I have been in the Steelheart a lot lately. Since April 1 (an admittedly arbitrary stake in the ground) and through yesterday, I’ve been kept for a total of 3,192 hours and out of a device for only two hours and nine minutes (not counting the moments in between devices as one comes off for maintenance and the other goes on). That’s a total kept percentage of 99.94% of the time over about four and a half months. Of that, the Steelheart has made up nearly 80% of the time. Two thousand five-hundred and four hours.
But, in that period, I was in the Evotion 8 only 28 hours. And I’m in it now as the Steelheart required its twice-monthly vinegar soak and I had to be in something and that’s made me reflect on how the two devices are different. Even how my “top three” compare: Steelheart vs. Holy Trainer vs. Evotion 8.
The Holy Trainer is basically a mass market consumer device. It’s like the Android phone of male chastity. It’s a solid choice for most people who otherwise have no idea what they’re doing and/or basically just want to lock up a penis as efficiently and with as little fuss as possible. And I say none of that to be any kind of knock on it. It’s a great device. It gets the job done. Simple to use, well made and thoughtfully designed. But ultimately, even in its plethora of available colors and the text “inserts,” it still kind of feels like the same phone the other guy has but in a spiffy case.
New to male chastity? Don’t want to spend a ton or care about it being made to personal specifications? The Holy Trainer is your go-to. Simple choice.
The Steelheart is totally different. It’s not mass produced and injection molded, it’s hand crafted. You can see the hand of its maker all over it. The machines he used to drill and polish and weld. And the way it works to contain its contents is ingenious but also…cobbled is the best word for it. Again, I don’t knock it for that. I love that it’s that way. And of all the devices I have worn, I (and Belle) still think it’s the dead sexiest. It does everything I feel a chastity device should do, even though it clanks like an assembly of spare parts from a chain link fence installation. The Steelheart is a device that could have been made in 1980 or 1969 or 1943. It’s totally analog.
Ultimately, the Steelheart is “home” for me. It’s my safe place. It makes me complete. Highly polished steel is just so fucking dreamy.
The Evotion 8 is a different beast from both of the others. Unlike the Holy Trainer, the Evo 8 is totally bespoke. It is made to my personal and exact specifications. And unlike the almost steampunk analog vibe of the Steelheart (even the name, upon consideration, is steam-punky), the Evo 8 feels incredibly digital and modern. It’s something that can only be from today: 3D printed and intentionally designed to keep as securely as possible a penis. Period.
And that’s the thing that strikes me every time I put it on. The contents of the HT are kept, but can always back out and I know it. It’s doing a good enough job but it requires I go along with its limitations. The Steelheart is amazingly secure, but its contents still move around in there and can feel very penis-y, if you get my meaning, and it makes noise and stuff. But the Evo 8 holds its contents perfectly. Zero movement. Absolutely secure. It’s so functionally what it is. Even the way it sits more forward, it seems almost proud of how well it does its job. It isn’t trying to be sexy, it’s just keeping a fucking penis from getting long and hard and being played with. And it does that with incredible experiential efficiency. You can tell when it’s doing what it was designed to do that that is exactly what it was designed to do. In that way, it can feel like the most severe of all of them.
Even the color of the particular one I wear leans into its Matrix-y sheen. Matte black and as much obviously made by a digitally exact machine as the Steelheart is made by a man’s imperfect hands.
So where am I going with this? Well…here. None of these devices are inherently better than the others. And none of them are perfect. They all have their own personalities and I feel the need for each of those at different times. Right now, I’m really getting off on the Evo 8’s cold efficiency. But I also know in a week or so I’ll be craving the warm steel again. And some day I’ll be in a situation where the Holy Trainer is called for.
Differences are good. It’s nice to have choices. Said the queer polyamorist.