Exploding the Dogma of the "Flared Base" for anal toys

I think it's fine to use toys without a base anally, particularly if they are relatively long. However, I think it's generally safer in a review to not recommend that practice since some readers may truly not be knowledgeable as to what is safe to use anally, and I don't really want to debate that issue in my review every time. Most people who are knowledgeable can safely make the decision to use or not use a particular toy on their own.

I'm glad you brought this up, P'Gell, as it's something that I've often wondered about. I've read reviews for seemingly anal safe toys and the 'not for anal use because it doesn't have a flared base' disclaimer struck me as somewhat odd. I can understand the reasoning behind it, but I always wondered why something HAD to have a flared base, know what I mean? I agree though that if it's big enough, then really the user should be just fine, especially if there's another partner present.

I've used toys anally that don't have a flared base. I'm not running around sticking small and short toys in there, but I think as long as the toy is long enough, it's not going to get sucked in and lost. If I ever have doubts, then I wouldn't do it. I have to be pretty certain that it's safe first.

While I haven't read her book yet, it is on my list of stuff that I want to read.

I went into this issue a bit in my follow-up review for the Rhapsodia link after being asked about it. That toy doesn't have a traditional base, but has a retrieval cord that does flare at the end. I can only insert anal toys about 6 inches deep. After that, I hit a "wall" and it hurts a lot to try and go any farther. Because of that, I feel totally safe (even for long term wear) with a toy that is over 8 inches long, especially when it does have a bit of a flare at the end. There's no way I wouldn't notice that slipping too far inside.

If I used a toy with no base anally, in my review I would explain how I used it, warn that there is some potential for danger, and explain what users can do to prevent an accident, like always keeping a firm grip on the toy.

I think the the flared base is like a seatbelt; a great easy safety to benefit all passengers traveling the anal road. However, more advanced road users may enjoy driving the more technical vehicles such as motorcycles and such and thus totally negating the use of this safety feature at all. If you have the skills, know your limits, know your body and the equipment your using I believe there is absolutely no reason to use a flared base for safety. At this point the base is just a facet of the overall design, i.e. base of an anal plug.

In my personal experience I fall more into the advanced category. I use non flared toys all the time, including full insertion of double dildos, apples, silicone juggling balls, polished stones, etc. I do this because it is pleasurable to me, and relatively safe. I've never had any cause for alarm. However, I would never recommend the things I do to people. Like anything, like riding a motorcycle there are countless potential hazards. The people whom this style of play is safe for will know it intuitively. They will have put in the time, know their bodies excellently, and will surpass fear and uncertainty with volumes of experience and baby steps.

I've wondered about this too. I'm glad to hear what everyone else has to say about longer anal toys that don't have a flared base.

One thing that has sort of bothered me is seeing anal plugs where the "base" of the plug is actually smaller in diameter than the largest part of the plug. If you can get the much larger "plug" part past your sphincter, won't the "base" go in as well?

personally we use toys without a flared base anally, but in a review I do think its smart to say it doesn't have a flared base and that you don't recommend its use for anal or at least note the need for precaution. I wouldn't want anyone to blame me because they had to go to the ER. I like to write my review towards a total novice so I expect more advanced users would know what works for them and what they can handle.

I agree that it is really about knowing your own body. I've used anal toys that don't have a traditional flared base, usually vibrators like the lelo liv, and I like to think that I know my way around my own body. However, there is always the chance of getting carried away. I don't know about others, but I know that sometimes when something feels good and i'm worked up and I want to go for it, caution can be thrown to the wind. Having a nice flare, or some sort of texturing like bulbs ect, is as good for peace of mind as anything. If something is there to act as a barrier to misuse, it allows me to not worry about it, and to just let go and enjoy myself.

I suppose that really it is down to the same idea as "Don't use silicone lube with silicone toys!" as really good quality silicone lube shouldn't react to really good silicone toys, but because there are so many blends of both material and lube, it's easier to put a blanket ban than to test every eventuality, especially when the potential for ruin is always an option. I certainly think that any anal toy aimed at beginners should have a significant flare. I've seen beginner anal vibes and dildos where the widest part of the toy is intended to be inserted and tapers off to a point at the handle! Not safe at all.

Interesting thread, P'Gell. I haven't read Tristan's book, but what you paraphrase above matches what my natural inclination has always been.

I got a comment on a review on a 15" string of anal beads asking "that's so skinny, are you sure it won't get lost?" And I can say, with certainty, it will *never* be lost. I had to work for every inch past the sigmoid colon, and 6 extra inches would not be able to be sucked in no matter how strong the orgasm.

In my reviews of items for anal use without the orthodox flared base, I'll tend to say "if you attempt anal use, have a partner hold the handle," or "those without anal experience should learn their limits before attempting [...]." I feel that phrasing like this lets readers who might not be aware of the risks know that they should do some research, without being needlessly preachy or restrictive.

I feel that in a review we as good "Product testers" should always follow safe guidelines for anal toy use. I would not like to hear someone say they lost a toy due to me saying it was safe for anal use. Furthermore, even some of the safe anal toys can be lost, my Severin has tried to disappear on more than one occasion and it has a "Good" base.

In my review of the Lattachino Swirl Probe I talked about an experience I had with it. "Something else I would like to mention is that this probe, for some odd reason, found its way past the Rectosigmoid junction. I have never had a toy get past this spot, and it kind of caught me off guard. The feeling was not bad by any means but was strange. Thankfully the ball on the end was there to stop it from going in all the way. That is the main reason everyone says to only use a toy anally that has a good base. Take it from your buddy Dwtim, things can happen when you least expect it, so be careful! PLEASE." This on a toy that has a six inch insertable length. I am sure that if the ball end was not there it would have gone in all the way. I know it is easy for soft materials or toys that have a curve to get inserted farther but this is a strait glass dildo.

But I feel it should be said that even the long toys are not always safe, take my mighty Eleven for example. The other day while using it it too slipped past and slid all the way to the large end, that is nine inches. Just goes to show that once your body learns to relax anything can happen.

So ya, I think we should put out the disclaimer, better safe than sorry. I think it is fine to talk about using a non anal toy, just make sure to mention that we use a good firm grip and we are very experienced with anal toy use. That way we warn the newbies and let the more experienced crowd know how it feels.

Safety first.

In the interests of experimentation I've shoved a number of toys entirely up my ass, and tried unsuccessfully to put some other ones up there. From that not-entirely-scientifi c research I've come to several conclusions:

For most toys as long as you're holding onto them there isn't going to be a problem. The butt doesn't "suck" anything up, things just can get shoved past the sphincter. As long as you've got a reasonable grip on the toy it will almost always stay in your hands. I say almost just because there's always a chance that someone will have a very lubed toy and they're thrusting fast enough that the inertia pulls the toy out of their hand, but that's about as likely as it sounds.

For stiff toys six inches is about the limit of what will fit in your rectum before the bends start to stop it. As an example take the Sapphire Falls link . It's 6-1/2" long, and I can just barely get it all the way inside, but my anus will not close completely around the end. A cough will bring it back out. For these I'm more concerned about a longer toy getting pushed hard enough to bruse/pierce the intestine than I am with them getting "lost". In any case they won't ever leave the rectum so they'll come out pretty quickly on their own - just make sure you don't do anything that will break them (not likely).

For long, bendy toys you get more friction and it gets harder to insert as you go higher. For something such as Cisco link , you'd need to press really hard for it to get lost. I was never able to fully insert it, but by my limit it was taking a pretty good shove to get any further in.

What I'd be more concerned with is the shape of the "back end" of the toy. A soft silicone toy should always be safe, but if they have corners or sharp angles they could be quite uncomfortable going in and out - for example the Ryder plug has a soft enough base that I can force it all the way in, but it's quite uncomfortable so there's no way that would happen without me figuring out what was going on. On the bad side it's equally uncomfortable coming out. A toy with a rounded end, such as the aforementioned Sapphire Falls or the Epona G-spot vibrator will slip out easily enough, but a stiff toy with a back end that's not rounded (or an improvised toy with a non-safe back end) can cause damage and should probably be removed professionally to minimize the damage.

For most things, the best advice for a lost toy is the one from the "Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy": Don't panic. The bad news is that this can be hard for someone without a lot of experience who just realized that their toy has gone AWOL.

More of the same here on Bottomtalk: link

Yay! I'm so glad someone is talking about this!

It really just seems to come down to common sense. My boyfriend and I have some not flared glass toys that we use anally. The Cyberglass four-way G being one of them. It's not a ridiculously long toy, but I can keep a good grip on one end and don't have to worry about it disappearing anywhere. On the other hand, we do have a "butt plug" (and when I say that I mean that it's really more of a probe or dildo, but it's marketed as a butt plug, I'll be writing that in my review) that makes me nervous due to it's base. It's a squishy material and it just isn't firm enough to make me believe that with one thrust too hard it couldn't go *poof*.

With that said, I do agree that it's a good overall rule to have. How many times have you said, exasperated, "It's common sense!" Yes, it probably is. But common sense isn't always so common, and its better to be safe than sorry, particularly when going recommendations to the masses.