I reached a state where the ball ring doesn’t give any discomfort. No more red pressure marks, no discomfort in mornings, no more putting vaseline all day and night and no more interruptions while sleeping. Took about a month continues wearing (with discomfort) to get it to more comfortable. A couple months more to eliminate all issues. Sometimes it scares me to take of the cage (ball ring) too long (to not loose everything I build up). But we are also planning an active holiday (hiking) and I also want to try a new PA only cage when it arrives. Is this a legit fear or did I build up some kind of permanent thickening of the skin? What’s your experience with taking breaks?
I don't think it's permanent, in my experience I always have a readjustment period if I'm unlocked for more than a couple weeks. Actually helps motivate me to relock after any break
I don't envisage a break and wouldn't want one, I mean I wouldn't want a break from it any more than i'd want a break from wearing my wedding ring. However will be changing from a CB6000s to a Vice which has a much shallower ring so hoping for a smooth adjustment.
The wedding ring is a good analogue for what happens with the base ring. Keeping in mind that a proper fit is found, which can take some trial and error, the body adjusts to the metal wrapped around your balls. My wedding ring has created a crease on my finger and I feel like the base ring has done a similar thing with the skin around my package. A little tougher and more resilient based on constant contact.
If I'm unlocked for a few days, then putting the cage back on is just 'back to normal'; Any longer, and I go through the same routine of discomfort, using ointments or lubricants, getting irritated skin etc. So yes, I really hate being unlocked for more than a day or two, it isn't worth all the discomfort before getting back into that "continual bliss" state. Rather than the skin hardening, I think it's more to do with the skin getting used to the microclimate humidity and temperature of your groin between wearing and not wearing a cage. When wearing a cage there's far less skin contact between genitals and clothing, so much of the moisture and salt isn't wicked away.