XL condoms

Girth drives condom sizing more than anything else. It's the distance around your erect penis where it's thickest. Length counts for less, since under the ISO standard no condom tested for length may measure below 160 mm.

The number on the box is the nominal width. That's how wide the condom is when it lies flat, which works out to half its circumference at the narrowest point. In the EU, packaging has to show this width.

Here's how Mister Size pairs girth with width (their chart):

Durex, going on NHS figures, puts the average erect girth at 12 to 13 cm. So plenty of people are already covered by a 57 mm condom, and 60 mm is for girth above that.

Sizes are built on erect measurements, so wait until you're fully hard before you measure.

1. Loop a soft tape measure around the thickest part, which is usually just under the head.
2. No tape? A bit of string or a strip of paper works too. Mark the point where it crosses itself.
3. Put the string or paper along a ruler and note the length in centimetres.
4. Check your number against the girth table to find your width.

ONE points out that a standard toilet paper roll measures about 5 inches around on the inside. Brands differ, so treat it as a rough guide only.

Durex sells a few XL condoms, and their widths aren't identical.

The UK's regular Durex fit is 56 mm wide. So Intensity XL beats the regular size by just 1 mm.

Germany sells Durex Gefühlsecht Extra Groß as an XXL condom, and it's 60 mm wide. Classic Jeans XL and Feeling XL measure the same, so that extra X doesn't buy you extra width.

Trojan Magnum XL measures 58 mm wide and 180 mm long. According to Trojan, the Magnum range fits a penis no shorter than 7.1 inches and no less than 4.75 inches around.

Not every Magnum is wider than a regular condom. Most of the range sits between 53 and 57 mm, so check the width before you buy.

At 60 mm wide, you're looking at an erect girth of 13.5 to 14.5 cm, that's 5.31 to 5.71 inches. Durex makes three condoms at that width: Classic Jeans XL, Feeling XL, plus the German Gefühlsecht Extra Groß. Should 60 mm still feel snug, Mister Size's next size up is 64 mm.

Mister Size doesn't make a 58 mm condom. It sits between their 57 mm and 60 mm sizes, so it's worth a try if 57 mm feels tight but 60 mm feels loose. Magnum XL from Trojan comes in at 58 mm. So does LELO HEX Respect XL, at 58 mm, and at 195 mm it ranks among the longer condoms.

Pinching, rolling up or breaking means a condom is usually too small. Slipping or bunching points to one that's too big. Durex warns that a poor fit raises the risk of the condom breaking or sliding off.

A condom should sit slightly tighter than your own girth, which is what keeps it in place. Under the ISO standard, the true width can stray from the printed figure by up to 2 mm, so two brands printing the same number can feel a touch different.

Per ONE, the condom's full circumference comes to roughly 2 times the width on the box.

You don't need to do any maths. Measure your girth and look it up in the girth table. A condom is meant to sit slightly tighter than you, so the chart already allows for that.