Chinese Aoni condom breaks World Record for its thinness

The quest for a thin condom usually takes men to the Skins range of condoms or the Durex Ultra Thin Feel condom. Not only are thin condoms typically easier to put on, but they are generally preferred amongst many men due to the increased sensation and pleasure they provide, with a more natural feeling provided for both partners.

And now the mantle of ‘the world’s thinnest condom’ has been taken by a Chinese company and it is so thin and barely there, it has managed to achieve the Guinness World Record for the thinnest latex condom.

Known as the ‘Aoni condom’, it has been found to have a thickness measurement of a mere 0.0014 inches (0.036 millimeters), thinner than the past record set by a condom manufactured by Okamoto of Japan.

The super-thin Aoni condom was devised by the Chinese company Guangzhou Daming United Rubber Products, who are currently producing an estimated 200 million condoms each year.

Although the Aoni condoms are only actually available to buy within Asia, the man who pioneered the project, Victor Chan, is optimistic of getting the condom to a potentially profitable North American market.

Speaking about the challenging process on creating the thin yet durable Aoni condom, Chan says: “It was quite tricky. It took a lot of work to arrange the right mix and fine-tune the ingredients to give us the right performance.”

The next projects for Chan and his colleagues include the development of a vibrating condom that will stimulate the woman’s G-spot as well as a sanitising condom that will be covered in a layer of silver nanoparticles.

It seems to be exciting times for condoms being revolutionised, obviously in the hope ultimately that more couples decide to use them on a consistent basis. Condoms are an absolute necessity for safe sex, being a fantastic method of preventing an unwanted pregnancy and safeguarding against sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia or genital herpes.

In March of last year Medical Specialists reported how Microsoft founder Bill Gates was pledging to give thousands of dollars into the development of ‘next generation’ condoms.

At the time, the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a statement for why this was such an important issue, saying: “The one major drawback to more universal use of male condoms is the lack of perceived incentive for consistent use. The primary drawback from the male perspective is that condoms decrease pleasure as compared to no condom, creating a trade-off that many men find unacceptable. Is it possible to develop a product without this stigma, or better, one that is felt to enhance pleasure? If so, would such a product lead to substantial benefits for global health?”

Two projects have received $100,000 (£66,000) from the foundation for their research.  The first are a group of researchers from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. They are utilising stretchy materials known as superelastomers to produce condoms that are incredibly thin. The second is being carried out by scientists at the University of Manchester in the UK. They are mixing latex with graphene — a type of carbon many call a “super material” — to produce condoms that are thinner, stronger and more elastic.