We’ve tried and tested 10 of the best condoms for men from Durex, Skyn, Hanx and more
Whether you’re after the best condoms for pleasure or looking to be on the safe side, here are the best condoms to buy in the UK. Plus, we’ve included a condom size chart to help you decide which you need
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What to look for when buying the best condoms
U nless you’re in the market for unwanted pregnancies or STIs, condoms are your best – and only – bet for the safest sex possible.
But the last thing you want is for a poor-fitting or uncomfortable condom interrupting the moment, splitting, jeopardising your orgasm, or even being left inside your partner.
Yet with so many condom options on the market, the competition is stiff…no bones about it, with so many options it can be hard to know where to begin.
Like penises, not all condoms are created equal. The best condom comes down to your individual needs and preference. Do you need small, medium or large? Are you looking for extra safe or extra sensitive? Flavoured, non-latex, glow-in-the-dark?
Below we’ve outlined how to measure your penis to discover which condom best fits you and your unique length and girth. We’ve also put the best condoms on the market to the test to help you decide which to buy, and which to avoid.
FURTHER READING: Best sex toys for men: Our pick of male sex toys for couples or alone time | Best lube: 9 of the best lubricants for all occasions, budgets and skin types
Best condoms UK
Best condom UK: Durex Pasante – Jump to review
Best extra-safe condom: Durex Extra Safe Latex Condoms – Jump to review
Best delay condom: Durex Extended Pleasure – Jump to review
Best condom for sensitive skin: Skyn Non-Latex Condom – Jump to review
Best large-size condom: Skyn Large – Jump to review
Best small/extra-small condom: MY.SIZE – Jump to review
Best condom for pleasure: Durex Pleasure Me Ribbed & Dotted– Jump to review
Best condom for feeling: Durex Latex-Free Condom – Jump to review
Best vegan condom: Glyde Ultra Condoms – Jump to review
Best eco-friendly condom: HANX Ultra-Thin Vegan Condoms – Jump to review
What condom size do I need?
MBman By their nature, condoms are designed to stretch.
However, if they’re too tight they’ll feel uncomfortable or worse they’re more likely to split.
Equally, if your condom is too big, there’s the risk it could come off and neither result is ideal.
Condom sizes are determined by your girth/width and your length.
To determine your penis length, you need to measure from your pubic bone to the tip of your erect penis – there’s no point measuring it when it’s flaccid.
To determine your girth, you need to use a flexible tape measure and wrap it around the widest part of your penis. This can vary from man to man but it’s usually just above your pubic bone.
FURTHER READING: This condom size chart and online quiz helps you find your best condom fit
The table below, as well as the graphic above explains how to use these measurements to determine what condom size you need.
| Length (inches) | Girth (inches) | Recommended condom size |
| Up to 6.5 | Up to 1.8 | Small |
| 6.5-8 | 2 | Medium |
| 6.5-8 | 2.1+ | Large |
| 8.1+ | 2.1+ | Extra Large |
MBman tip: Durex offers a Find Your Fit Guide. It asks questions about your girth, what level of lubricant you want, how thin you need the condom to be, and if there are any features you prefer (ribbed, dotted, etc.). You’ll then be shown your closest matches.
Editor’s Pick: Durex Pasante
£6.99 for a pack of 12 | Buy now
Durex If you’re looking for the best condom that ticks a lot of boxes, then the Durex Pasante condom is our top pick.
It’s one of the cheaper options out there.
It’s from a respectable brand, and it has the added benefit of being ribbed with raised dots that give both you and your partner that extra bit of a thrill.
These Pasante condoms are a regular fit and easy to put on, so they won’t interrupt your passion and leave your partner waiting awkwardly.
The material feels almost skin-like and it has a slippery lubricant. A great condom that works as well as you’d expect.
Buy now from Lovehoney
Durex Extra Safe Latex Condoms: Best extra-safe condom
£12.99 for a pack of 12 | Buy now
Durex These Durex Extra Safe condoms are slightly thicker than regular condoms, making them stronger and safer. This is great if you want to feel more relaxed and reassured you’re having safe sex.
The added thickness does make a slight difference to the sensation but it’s marginal and orgasming is a lot easier when you don’t have to worry about slip-ups.
There’s a reason Durex is the most famous of condom brands and that’s because its condoms fit well and are easy to put on.
These particular condoms have extra lubricant to make them even comfier to wear. Even for longer periods.
Buy now from Lovehoney
Durex Extended Pleasure: Best long-lasting condom
£8.49 for a pack of 12 | Buy now
Durex A long-lasting condom, also known as a delay condom, uses a tiny amount of a light anaesthetic known as benzocaine to reduce the sensitivity of your penis.
This, in theory, helps make you last longer and prevents premature ejaculation.
The sensation is slightly odd, but not unpleasant at all.
Plus, the extra time we had when using the Durex Extended Pleasure condoms meant we could even better satisfy our partner without having to use random thoughts to delay our orgasm.
As a result of this design, these condoms are slightly thicker than the average, but this will also help reduce over-stimulation and help you, as their category name suggests, last longer in the bedroom (or whatever room you’re in…)
Buy now from Amazon
Skyn Non-Latex Condom: Best condom for sensitive skin/for people with a latex condom allergy
£12.99 for a pack of 10 | Buy now
SKYN Being latex-free, these Skyn condoms are better for sensitive skin or for people with a latex condom allergy, while also being thinner.
This means they give you a barely-there sensation when having sex.
In particular, they give a more natural, skin-on-skin feeling without compromising on protection.
Despite their thinner design, they are still made to the same safety specifications as standard condoms.
Elsewhere, these extra-sensitive condoms have a long-lasting lubricant and they’ll give you a softer, more natural feel when thrusting.
Buy now from Lovehoney
Skyn Large: Best large-size condom
£10.50 for a pack of 10 | Buy now
SKYN These large-size condoms from Skyn and wider and longer than standard condoms, making them work better and fit more comfortably if you have a larger penis.
These specific condoms for large penises are also latex-free, so they’re a good choice if either of you has a latex condom allergy.
This also means they have the sensitivity of an ultra-thin condom without sacrificing protection.
In fact, they’re clinically proven to enhance sensation. A win-win all-around.
Buy now from Boots
Best small condom: MY.SIZE
£4.27 for a pack of 3 | Buy now
MY.SIZE The MY.SIZE condom range offers more than one size option for small or extra small penises. They’re also super affordable.
We’d recommend measuring your penis when erect to see which suits you best because there are only millimetres between the different small condom sizes from MY.SIZE, so getting it right is important.
If you’ve found other standard condoms to be too big, then give these a try because you might find them much more comfortable.
Buy now from Amazon
Durex Pleasure Me Ribbed & Dotted: Best condom for pleasure
£9.99 for a pack of 12 | Buy now
Durex If you really want the best condom for feeling and pleasure, give these Pleasure Me condoms from Durex a go.
They’ve got ribs and raised dots along the shaft that will stimulate you and your partner.
As with all Durex condoms, the smell of the condom material is minimal and these are easy to roll on your penis because they’re already lubricated.
Buy now from Durex
Glyde Ultra Condoms: Best vegan condom
£11.99 for a pack of 10 | Buy now
Glyde These vegan condoms from Glyde contain no animal proteins or gluten.
They’re non-toxic, organic, sustainable and ethical, without the price tag you’d expect.
They’re suitable for a standard-size penis and are super thin, so they’ll give you the skin-on-skin feeling when having sex while offering top-level protection.
They don’t have a latex odour either which is an added bonus.
Buy now from Amazon
Lelo Hex: Best condom for feeling
From £8.90 | Buy now
Lelo Lelo is renowned for its male sex toys but it also sells a range of condoms under its HEX brand.
The best condoms we’ve tested from this range are the HEX Originals.
They’re ultra-thin giving you an enhanced sensation, while also being one of the most comfortable and well-fitting condoms we’ve tried.
The brand claims this is because it has a hexagonal texture on the inside which is designed to give a better grip.
A box of 36 costs £29.99 so it’s not the cheapest of options in our best condoms list but it is worth spending the extra for the sensation it provides.
They are currently on offer for Black Friday though, meaning you can get a pack for just £14.95.
Alternatively, a three-pack costs £8.90, and a 12-pack costs £16.90.
UPDATE: If sensitivity is important to you and you’re in the market for the best condom for feeling, Durex recently launched its thinnest-ever condom called Durex Nude.
It’s designed “to enable more sensations and help people have the best sexual experience possible” and comes in three fits – Close fit, Regular fit and Wide fit.
A box of six Durex Nude condoms starts at £10.99. We’re going to be putting it to the test to reveal it can beat the Lelo Hex, and we’ll update this best condom ranking when we know more.
Buy now from Lelo
Best latex-free condom for feeling: Durex Latex-Free Condom
£9.99 for a pack of 12 | Buy now
Durex These Durex latex-free condoms are made from synthetic polyisoprene, which is a latex-free alternative.
Just because they’re latex-free doesn’t make them any less safe, though. These condoms are just as effective as standard condoms.
Although these condoms are designed for men and women with latex allergies, they’re a popular choice for a lot of guys because they give a more natural sensation.
This was certainly something we experienced and if you’re looking for the best condom for feeling, this is top of our list.
Buy now from Amazon
Best eco-friendly condom: HANX Ultra-Thin Vegan Condoms
£12.99 for a pack of 10 | Buy now
HANX These HANX ultra-thin condoms have been designed to be biodegradable to the point they’ll even biodegrade in your compost. Thus creating a seed-planting virtuous circle…
This is made possible because they’re made from Fair Rubber and are 100% natural fair-trade latex.
What makes them even better is that they’re vegan condoms, too.
Don’t worry that they’re less trustworthy because they’re biodegradable.
No condom offers 100% protection, but these condoms are as reliable as standard, latex and latex-free condoms. Therefore choosing a condom that’s better for the environment doesn’t put you at more risk.
You’ll get a natural sensation when having sex because they’re ultra-thin and they’re lubricated so it’s easy to put one of these eco-friendly condoms on.
Buy now from Boots
What to look for when buying the best condoms
It’s not just practicalities that are important when choosing the best condoms.
Some are best for feeling and pleasure, others are designed to stimulate you and your partner, and then there are condoms that create new sensations during sex.
A ribbed condom, for example, increases friction and intensifies the sensation around your penis. They also give your partner more pleasure, too.
Elsewhere, you can buy condoms with a stimulating gel inside that adds to your pleasure. Or simply buying thinner condoms will make it feel more like skin-on-skin.
Just bear in mind that if you’re enhancing the sensation around your penis, you might get overexcited and climax more quickly. So you may need to change the speed of your thrusts or similar to compensate.
Condoms are single-use products and although there’s currently no such thing as an “organic” condom, there are vegan condoms. Fair-trade condoms and nitrosamine-free condoms also exist. Therefore you have the option of choosing a condom that’s better for the environment if that’s important to you.
Don’t, however, presume that a condom with naturally-occurring latex is a vegan condom. A lot of condoms may still feature casein, which is an animal by-product.
Also bear in mind that a vegan condom isn’t necessarily an organic condom or a chemical-free condom, meaning they aren’t the obvious choice if you have sensitive skin. In this case, you may have to choose which is more important to you – its eco-credentials or your reactions.
If you’re planning to use a lubricant when having sex, which we would particularly recommend adding if you’re having anal sex, then make sure to avoid using an oil-based lubricant with condoms, as this can lower its effectiveness. You can get more recommendations in our best lube guide.
How to put on a condom
To correctly put on a condom, first, ensure it is right side out.
- Pinch the tip of the condom to leave room for semen
- Roll it down over an erect penis. If the condom doesn’t unroll easily, it may be inside out or expired. Use a new condom if there’s any doubt.
- After ejaculation, hold the condom at the base while withdrawing to prevent it from slipping off
Are condoms effective?
MBman
Condoms are the most effective way to both prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs), as long as they’re used correctly. They’re not perfect, no contraceptive is, but they work in 98% of cases. This means that 2 out of 100 women will get pregnant each year when having sex with a condom, on average.
Condoms are also effective at preventing STIs and can reduce the risk of getting or spreading HIV by 99%. They can also help to protect against other STIs, such as gonorrhoea, chlamydia, syphilis, and herpes.
The things that can make them less effective are choosing the wrong size, and not fitting them properly. You also need to put the condom on before any sexual contact – pre-ejaculate can contain sperm that could impregnate an egg meaning that if you only put the condom on when you’re close, it could be too late.
Here are some tips for using condoms effectively:
- Choose the right condom size: Condoms come in different sizes, so it is important to choose one that fits you snugly but not too tightly. Check out our condom size chart for more help.
- Put the condom on before any sexual contact: This will help to prevent semen from coming into contact with your partner.
- Make sure the condom is on correctly: The condom should be rolled down to the base of the penis. There should be no air bubbles inside the condom.
- Leave the condom on until after sex: This will help to prevent semen from leaking out of the condom.
- Check the condom for damage: If the condom is torn or has a hole in it, do not use it.
Do condoms expire?
Yes, condoms do expire. The expiration date is usually printed on the condom pack and should always be checked before use.
Using an expired condom increases the risk of breakage, slipping, or leakage, which makes it less effective at preventing pregnancy and protecting against STIs.
The shelf life of condoms varies depending on the material and storage conditions but latex condoms usually last about five years from the date of manufacture, while polyurethane condoms may have a shorter lifespan.
It’s important to store condoms in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.
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