Snug fit condoms

The number on the packet is known as the nominal width. It's how wide the condom is when it's laid out flat, which works out as half the circumference at the narrowest point, as Mister Size explains. In the EU, this figure has to be shown on the pack, which makes comparing brands straightforward.

Close fit is only a small step down from regular. Durex UK gives its close fit a width of 52.5 mm, with regular fit at 56 mm and wide fit at 57 mm. Trojan Canada draws the line a little lower, calling a condom snug at 1.8 inches or less, so one brand's "snug" can be narrower than another's.

Words like "standard" aren't consistent from brand to brand. Okamoto's standard fit measures 52 mm, and ONE treats 53 mm as standard. The millimetre figure tells you more than the label does.

Your girth is how far it is around the penis. Condom sizes are worked out from erect measurements, so take the measurement when you're fully hard.

1. Take a soft tape measure, some string or a strip of paper and wrap it around the shaft at its thickest point. That's normally just under the head, according to Okamoto.
2. With string or paper, mark the spot where the ends overlap, then hold it against a ruler to see the length.
3. Look up your number in the table to find the width to try.

These figures are taken from the girth chart on Mister Size's site. For reference, Durex, citing the NHS, puts the typical erect girth at 12 to 13 cm.

For a quick check without a tape, ONE found the inside of a toilet roll is about 5 inches around, which is close to its MyONE 55 size. If the roll feels roomy, a snug fit may suit you. Rolls vary by brand, though, so ONE says to treat this as a rough guide.

A condom needs to be a touch tighter than your penis so it stays put, ONE says. Durex cautions that a condom that doesn't fit is more likely to break or slip.

The warning signs are pretty obvious, according to Condom Depot. Slipping or bunching usually means it's too big, and a snug fit could fix that. Pinching, rolling up or breaking usually means it's too small, and a narrower one would only add to the problem.

ONE has found that 30% of people find standard condoms too loose, with half finding them too tight, so a poor fit is far from rare.

Here's what the main options measure, starting with the narrowest. ONE MyONE 51 and SKYN Close Feel both come in at 51 mm. A cluster of brands sit at 52 mm: Okamoto Crown, the Okamoto 003 Series, Okamoto 004, Billy Boy Extra Thin, Pasante Extra, LifeStyles Ultra Ribbed and Durex Gefühlsecht Slim Fit. The widest of the bunch is Durex Thin Feel Close Fit at 52.5 mm.

There's some room for manoeuvre in the standard. Under ISO 4074, what's measured can be up to 2 mm off the printed figure in either direction. So condoms marked 51 mm and 52 mm can seem almost identical in use.

If these options still feel loose, you can go narrower. Ritex 47 measures 94 mm around, while the brand's standard condom is 106 mm.

"Slim" can point either way, so check the packet. Narrow means a slimmer width. Thin means the material itself is finer, and the width might still be regular.

A standard condom is around 0.07 mm thick. Some go far thinner: roughly 0.018 mm for Sagami Original 0.01 and 0.024 mm for Sagami Original 0.02. A few thin condoms are narrow too, Okamoto 003 and the Durex Thin Feel Close Fit are two examples.

It measures 52.5 mm across, a little narrower than the 56 mm Durex regular fit. In the UK, it goes by the name Thin Feel Close Fit. Canada sells a 52.5 mm version under the name Sensi-Thin Close Fit.

Durex names its products differently depending on the country. Besides the 52.5 mm Close Fit, a number of Durex condoms measure 52 mm:

• Germany: Gefühlsecht Slim Fit
• US: Ultra Thin Feel
• Canada: Avanti Bare Ultra Thin
• Philippines: Invisible

The simplest route is to measure your girth and look it up in a size chart such as Mister Size's. ONE goes the opposite direction: multiply the nominal width by two and you get roughly how far around the condom is. Size charts only offer set widths, so if your girth falls between two, try both and keep the one that stays put without pinching.