2011 Progressive review of a super-short Jailbird by Mature Metal

I received my super short (1-3/4 inch cage length) Jailbird from Mature Metal a few days ago and was happy to see the really excellent craftsmanship.

My review will be a "progressive" review in that I'll detail my observations about the Jailbird over a period of time. For people who dislike reading a lot of information, This first post will start with the TLDR version. Feel free to skip all remaining posts unless you are hungry for all the full details.

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The TLDR version of this review

First, a link to all the close-up photos in one of my member galleries here. Some of the photos have useful descriptive details, so open one and use the Photo Strip to navigate the others so you see the description text.

Don't waste time in trial and error with mass-market CB belts. Ultimately you'll save yourself time and money by going straight for a custom-fit device right from the get-go. I would have saved literally $600 US by going straight for a custom-fit device like the Jailbird instead of trying out one mass-market belt after another.

There are several custom-fit vendors throughout the world and I cannot compare and contrast them all. But I *can* recommend Mature Metal as being a first-class provider of custom-fit devices. Their designs are all functionally superb (and good function outweighs good looks when it comes to CB). Their workmanship and quality is superb. Their customer service is superb, their turnaround time is superb. Their prices are relatively low compared to all their competitors, and seem quite a fair value given the hand craftsmanship involved.

The Jailbird, when sized correctly, is as close to perfect as you can possibly get for practical, full-time 24/7/365 wear from a trapped-ball (base ring and cage) design. I've tried no less than four different mass-market products and none of them even come close. In fact, none of them were wearable for more than 1-3 days without causing significant hygeine/health and comfort issues. The Jailbird, by contrast, I was able to put on in literally 1 minute right after unpacking it (and washing it, lol) without any lube or struggle, slept like a baby, can wear it under even tight clothing without constant pinching and adjusting, get up and down from sitting or in/out of cars with no pinching, etc. 24 hours later, it's clear that this will never *require* being removed. No "break-in period" or needing my body to adjust to it. And the design of the Jailbird, in particular, allows for plenty of airflow and soap/water flow where needed to keep all the skin surfaces healthy, dry, and clean without needing to oil/lube "problem areas", poke around with Q-tips, etc. And no potential for funky smelling skin from surfaces that trap moisture.

I can unequivocably recommend both Mature Metal and the Jailbird design. The key, however, is to measure yourself correctly and here is where I feel a lot of people overestimate and misjudge things. Mature Metal is very good about correcting your measurement errors where feasible, and being reasonable with their adjustment costs, but errors in cage length and inside diameter are common from what I've seen on the forums and the cage is more difficult (and expensive) to rebuild accordingly. I got a perfect fit right on the first try, but I was very anal-retentive about my measurements and have a specific system for measuring. I recommend that you read up on my measuring system and consider my ideas and observations when measuring for your own custom device. I cover my measuring system here: BLAH BLAH.


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Goals of the full review

My real goal with this long, detailed review is to save other folks time and money in choosing and measuring for a trapped-ball CB device. I will provide *lots* of detailed information--and close-up photos--about the fit, feel, and quality of the Jailbird in general. And will also detail my specific technique for measuring for a perfect fit on the first try, and how well (or poorly) that measuring technique has turned out for me.

I've been through four other mass-market CB devices before the Jailbird, and every single one of them was painful, irritating, and literally impossible to wear full-time for more than a day or three at most before obvious hygeine/health and excessive pain issues would crop up. Specifically, they were the CB-n000, the Birdlocked, the Green's "RingMaster", and the Exobelt Extreme.

Now that I'm wearing my custom Jailbird, I am a total convert to the concept that a custom-fitted device is the only real enabler for full-time 24/7/365 chasity for many, if not most, of us. Had I known then what I know now, I could have saved literally $600 total by skipping all those other devices and going straight to a custom device like the Jailbird. If I can reduce/eliminate the same expensive trial-and-error for others, then I'm happy.

While the notion that custom devices are better isn't news to most of you, what might be new is my specific technique for measuring for a good fit with a custom device, 90% of which applies to any custom-fit device, with a few specific notes/tips for the Jailbird itself. That other thread also clearly explains why the standard mass-market devices tend to cause strong to severe "night pain" for many wearers, and why you don't need to put up with such pain at all to achieve a good fit. And for those who have ordered custom devices and had to go through a round of readjustments with the builder because it turned out too large even though you're certain you measured right, I'll explain why that happens and how to avoid it.

 

Days 1 through 3 - First impressions and detailed photos

Photos of these don't do them justice. In photos the stainless can look somewhat dull and dark, but this thing was gleaming bright silver, very highly polished. The overall craftsmanship is superb. It's too frail and it's not too beefy. It's just right. Every thing is 100% high-quality stainless steel, even the security screw itself. Every surface was well polished. No snaggy surfaces anywhere inside or outside. (Although if you ever get any, a super fine grit nail file for "buffing" nails will make short work of any burrs you might find on yours. Earth beats Metal every time.

After washing and drying the major parts, I slipped it all on in literally 30 seconds. No lube, contorting, shoving, or "stocking trick" needed. Base ring slipped on fast and easy, shaft slipped easily right to the end of the cage, no pinching or moving flesh out of the way while slipping the cage sleeve into position on the center post. (Note that the ease of putting it on is due in large part to my measuring system, described here in "PansyTart's measuring system for custom-fit devices".)

The security screw was a wee bit shorter than I expected it to be, but it seems to engage enough threads to be secure and snug. The cage hasn't moved and the screw hasn't losened in 3 days now of normal wear and tear, and that's without any Locktite applied to the screw threads. I did have to crank it down moderately tight, though. The first time I made it only mildly tight but it worked loose within 20 minutes. A little Locktite would solve any potential loosening entirely, but it would also help to engage more threads in the shaft hole. I gave feedback to Mature Metal that it might be helpful to use screws that are about 1/8 to 3/16 inch longer, perhaps even as long as a 1/4 inch longer. I'm guessing that people like me who prefer a low profile security screw lock won't mind if the end protudes just slightly from the other side of the cage sleeve.

As you can see from the photos in the gallery, the edges of the screw are not hidden from pliers. This isn't an issue for MsTreat, but your mileage might vary. I gave feedback to Mature Metal that welding even a half-circle guard over the top of where the screw head sits (or a full circular sleeve) would prevent loosening it with pliers. The screw itself is secure enough. Yes, I could find extra bits for this "medium security" screw on the internet if I looked hard enough, but Mature Metal does have a "high security" screw that are impossible to find extra bits for. As the closeup photos in the gallery show, there's a pin in the center of the screw head that requires a special bit. Just a standard Torx bit from a hardware store won't work.

I'm now on day 3 (and two nights) of wearing the Jailbird non-stop. No "night pain", slept like a baby both nights now. Not a single hot spot or sore area anywhere around the base ring. It stays put in its optimum position for hours and hours of normal activity, movement, sitting, even when I'm naked and it's hanging loose with no support against gravity. The only thing that will make it slip down is: soapy water, lube, or strong erections even when the skin is fully dry. (This type of "slip-down" is totally natural and expected.) I wake up in the morning, tug gently on the sides and bottom to snug it up into the normal position, and it stays put all day until I hit the shower. Or get really aroused.

And when it does slip down, the distance is only 1/2 inch. Here's a photo from first thing in the morning after a night of nocturnal erections. Following that is a photo right after I snugged it back up to its normal position. As you can see, the difference is only 1/2 inch and even in the "slipped down" position, the fit still looks quite good overall and the tip of my shaft is still right up to the edge of the cage.





Finally, the short cage length and curvature fits WONDERFULLY under panties and tight women's jeans! Woot! All the other mass-market cages were huge, bulging affairs. I couldn't even get some of them into women's jeans and manage to zip them up (Birdlocked--I'm looking at you!).



Also, exercising is super easy by simply fashioning a support harness from a pretty red shoelace. I can work out all I want, jog, etc. and it won't bounce or bother me.



Bottom line, it's obvious now by day 3 that the fit is perfect and there's no need to remove it except for those short periods where Ma'am wants to do so. No pinching, no constant adjusting, not even at work. No "getting my body used to it". No break-in period. No trouble sleeping, no night pain. Awesome. I'm not even sure how many entries I'll need to make in this progressive review because it's just right in every way. But I'll check in every few weeks for a while and update this thread.

 

Notes about the anti-pullout device in my Jailbird

You can see the full array of "blunt" anti-pullout pins that I ordered in the gallery linked above in one of the previous posts. Here's a picture that's worth a thousand words, however. this is a side view of what's going on right after rolling out of bed, following a night of several nocturnal erections and a sexy tease just before bed. I haven't touched or rearranged a thing. I just grabbed the camera and took pictures.



This pin is the Medium blunt pin. As you can see, it successfully grabs and hold the shaft pretty well and the additional friction it provides keeps the shaft from moving backward. It is totally comfortable. I can't even feel it when fully aroused and engorged. I've checked the skin right under the pin daily and no sign of irritation, color change, or even any real deformation of the skin.

I think the word "anti-pullout" is a bit of a misnomer, because IMO any pin like this, no matter how sharp or textured or deep, can be defeated easily with the use of a simple plastic shim slipped underneath. I think it's more conceptually accurate to think of these as "anti-accidental-pullout" pins. They do work to help keep the shaft in place and to not enable it to be tugged backward as easily from normal movement or natural "slip-down" of the base ring.

 

Day 6 Update:

The Jailbird has been on continuously for 5.5 days now (and 5 nights). Not a single millimeter of irritated skin anywhere. It's been perfectly comfortable in all respects except the expected amount of occasional readjustment when sitting all day at work. Ultimately, any contraption that pulls your balls forward like this and wraps the scrotum up around the sides of the cage when everything is stuffed in underwear and jeans will be noticeable and you'll occasionally need to move the skin around and reposition it slightly. The normal bathroom breaks to pee are a good opportunity to pull the skin away from the cage and let it air out for a minute or two, which is sufficient.

I've slept all 5 nights like a baby. On night 4 I had a long enough/hard enough erection at the right point in my sleep cycle to wake me up, but I fell right back asleep within 40 seconds. I've had plenty of nocturnal erections every night, as evidenced by a half inch of "slip down" every morning, but obviously they're not hurting enough to wake me up like every other single device I've tried before would do every single night. Multiple times a night. With burning pain so intense I'd literally be sweating and somewhat freaked out that I couldn't just "will" everything to relax and would sometimes have to get up and pace to take my mind off the pain until the body decided to finally relent. Those nights are over, thankfully.

My glans never moves from the tip of the cage; it fits like a glove. The medium blunt anti-pullout pin is still effective and functional and no sign of skin irritation from it whatsoever. Ma'am wants to take the device off today for a quick inspection and spoiled milking just to reassure herself that all is well, so I'll put in the long blunt anti-pullout pin and see how that sits for the next few days. I'll also add some Locktite to the security screw just in case, although I'll note that the screw has not loosened even once since day 1, without any Locktite on it at all.

Everything is staying clean and dry, although as with any ball-trap device, there is a tendency to build up some "funk" odor on the portion of the scrotum that is squished up against the bottom of the cage tube. I'd hoped the sparse bars of the Jailbird would provide enough airflow even under there to prevent the odor buildup of simple skin-on-skin sweat, but scrotal flesh is very plastic and it just squeezes up into every crack and makes a tight seal anyway. So as with any ball-trap device, you need to take special care throughout the day to periodically clean and dry that area of skin that gets wedged up against the bottom of the cage tube, especially at work when everything is crammed tight into underwear and jeans.

I recently came up with this idea and it works really well inside underwear to limit the "funk" effect. Now when I get home from work there's no "funk" smell when I take off the panties I've been wearing for 10 hours straight. BTW this particular photo clearly shows how roomy my base ring is when I'm relaxed and soft. See that large gap on the top? I can easily fit four fingers and a thumb under the ring there. The point is to demonstrate visually that it's not the base ring size/tightness that keeps everything in place up against your pubis. It's the fit of the "gap" and how evenly it forces your scrotum to wrap all around the bottom and sides of the cage, creating a large friction surface that just holds everything in place like glue. See the link below in my signature block for more information about misconceptions about base ring size (and other misconceptions about proper fit). The device you see in these photos and my galleries was sized according to that fitting method, and it fits perfect, stays put, and is totally comfortable for full time 24/7/365 wear. The most the device ever "slips down" under heavy pressure from strong erections (or soapy water, heavy sweating, etc.) is 1/2 inch. It's completely impossible for either of my balls to escape. (They escaped easily--and inadvertently--from a CB-n000, a Green's "RingMaster"/"Jailbird", and a Birdlocked. All of which had far too-tight 2 inch base rings or smaller.)



By wedging a thin cotton jersey material as shown before putting on your underwear, you can greatly reduce/eliminate the "funk" buildup right there. Use a girl's plain t-shirt that is made out of super lightweight, super thin, super soft cotton or cotton blend jersey knit. Avoid thicker t-shirt material; look for the really thin soft feminine stuff. It doesn't crop up all that often. Old Navy in particular seems to get material like this relatively often throughout the year. One such t-shirt can yield literally several dozen pads of the right size.

Oh, and here's the proper type of Locktite to use for security screws like this one. Always use the BLUE "Removable" version.

 

Day 11 update

Quick reply to @MelsBitch first: Yes, ultimately any security screw, recessed or not, can be defeated. They sell fairly comprehensive bit sets on eBay for cheap that look like they'd address pretty much every tamper-proof screw in existence. I was thinking of the shield to make the screw head somewhat recessed mainly to prevent opportunistic removal. Pliers are everywhere. Security screw bits are less commonly found in most households and workplaces. Also, one of the selling points of Lori's devices and Steelworx.de devices (IMO) is the clean design look and feel of their recessed security screws. Mature Metal's current (beta) design is more "primitive" looking, and I bet people would gladly pay a little more for something less "primitive" looking on a device that otherwise has very clean design esthetics.

So... nearly completed 11 straight days and nights of full-time wear since it arrived. MsTreat removed it for 30 minutes to take a close look back on day 6 and no sign of irritation or soreness anywhere. And nearly no "odor" as literally every other device has caused. The hygiene on the open JailBird is perfect. As I mentioned above, you still have a tendendcy to develop some typical "sweat funk" on the front of the scrotum itself where it's wedged up against the bottom of the cage by the gap configuraiton, but this is easily mitigated by using an absorbent pad as i showed above, plus occasional light application of Thai-style crystal deodorant. I just rub my wet fingers over the crystal, then wipe my wet fingers over the surfaces that normally snug up to the underside of the cage. Not much is needed at all, and the deodorant doen't irritate my skin in any way. (If you can use it on your underarms with no irritation, then it's fine for your scrotal skin too--over there they actually use it for foot odor any any other place odor might build up. All it is is mineral salts that make the PH wrong for most moisture-loving bacteria to grow.)

Comfort-wise, I still sleep like a baby every night. Zero night pain, zero soreness, discoloration, or discomfort anywhere. The only place that occasionally gets "tender" feeling is right under the anti-pullout pin after I've had a lot of erections (like first thing in the morning), and I only feel it when I move the skin out from under the pin. Ma'am decided I didn't need to try the Large anti-pullout pin since the Medium one was doing its job of anchoring the shaft in place and preventing most of it from moving backward in the cage through the normal range of expansion and movement.

I do find that I prefer looser-fitting underwear. Not like boxers, of course, but just the difference between tight and heavier fabric "medium" bikini panties versus less-tight and lighter fabric "large" hi-rise briefs. If the panties are too tight, they press the folded over scrotum against the sides of the cage tube too much and after about 3 hours you can feel a little pressure irritation on your scrotal skin right there. That doesn't happen in more comfy panties.

At this point I'm pretty convinced that I could wear this thing non-stop for as long as Ma'am likes. Months and months, no problem. It's nice to finally have something that doesn't *need* to be removed frequently just to maintain hygiene or to let your body heal up from the irritation and/or damage it's causing!

 

Day 20 update:

Still totally comfortable sleeping, zero night pain of any sort, been on for 20 days continuous, no "break-in" period or "getting used to it". After our last weekly check under the hood to ensure all the flesh looked good, we decided to go for two weeks until the next maintenance check.

One problem did crop up, though. At the 15-day mark, the medium blunt anti-pullout pin was clearly causing some abrasion/bruising. I'd been getting aroused by Ma'am quite often around that time. the blunt pin is totally comfortable when you're relaxed, and you don't even really feel it when you're fully aroused, but obviously because it was holding skin in place while other skin wanted to move and stretch around it, it was causing some surface tearing. So we took it out about 3 days ago to let the skin heal up. I might try the short anti-pullout pin or I might not, after that small patch of skin is healed up again.

Having watched the behavior of everything without the anti-pullout pin in place, a few things are clear:

• The CB's fit and "slip-down" are not affected in any way by the anti-pullout pin.
• The tendency for the base of your shaft to "inch-worm" slightly out the opening of the cage tube IS noticeably affected by the anti-pullout pin. With the anti-pullout pin in place, you will have absolutely zero "accidental pullout" as your shaft gets tugged backward by normal movement. Without the anti-pullout pin, I do find that after a full 11 hours out of being stuffed in my pants during the workday, when I get home about a half inch of the shaft has slowly crept backward out of the tube and bunched up ever so slightly in the gap. It's no biggie, just a quick tug through the sides of the cage and everything's fine again. And during the evening or while sleeping overnight, there's much less tendency to creep backward like this. But with the ultra short cage length, measured for a blood cock, it doesn't matter if there's some small accidental pullout like this because there's still plenty of meat left in the cage and glans stays firmly planted against the front of the cage anyway.
• In retrospect, I would recommend against the anti-pullout pin option when ordering a Mature Metal device. It doesn't provide "true security", as I've noted in my measuring guide (link in the sig block below), and the one benefit that it does provide is very slight at best. When you consider that even the blunt pin will have a tendency to damage your skin if worn for a length of time, IMO it's just not necessary or worth it.

 

Day 21 update

I forgot to mention in yesterday's update that the JailBird does allow for an orgasm if you work the cage just right with a large vibrator. Just put a folded hand towel between the vibrator head and the top of the cage tube to prevent rattling sounds, then find the right spot and pressure. Wait long enough, and an orgasm will occur. This isn't different from any other ball-trap device, but what's worth noting is that with a super-short cage tube that keeps the length of your shaft compressed into a "bloodcock" length at all times results in a very "spoiled" orgasm this way. You spasm and ejaculate a small amount, but because your shaft is straining to expand lengthwise (which itself is mildly painful), the orgasm is both muted and somewhat painful. It's very much a spoiled orgasm and not a free, wide open, good-feeling orgasm. And a lot of the remaining ejaculate drools out for 10 minutes following the short spoiled orgasm itself.

Honestly, it's not worth it. It's more "fun" and "pleasurable" to get a prolonged prostate massage than to do this. IMO, anyway. Ma'am (and I) were curious to see what it would feel like for me, so we tried it. But would I choose to do it on my own if I was feeling pent up and desperate, and Ma'am was away? And I was willing to be a bad subbie and go against her commands? The answer is easy: "no". It just doesn't feel good enough, and the end result is most definitely not a feeling of satisfaction and relief.

I can't compare whether having a longer cage tube in which you can get mostly erect would feel better, but I know for sure that a very short cage tube does not feel good to do this.

Still, I could see this technique being useful to deliver occasional spoiled orgasms just to clear out the pipes if your KH feels that's important (for health reasons) and you're unable to get enough "flow" from a prostate milking. No need to remove the cage at all. Just hit it with the vibrator, and after you stop drooling the remnants by 20 minutes later, rinse everything off. There' some psychological "heat" in being forced to have a painful, spoiled orgasm like this without anyone even touching your caged flesh itself. Perhaps especially so for the "sissies" among us who love the idea of having their man-flesh locked away and rejected permanently.

On another topic, I've stopped using the "pads" I described a few posts further up. They're not really necessary. Just using a few small dabs of thai-style crystal deodorant in the morning on the few places that tend to get moist and stay moist throughout the day is all that's needed to prevent typical "ball funk" odor. That and when you go to the bathroom, peel your scrotum away from the underside of the cage tube so it has a chance to air out for a few minutes while you do your business and wait for the post-urination drips to stop.