Avanti is the exotic name of a revolutionary new condom now widely available in Irish chemists.
It s the closest thing I ve experienced to not using a condom at all, says one very happy Avanti man, who describes the action of the condom as being akin to a second foreskin.
Because it allows for a lot more sensuality, it should encourage more guys to use condoms, asserts this supremely satisfied Avanti customer. We can no longer use the excuse that using a condom is like picking your nose with a rubber glove!
The thing that s different about the Avanti is that it s made from a plastic called polyurethane, the first new condom material in sixty years to offer increased sensitivity. Softer than shiny rubber latex, polyurethane resembles much more closely the matte texture of human skin.
Terry Power, a leading expert in the condom field, also claims that Avanti is the best condom he s ever used, and as proprietor of the Condom Power shop in Dublin, he s test-ridden quite a few.
The way that I d describe the difference between them, says Terry, is that if you look at a Swiss cheese, you see all the holes but you can never see straight through it. And if you look at a latex condom through a microscope, that s what you see: all the little holes, but you can never see straight through it. So any virus or anything has to go up, down, backwards, around. But the polyurethane is like a sheet of glass it doesn t have the holes.
As a result, polyurethane doesn t have to be layered like latex. It s also twice as strong, so condoms made from it can be a good bit thinner, heightening sensuality for both men and women.
As well as feeling much nicer to the touch, polyurethane behaves in a different way to latex.
You know the way with cling-film, explains Terry Power, you put it near the heat and it shrinks around. Obviously not quite with the intensity of cling-film, the Avanti forms another skin. It s a wide condom and it s tapered in, and the reason is that it wouldn t have the elasticity of rubber. That s why we always say that with the Avanti you have to use the full length of the condom, to make sure you don t have slippage on it.
Avanti condoms give a personalised fit, and because they re slightly larger than your average latex condom, they avoid the strangulation feeling that some guys can experience. They also offer respite for the many people, particularly women, who to varying degrees have an allergy to latex.
Unlike traditional condoms, Avanti is compatible with oil-based lubricants, so you can use massage oils without worrying that your condom will disintegrate. Oil-based products seriously impair latex within seconds, something holiday-goers should remember, because tanning oil can sink right into the pores of your skin. On which point, incidentally, Terry Power recommends soaping yourself down at least three times, and very vigorously in the most important places before having sex after a day on the beach.
So where s the catch with the miraculous Avanti? Well, they re three times the price of most other condoms. Durex, the company selling them in Ireland, puts the high price down to increased production costs, though the Femidom which is also made from polyurethane and contains a lot more material is actually much cheaper than Avanti condoms for men. (In fact the plastic bag-like female condom is turning out to be a flop many women find its voluminous size and complicated instruction manual a complete turn-off.) n