Thursday 6 November 2014

Keyholder Dream X3 Espresso Short: Testing a prototype 3D Printed Male Chastity Device


I was thrilled when my friend Pedro offered me a prototype of his new 3D printed chastity device -- the last time anybody sent me a kinky gift, was when Fred Norman gave me one of his famous floggers.

The device uses a trailer hitch lock for a "magic locker" so I ordered one up ahead of time. It also has an interesting anti-pullout detector requiring neoprene cord, so I got some of that as well. Then I waited...

The device arrived three days early! The packaging was discrete -- it came from Shapeways in the Netherlands so there was no problem with customs duties etc.

I took out the pamphlets, and there it was all sealed up looking like something out of Star Wars!



The device arrives in a sealed bag:

It arrived assembled, so it was clear the parts fitted together. Here it is with the locker I bought separately:

The locker slid in easily,  though the angle threw me at first:  

Here it is with my other devices. Note that the Espresso has a much bigger bulb than the HT2:

And finally, nestling up to my Holy Trainer 2 and its magic locker (perspective makes the Espresso look larger, but they are a similar size):

So I washed it with soap and water then dunked it in sterilizing solution, rinsed it then tried it on!

First Impressions: Keyholder Dream X2 Espresso Short

  • Though this is a prototype, it still looked very hi-tech and cool. The parts fit together perfectly, though the locker gives the tube a couple of millimeters forward/back play.
  • Being 3D printed, there are no blemishes, no seams, no sense that the thing might split. All the edges are smooth.
  • The design is very solid. You can tell it's the work of an engineer. The slider is deep so there's no chance of the tube levering out and then breaking part of the locking mechanism.
  • The eggshell finish -- a result of the 3D printing -- is truly wonderful. It's not abrasive. However, being not smooth, it lets the skin slide across it fine -- no need for lubrication on the bass ring! In a minor miracle, the same texture grips very firmly indeed when there is pressure.

Installing the Espresso device

It took a couple of tries to work out how to get into the device. The challenge is getting all the way into the tube. Here's what worked for me: 
  1. Without lotion, install the base ring as snugly against the body as possible. Make sure it's aligned right, it's almost impossible to twist the thing once it's on.
  2. Apply lotion to the penis and the upper inside surface of the tube. 
  3. Install the tube. The penis should slide right to the end.
  4. Lock the device. :)

Thanks to the espresso perforations, the lotion quickly disperses, leaving your penis dry.

Wearing the Espresso device

I've worn this device for an afternoon and overnight, and I'm wearing it as I type. 

I couldn't get the pullout detector working properly so I won't discuss this in detail, except to say that the concept is a good one and that it just needs a different position.

I'm not used to having such a wide base ring, so a couple of times I bumped my balls when sitting down. It's certainly a far more intrusive device than the Holy Trainer 2, though I may well get used to it. As long as the ring is snug against the groin, it's OK under close-fitting jeans. Kneeling and bending is no problem. If it's not snug, it pinches and scrunches!

Once on, it's almost impossible to adjust and this makes it feel very secure ideed. With the Holy Trainer 2, you can pull your scrotum this way and that, position the device just right. Try that with the Espresso and it just hurts (which is why it's important to install it correctly in the first place.) This tightness and the wide bass ring means you can't wear it 24/7. There's simply no way of adequately cleaning all your parts - though perforating the bass ring might fix this. However, it also means that it would hurt to pull out of.

If installed properly, the Espresso is generally comfortable to wear, perhaps slightly less than the HT2 (though, as I said, I may grow used to it). The big head bulb seems to make it harder to align slit to slot for peeing compared to the HT2, but the design is very forgiving; the pee never pools or spatters. At worst, you get two streams, both headed outwards. You can certainly sit and pee with confidence. (It's possible I need a device that's 1 cm shorter, or that there's some trick I need to learn.)

It's actually really comfortable to sleep in. I didn't remotely expect that. It's light, so it doesn't weigh down on your genitals and the wider base ring seems to stop it becoming misaligned.  This morning's "morning wood"was no problem. I may have simply slept through it, however I suspect that the grip is so firm that the device catches and restrains the usually unstoppable erection. There was no sense that  it pushed the device away from my body thus stretching my balls, an experience that even happens with the Holy Trainer 2.

Finally, being turned on while wearing the Espresso is a pretty wonderful sensation. Not only does it trap your penis as required, it also stays close to the body. There's no comedy half-stiffy with the device clutching the end of your dick like an overambitious snake trying to consume another snake.

Conclusions: Writing on the wall for established CB makers (and for China)

Pedro's chastity device isn't perfect -- it's a prototype. However, it's nearly perfect and already much better than the cheap Chinese device I have. A few tweaks and we'll have a cheap robust male chastity device with a magic locker and a pull-out detector, available in a huge range of styles and sizes, 3D-printed on demand. 

Pedro must be one of the first to nail this, but he can't be the only one and he certainly won't be the last.

This has implications: 

Hobbyists will push down the price of chastity devices. Pedro's betas come in at between EUR80 and EUR100 plus postage, but I doubt he could push the price any higher even if he wanted because some other hobbyist would undercut him. And 3D printing is only going to get cheaper.

The quality of male chastity devices will improve. 3D printing lets amateurs and moonlighting engineers like Pedro tinker with designs and then update their product almost immediately. Contrast that with how long it's taking Holy Trainer to fix their design and material issues thanks to having to change their manufacturing process, deal with contractors etc etc. The market will soon no longer support chastity devices that pinch, crack or snap.

People will soon prefer to buy 3D printed chastity devices. Not only will they be cheap and made to measure, they'll also have the major advantage of being manufactured locally, getting around the whole import duty hazard.

So I think that unless they drop their prices and improve their quality, or shift to 3D printing, we'll soon be saying goodbye to the CB range and to Holy Trainer, with only the silicon devices as holdouts. 


Don't resign yourself to just getting off on other people's adventures! When we started out, my wife was vanilla. Use my manuals to help you walk the same Femdom path! There's one for him, and one for her