| While taking pictures for this review my camera did not safe the files. Later in the day it got too dark to take proper pictures. So they will follow tomorrow. I wanted to publish ASAP to get the review out before Locktober started. |
Vendor: Kink3D
Welcome back – earlier than expected. Ever since I posted the first pic of my Cobra on Insta and Twitter my inbox has been exploding! In the over 12 years I have been reviewing BDSM and kink toys I have never had so much interest in a toy, been asked particular questions or been urged to quickly publish a review before Locktober begins.
I am not a person to quickly reach a verdict about a toy, especially about one that has been designed for long-term wear (and one for reasons explained below I currently cannot wear for extended periods of time). But again I am humbled by the trust you put into my thoughts so this will be a first more or less in-depth look that I will probably follow-up in a couple of months with additional thought.
Construction
The Kink3D Cobra is a 3D printed cage made out PA12 nylon. This material is on the sturdier and also pricier end of the printing material market. Currently Kink3D offers cages and accessories made out of black, hot pink and aqua blue. I have gotten many questions when why they don’t offer red or lime green ones (talking about summer of the brat) which I have forwarded to Kink3D. What I can assume with my limited 3D printing knowledge that color pigments can effect the sturdiness of the material. So probably some R&D is necessary before new colors can be introduced.
The material strength is about 4mm in the middle of the beams making them thicker than the many other 3D printed genuine designs and let alone Cobra knock-offs from China. Due to the material strength the cage is slightly bulkier than delicate metal cage designs but actually lighter than most titanium cages. Stainless steel cages are weighing multiple times of the Cobra. But like with metal cages, when you compress the Cobra with your hands, there is no flex. Because of the heavy duty design I have never received a messages about a broken Cobra cage on my website. Due to the warmth, moisture and constant mechanical stress especially the points where beams meet are prone to breaking. This is especially the case with thinner built polymer cages or if cheaper material are used. I could create a coffee table book with pictures of broken cages I have been sent in the last three years when 3D printed chastity cages really took off.
Another indicator of the great build quality of the surface finish. There are no rough edges or pinpoints. The surface is covered in a semi-gloss smooth texture that is easy to clean, does not leave finger prints and feels warm to the touch.
The design is a traditional three piece design with the cage itself, the base ring and an internal lock. As a standard the locks are keyed alike. But for $25 you can order a randomized lock if you really want to feel secure and helpless. Though truth to be told since the lock is rather small it can be picked very easily by a moderately skilled lock pick. During Folsom Europe I have talked to a few lock picking kinksters regarding the Cobra’s internal lock. It turns out the challenge apparently is picking a lock parallel to your body literally locked in your crotch.
Putting on the Cobra
You start with putting the base ring on. My recommendation is going balls first and then squeeze the dick through. Then you put the cage over your shaft. If skin gets caught, use their Nether Nudger to adjust (see below). When joining the cage and base ring, note that the pins on the cage are not only for guiding but also for sturdily connecting both parts. If the pins are not completely sunken into the holes of the base ring, the lock will not fit! This was actually the biggest misunderstanding when I firstly put on the cage myself. I thought they should only align. But it they the cage does not meet the base ring, the lock cannot be pushed through the entire lock house.
Speaking of the lock, that is a bit of a challenge to put in. It twists very easily to the shackle jams inside the lock house. Until now I have not found a good way to insert the lock. If I guide it holding the key, the shackle will flip; if I guide it on the lock, the heavy head of the key turns the lock involuntarily, jaming the shackle. But since you are probably not unlocking so often as I do (again, see below), this does not matter as much.
What surprised me in the review process how comfortable you can wear the Cobra even when having a bush. Of course, you need to make sure that hair is not caught between the guiding pins and the holes or inside the lock house. But other than that there is little chance of pinching and tugging.
Sizes & Sizing
At the moment Cobra offers 8 different sizes both in a standard and wide version. In order to determine your size, measure your flaccid dick from the base to the tip. When you are like me and have a meatier dick or want to wear a large piercing inside the cage, go for the wide version. Over the past decade I have tried many chastity cages and they were all too narrow to house my large foreskin covered glans, let alone with a 8x15x12mm piercing. But the Cobra R Wide is so spacious that I almost don’t notice the cage when being soft. Picking the right size is important: If the cage is too long, the glans sit in the shaft tube instead of the bulges head section. If the cage is too short, it can uncomfortably compress your dick, seriously reducing the long-term wear potential. You can find the cage size imprinted on the inside below the locking ring.
There are 8 sizes of base rings which again cover a really wide range of package sizes. Though ending at 60.3mm width I know at least a few big boys who need a larger one. But I am certain Kink3D can accommodate even thick members of the gay community. The ring size is imprinted in the nudge where the locking ring of the cage enters the lock house of the base ring.
The rings are slightly compressed at the tops and elongated at the sides for a rough egg shape. This shape is more anatomically correct and reduces pressure and leverage when moving.
To even further accommodate different anatomies every size is available in three versions: Standard is a simple round 8mm thick round piece of polymer. The XD has an oval intersection with a depth of 10.5mm. This way the gap between the cage base ring is even small. When you have very small, mobile or tight balls this might be the right one for you. If you are like me and have meatier balls or and testicle prosthesis, Kink3D offer also Curved rings which bend 5mm backwards following the anatomically shape of your taint. It reduces the pressure on the balls. By widening the gap from 11mm to 16mm smaller balls can of course more easily slip through the crack.
Choosing the right ring size and is a bit trickier. Your cockring is a good size reference. Though through the egg-shape the behavior of a base ring can be different. The task of the base ring is different than a cockring: The base ring should comfortably and securely keep the Cobra attached to your body without you being able to pull the dick out or a ball slipping through. A cockring should keep the blood inside your penis. Prolonging an erection while being locked in a chastity cage is actually an adverse effect. So especially when you are a grower start with a larger size. Furthermore, depending in your form of day, how full your balls get over time during chastity and the environment (warmer temperatures and higher humidity will make the ball sack looser) your testicles will looks, feel and behave differently. So you might need two or more rings for a perfect fit in different situations or seasons.
If you have the possibility to try out different base rings, I strongly recommend doing it! This is only a snapshot but gives you a good impression if the ring is too tight. The gold standard is trying the base ring with a fitting cage. Since the ring and the cage are connected, the cage exerts leverage on the base ring, pulling it forward and upward. This movement and pull can obstruct circulation to taint and balls. If you feel a burning or tingling sensation in your balls or on your taint, you should take off the cage and try a larger and/ or curved base ring. Constant pressure on your taint and balls can cause lasting irritations on your balls which can lead to serious injuries, especially when the seminal ducts or epididimys are effected.
This is actually the case with my testicle prosthesis: Over time the standard #4 ring put pressure on my cyborg ball and obstructing circulation. As an experienced kinkster who can differentiate between different kinds of pain and knowing that nothing down their could actually necrotize, I placed the pain sensation in the “annoying”, not the “dangerous” category and wore the cage until it got too annoying. Sometimes these were 12 hours, sometimes four hours. The pain was so annoying that I could not fall asleep. Because of this for the review I spent some days and some nights locked but never managed a full 24h. During Folsom Europe a friend pushed me as a virtual key holder to go locked and chaste as long a possible over a couple of days. Despite having the opportunity and indeed order to unlock when it became too uncomfortable I was a good boy and pushed myself until I got released in a scene on Sunday. This push irritate the nerves on my scrotum which are still recovering from the implantation surgery so much that I could not lock for a couple of days. Of course this a borderline case which luckily only effects very few men. But it illustrates well the importance of a correctly fitting base ring! And it also shows the paramount rule of chastity: Physical and mental health comes first!
So my next steps will probably getting a couple of new rings (#4 Curved, #5 and #5 Curved) and see how much I can push myself. You will read all about it in the update in a couple of months.
Long-term Wearing & CBT in the cage
Despite not going for really long streaks, I have had enough wearing experience to give your a glimpse into being locked 24/7 in a Cobra.
The most important aspect of a chastity cage is “How secure is it?” I would place the Cobra on the securer end of the security spectrum. If it is really well-fitted, it is almost impossible to pull the dick out. This is especially true when you are wearing a large piercing. It takes a bit of practice and twisting and turning the cage to get the piercing nicely rested in the head segment. Since you cannot twist the cage while being connected to the base ring, it is impossible to get a large piercing out of the head segment while being locked. For added safety you can of course use a PA lock when you are uncut.
How a Prince Albert piercing behaves inside the Cobra was actually one of the most often asked reader questions. To be frank, I was surprised how well and easy they both played together. When I got the cage, I was wearing an 8x19x14mm screw in ball, meaning the external diameter of the piercing was 35mm. That was a border line size for the R Wide! It was wearable but required some adjustment throughout the day. The piercing would twist, lock in place and put uncomfortable pressure on my foreskin. Since the piercing was so large it could barely move, I had to take the cage off in most instances. Since sizing down to 8x15x12mm I can easily adjust while wearing the cage using Kink3D Nether Nudger. This is a small 3D printed pin you can wear in your key chain. Especially for meatier and uncut guys, I consider this $10 accessory an essential – regardless if you have a piercing or not! It helps you push the skin in the right direction or adjust the piercing. When you are a grower or uncut, the skin folds sometimes get caught when getting hard or getting soft, leading to really uncomfortable pinching! The tip of the Nether Nudger helps to adjust and push the skin into place. Is is small and nimble enough to fit between the beams and long enough to reach even hard to get-to spots. While you can in theory use other pins, I find the Nether Nudger the most handy tool. In times of need when mine was not at hand, I have used tooth picks (don’t try that at home!), Montblanc pens (kind of ok, but too wide) or keys (depending on the key either too points and scratchy or too wide to get anywhere). The best substitute I have found at my desk was a small mechanical pencil from Liberty, a British friend gifted me some 15 years ago. If you want to keep your kink classy, go for it. But the Nether Nudger fits the aesthetics, material and design of the Cobra better.
When you Cobra is well-fitted, you do not notice it at all as long as your dick stays soft! This is due to the light weight. Heavier cages, especially ones made out of stainless steel develop momentum when moving around. The Cobra is a very calm cage. Cheaper and older cages we locked by a pad-lock that could clink against the cage or its sharp edges and corners press into your lower abdomen. Having an integrated lock this irritation does not occur with the Cobra. So it is perfect to wear all day in almost every kind of cloths.
Despite the R Wide being on the larger end of the size scale, it is not really noticeable as a chastity cage. Most people will just identify it as a bulge. During the review process I have worn the Cobra under jeans and gym cloths, chinos and thin suit cloths with Nasty Pig or Addicted briefs. The structure of the cage does not print through the cloths so people, especially non-kinkster, don’t notice you wearing a cage. Even under .6mm rubber it is just a bulge, under .45mm you start to see structure. Under Speedos or tight fitting jockstraps it of course leaves an imprint.
When flying back from my US holiday this year, I put the Cobra to the travel test. Neither US nor British security noticed it. I both went through body scanners and metal detectors and it did not show up on any. When going through a body scanner the TSA guard checked my bulky double buckle belt from Mister B but let me go without any further inspection. A friend of mine is working at TSA. If you should face s strip search and are questioned about your chastity cage, he recommended calling it a medical device. But I doubt this piece of advice will not be needed often.
This discrete wearing is curse and gift as the same time. It takes a VERY trained eye to spot a cage below clothing, especially the smaller ones. There are some – and I have to restrain myself to not write a more strongly worded term – people in the community who find it funny to punch or kick subs into the nuts “because the obviously like it.” This is pretty dangerous when wearing the Cobra! The exposing of the balls and leverage of the ring and the pressure a the firm and sturdy cage can put on the testicles can lead to serious injuries, resulting in loosing your balls on the worst case! So if you are a dom, top or sadist don’t be an asshole and ask for consent before busting somebody’s balls.
While technically is it possible to controlled busting somebody’s balls while he is locked in the Cobra, it takes some practice and precise targeting. I would only recommend doing it with toys of the fist. Nut kicks are simply to random for this. Due to the open design, the dick can somewhat be played or tortured with. Wax comes off easily from the PA12 nylon and I have not noticed a tarnishing of the surface. If you are into e-stim, you can either fit conductive pads or 2mm loops inside the cage. In my experience the 4mm are too rigid. What I have done is fitting the Wide cage into smaller dicked boys and using the stainless steel electrodes from Oxballs. One really dexterous US friend of mine sounds his subs using silicone sounds while being locked in the cage. Long story short: The cage is sturdy and flexible enough to get creative.
The material does not resonate much and transfers vibrations fairly well onto the dick inside. For a caged milking, the dick should fill out the cage well. Otherwise the vibrations are not strong enough to stimulate the nerve endings enough to lead to an orgasm.
Keeping everything clean down there is easy when you are cut. The large space between the beams allow ample water and soap to keep your dick clean. To expedite the cleaning process, I recommend getting a shower head where you can choose different jet strength settings. Focused, slightly stronger jets makes washing the soap away easier. Uncut guys like me I would recommend unlocking at least every other day to clean below your foreskin. Since it is more compressed than flopping around uncut, piss cannot wash your glans, especially when messaging the last bit from under your foreskin. Because of this, residue piss also lingers a bit.
Taking the cage off for cleaning or adjustment can make self-unlocking necessary. If you don’t live together with your key holder or travel, I recommend getting the Key Sleeve. They are offered for single or double keys since each lock comes with two keys. I went for the double one. While a single key dangles inside the wide sleeve a bit, it is still locked securely. So with the double you have the option to lock one of both keys using numbered seals. The key sleeve comes with 10 seals. If you need more and unlock often due to the various reasons above I recommend buying them in lots of hundreds of eBay or Amazon.
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Conclusion: Comfortable and secure chastity for long-term wear |
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Pro |
Cons |
Toy |
Price |
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Large range of possible sizes for perfect fit |
Lock is a bit difficult to insert |
$170 – $240 |
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Can be worn over extended periods of time |
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Very well made |
$125 – $185 |
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Sturdy |
$45 – $65 |
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$25 |
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$10 |
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$25 – $30 |
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$30 – $35 |
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