XO Athletic Pro Supporter

Today I wore the XO Athletic Pro Supporter and cup.

First, the pouch material is quite smooth and comfortable. The cup access is on the inside of the jock, which certainly makes a cleaner look while wearing the cup. How often, however, is that really a concern?

Once again, there's a wide, comfortable waist-band. I have no complaints at all about the comfort of the supporter itself. With two of the previous supporters, I felt as though I needed to pull them up further to get the cup in the right place. With this supporter, things seemed to fall in to place quite readily.

In regard to the cup, I'm finally feeling like I've got some room for the boys. Things were easier to tuck in, and I didn't feel like testicular skin was trying to creep out the sides of the cup. It may be, too, that I'm getting better at wearing a cup, but I'd be willing to bet that I'll notice the difference when I work my way through the selection of cups again.

The base of the cup seemed to be a bit more instrusive than the last two (Duke and Bike). I'm not sure if this is because it's wider, lower, or rides in a different spot. Still, it never became irritating or painful; thus, I was able to wear it all day.

Duke 2N1

The next supporter/cup that I wore was the Duke. The cup can be worn as a combo, or as a soft cup only. I chose to wear it as the combo hard cup, since that is the point of this entire effort.

Not too surprisingly, my complaints are the same as the previous two cups; not enough ball room. I've certainly learned to tuck things in better, but there are still times when I feel like skin is slipping out the side.

On the positive side, the cup and supporter are both comfortable. The cup design, with the soft sides, is quite good. The base of the cup never got irritating between my legs. Still, I can't help but wonder why cups have such a long base? Does anyone really need/use all that space? I can't imagine that it exists to help keep the cup in place; that just doesn't make enough sense.

The waistband was comfortable (like that wide waistband, you know) and didn't bother me at all thru the day.

All in all, a worthy cup and supporter. Still, the quest for ball room continues.....

Bike Proflex 2

Yesterday, I wore the Bike Proflex 2. While the waistband isn't quite as wide as some of the others, it was still quite comfortable. I also happen to like the white jock contrasting the grey waistband. The cup inserts into the jock from the inside of the waistband, unlike the Franklin (and a few of the others). For my part, I like to insert cups prior to putting on the jock, so it isn't a big deal to me.

The cup was fairly comfortable to wear, actually. I didn't have any discomfort with the lower portion of the cup (between the legs). I was able to wear the cup through the day without any irritation.

However, like the Franklin, I had testicular skin trying to sneak out the sides of the cup. I found it necessary to use my hand, in a cup shape, to tuck things in. I'd tuck in the left side, roll to cup over, tuck in the right side, and then remove my hand. I think that this wouldn't be an issue for someone whose testicles are drawn closer to the body. Also, like the Franklin, I felt quite a bit of pressure on the herniated testicle. At no point did my teste withdraw into my body, but I could clearly feel the pressure in that general area.

All in all it's a comfortable cup, but I found (again) that I would like more room in the ball region.

Franklin Jock

The first hard cup jock that I wore was the Franklin, which I purchased at Target for $9.99. I wore it during the day, while at work. To be fair, I realize that this is NOT the intended use of a cup supporter. Jockstraps, for me, are more of a fetish item than actual athletic wear. At my age (47), I'm not likely to engage in a rousing game of football, soccer, or baseball. Still, I like the way jockstraps look and the way that they feel. Any man who has a jockstrap fetish will relate to the concept of having your genitals encased in a supporter and your legs/ass framed by the straps.

First, the fit of the jock was quite comfortable. I like a wide waistband on a jock, and this one certainly has it. Inserting the cup and getting it into the right spot was quite easy, though completely new to me. The material which the pouch is constructed from is quite comfortable, almost to silky feeling.

I did have a problem fitting the boys into the cup. My penis is quite average in size (flaccid, or otherwise), but I do have low-hanging balls. It took me a minute to figure out how to "pack" things into the cup, but I did manage to do so. Still, I felt like testicle tissue was trying to slide out of the side of the cup. Further, I have one herniated testicle, and I felt like the pressure on that ball was nearly causing it to slip inside (herniated testicles and retreat into the groin).

As for the comfort of the actual cup, it did feel a bit annoying at the "tip", or narrow end. After wearing it through the day I was getting a bit irritated with the way it felt. Again, I realize that cups are NOT meant to be worn as daily underwear, so this is probably to be expected.

As I'm not accustomed to wearing a cup, I found that the feel of the fabric and being "encased" was actually quite erotic. By days end I was quite charged up....

I did wear the cup again, several days later, and had the same types of experiences with fit and feel. It made me wish the the lower portion of the cup were wider to accommodate my testicles.

Cup Sizes

Here are the cups lined up (roughly) from widest to most narrow. Note that the widest part, for the purposes of this picture, is the very top of the cup, rather than the cup center (or "basket").

Here the cups are lined up by height, from shortest to tallest. Not surprisingly, the cup width and height seem to be related (as suggested by the exact order).

Hard Cup Jockstrap

Finding the quintessential hard cup jock strap.

Having never worn a hard cup jockstrap, until the age of 47, I had no idea where to begin. I’d looked at them (while shopping), but had never actually purchased one. Instead, I’d always settle on the standard jockstrap (sans cup).

Recently, while in Target doing some holiday shopping, I picked a hard cup jockstrap from the display and tossed it into my cart. The next day, I wore it (under boxers) while at work. Subsequent to that, I ended up in chat room for men who wear/enjoy jockstraps. The location of the jockstrap chat room, for those of you so inclined, is:

http://www.allkink.com/chat.html

While in the chat room, I detailed my first cup experience. Someone in the chat room mentioned, for reasons I’ll elaborate on later, that I might try the Original Banana Hard Cup brand, which I later ordered. As of this date, 12/04/06, I have not worn the Banana jock because my order was incomplete when it arrived; I had received the jock, but not the cup. Fortunately, customer service was very helpful, promising to send out the cup immediately. Today, when I got home, the new cup was in the mail, with an additional jockstrap. So, I ended up coming out way ahead on that deal.

The point of this blog is to keep track of my experiences wearing the various hard cup jocks. I’ll be gauging several areas, including comfort, fit, price, and value.

First, some pictures of the jocks/cups I currently own and will be testing.



Franklin, with patented anti-fungal and anti-microbial fabric treatment

Target

Cost, $9.99

Duke 2N1, a soft, rubbery inner cup with a removable hard outer shell

Walmart

$7.96

Bike Proflex 2, Cotton Hard Cup Jock

Sports Authority

$12.99

ProCup, by XO Athletic, with HydraWick Plus

Dicks Sporting Goods

$12.99

Original Banana Cup, the biggest, deepest cup available at International Jock

International Jock

$15.95