with any device, I do have some concerns about the small, brass integrated lock. I ordered an extra one (oddly, the same keys fit both), and it’s the same size as the ones from the A080. But… I’m a little less worried about needing one than I am about having one of the existing ones simply stop working. If you snap a key off in a padlock, you can Dremel off the hasp easily enough (fsv of easily). But my A272 doesn’t have much wiggle room to force the device from the cuff ring; if one of those flimsy keys fails to work in the device, the only thing that will take it out is a drill. Or, as I said in a previous post:

I mentioned earlier that I kept breaking the rings on the plastic devices. That’s not a problem here; as other people have said about their various metal devices, there’s something psychologically intense about wearing a device that you know simply will not snap, shatter, or break off by accident. I have an emergency key wrapped up in tamper-evident tape, but in a serious emergency, I could literally break pieces off if I absolutely had to. The Fort offers no such leeway — I either need to unravel that key, or medics will be cutting the device off of me. That’s real.

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Mrs. Edge just wants me to stop modifying the cages. “Just lock the damn thing on and leave it on until I unlock it,” or something like that.