Full disclosure: This was my very first cock ring. I know. I know. You want to hear the opinion of a salty and rugged traveler of the cock ring seas. Someone who has seen their fair share of penis grabbing elastic circles. But I offer a virgin perspective, and that lets other cock ring virgins know if this is the right thing for their first time. Or not.

(And I've read enough to know what effects a good cock ring should have.)

PACKAGING

To begin with, this circle has a macho name: ERECTION COMMANDER. The box is clear plastic folded around a dark black plastic display, the purple ring was clearly visible. Below it there's the title displayed in a futuristic font in silver letters like perhaps the erection is commanding a space ship in the Blade universe. The black display is intermittent with condensed white dots that look similar to the sheen of a tightly woven Kevlar vest, which again suggests a kind of high-tech and vaguely masculine style. The manufacturer I believe is EdenFantasys, but the box has two mysterious marks. One called "Ornaments" and the other called "LNMC". Googling either of these names didn't bring up much, other than this amusing article about a Christmas tree ornamented with dildos. Wherever it came from, the back of the box informs me with the old reliable "Made in China".

My one complaint is that, trapped underneath the plastic, clearly visible on the cock ring itself, was a little white thing. Perhaps lint. Or paper. Who knows. Anyways, this is why you should always wash new toys. You never know what's gotten on it from the factory.

THE ONE RING TO RULE THEM ALL (someone must have made this joke before, right?)
Unlike some rings that can only be destroyed by the fires of Mordor, this ring is made of purple silicone. Squishing it, I detect no other things inside it, so it's silicone through and through. The back of the box actually goes out of its way to make it a point of pride.

"The rings are made of 100% silicone and are safe to use for prolonged exciting pleasure."

A further two paragraphs are dedicated to this, including some nice tips on how to spot fake silicone.

Anyways, this ring is rather soft and wide, being of the around both the penis and the balls variety. Mine came a little too narrow to encompass all that geography, so I stretched it out around a bottle for around an hour. Still a little narrow, I pulled it between my hands a few times. That seemed to help the most, but, really, not too much. Be patient with your cock rings. Stretch them a little at a time or you might make it too wide.

USE
When finally applied - shaft, then one ball, then the other- it gives a soft pressure to the base of the dick. In my opinion, it did not squeeze exactly tight enough to cause the desired effect of heightened and prolonged sensitivity usually expected from cock rings. It is, however, still a pleasant sensation and pleasant looking. A fun little sexual diversion, and plain enough looking that if you leave it out on the desk, it might just look like a stress ball kind of thing. Actually, the squishy material makes it kind of fun to follow through on that too.

This thing is really thick, so I had to hold the band by both ends to stretch it wide enough to get my first ball in. Next time I'll apply some lube, as others have suggested, though if you're like me you hate bringing out the lube unless it's for a big operation 'cause, hey, lube is messy. Anyway, once I got the thing on I enjoyed the light squeezing sensation around the base. I did not notice any vein bulging or anything that suggests the circulation being tensed, so it did not have quite the reward I was hoping for, but it otherwise was fairly erotic and added a nice dimension to a light masturbation session.

Did I mention it just feels and looks sexy? Something about the width of the band makes it look quite nice, and if I had a partner who requested I arrive prepared for sexual deviancy of a certain order, I would be happy to already have this on as expected or as a surprise.