What are butt plug must-haves – in terms of design, wearability and more?
Safety is the first box to check ✔️: You want body-safe materials such as silicone and stainless steel. Then, the plug should have substantial flare. (By all means, do not use a bullet vibrator or vaginal egg vibrator as a butt plug.)
Beyond those safety basics, what makes for a well-designed butt plug? Let’s look at butt plug components 1-by-1, for how they affect 1.) ease of insertion, 2.) anal stretching, and 3.) ease of wear during the day.
Butt Plug Component Parts
Essential words to describe anal plug parts:
- Tip.
- Taper (or Tapered).
- Bulb.
- Neck.
- Drop-off.
- Base.
- Flare (or Flared).
The Tip
The tip is the very-tip-top insertable section! Nearly every anal plug has a rounded tip – not a sharp point like a geometric cone has. Some plugs are, however, more pointed than others. For example, the Lovehoney Butt Tingler has a steep point that can feel like it’s poking first-time plug users.
The Taper – How easy is it to fully insert?
How tapered a butt plug is, strongly affects whether entry is easy.
Beginner butt plugs should have substantive taper: a noticeable slope. This lets you progress more gradually to full plug insertion. Less-tapered plugs require more warmup, or a smaller toy first. If expanding in width, remember to move up 1″ circumference or less between toys: 6 how-to stretch tips here.
Bulb – Shape & wearability
A butt plug’s bulb is the primary part, and where you’ll meet its thickest girth.
It can be a rounded cone, an egg, a curved semi-shaft, a spade, and more. What makes a butt plug, a butt plug is this bulb above a thinner neck + a base.
In butt plug design, the bulb is the most unique feature to be shaped. It affects how filling the plug is, and whether it’s intended for P-spot stimulation (via a forward curve and/or pressure point[s]).
Drop-off – How well will it stay in?
The “drop-off” is the transition from the widest bulb point, to the thinner “neck” below it.
A significant drop-off percentage is the one feature is shared by butt plugs that that don’t pop out of your ass easily upon orgasm, nor slip out as you walk while wearing.
Butt plugs should have over 30% drop-off from their widest insertable diameter, to their neck diameter, for wearability during the day. That “over 30%” works for super-soft silicone plugs, while ≥ 40% is preferred for firmer butt plugs (e.g. Snug Plugs, Pure Plugs). This drop-off allows the anal sphincter muscles to tighten around the neck, keeping the bulb locked in above.
Popular butt plug lines by mean drop-off ratio: Remember, the higher the percentage, the thinner the neck becomes:
| Plug (by Maker) | % Drop-off |
|---|---|
| Snug Plugs (b-vibe) | 70.96% |
| Anal Exerciser Training Kit | 46.71% |
| Egg Plugs (SquarePeg) | 34.34% |
| Pure Plugs (Njoy) | 61.13% |
| Ergo (Oxballs) | 38.87% |
| Blunt Plugs (SquarePeg) | 26.50% excluding XL size, which has only 16.05% drop-off |
Neck – How long can you wear it?
Thinner butt plug necks enable certain retention – i.e., a skinny-neck plug isn’t going to pop out of your butt.
But. Thinner necks are a trade-off too: You feel less stretched in the sphincter-surrounded anal canal region.
For me, the Egg Plugs are the best compromise between stretch and longer wearability.
Egg Plugs have more drop-off vs. Blunt Plugs, which are well suited for pre-game warmup. (Such as, pegging preparation.) Blunt Plugs excel there, keeping your whole (lower) ass opened up. But versus the Egg Plugs, the Blunt Plugs are more difficult to walk around wearing – after the (so-called) “small” size Blunt Plug especially.
In contrast, I can wear an Egg for 8 hours (with one re-lube stop in-between). I feel some stretch, yet my butt doesn’t want to pop the plug out. My sphincters gently squeeze around the L/XL (my favorite!) size’s neck, which has a 38.8% drop-off.
The other 2 best long-term-wear plugs – the Snug Plug and the Pure Plug – have even more drop-off. They’re harder too (they don’t compress at all). See the Snug Plug with highest drop-off ratio (Snug Plug 5, 75.38%) below vs. the Blunt Plugs’ thick (size S5 = 24.17% drop-off) to massive (XL = 16.05% drop-off) necks – a huge contrast:
Base – Comfort and safety
Anal plug bases may be classified into round (or heart-shaped) vs. T-bar shapes.
Most plugs fit into 1 of the 2 types – though some “T-bars” are more anchor-like or even flying-saucer wide.
Round bases, and heart bases, are characteristic of jewel plugs. Such pretty plugs / cutesy plugs are partly for sexy show purposes. Opinions are divided on round-base safety:
Flared Base Safety Expanded: Jewel Plug Controversy
How much flare is enough, to ensure a butt plug doesn’t get “over-inserted” – pulled up inside the rectum by accident?
A minimum standard is 0.5″ greater base diameter vs. widest bulb diameter.
A few jewel plugs do have more flare (greater base-size expansion) vs. others. The vast majority, however, have the same base width as max. bulb width.
So, jewel plugs should be approached with caution. Some people have more stretched holes or are more likely to swallow up smaller toys, vs. other individuals. If you’ve done any large anal stretching recently, for sure avoid jewel plugs.
Individually, some jewel plug wearers will love the experience, after finding a certain quality jewel plug that is secure for their body. I, for one, am confident in trusting my girlfriend’s judgment about her body: that her Pretty Plug is 100% secure for her. She’s worn the product on occasional weekends for years and had zero issues with over-insertion – she says she feels 10/10 safer wearing this jewel plug, than driving a car. She knows what works for her.
As with all matters anal, it’s key to learn what your personal limits are, and be aware in order to maximize fun and minimize risk!