The unit consists of the pink plastic counter sitting in a sleeve on the jelly-material cock ring. The number on the display on the unit counts up as the unit is shaken, and there is a button on the side that resets the count to zero. It turns out that the counting mechanism, at least as far as we can tell by listening to the device, is just a ball bearing that rolls over a contact to complete a circuit which increments the count. This means that the sex counter will only really count thrusts when the penis is horizontal, thrusting back and forth parallel to the ground. This certainly works for doggy-style intercourse, and the missionary position to some extent, but it will be difficult if not impossible to get thrusts to register with the device in other sexual positions.

We waited to try out the device until we had quite a bit of time free, and we were both in the mood for some vigorous activity, or as we put it, a 'Truly Epic Fuck'. When the time was right we set about things as normal, with the simple addition of the ring on the penis. After a few experimental thrusts in a few experimental positions to test what kind of thrust would increase the count on the device and what wouldn't, we zeroed the device and set about a determined effort to run up the count in a missionary-like position.

Thoroughly enjoying a good go of it, we nevertheless noticed that some thrusts did not register, and some counted double. If we were going to use this device to attempt an accurate sum of our thrusts, we'd have to pay almost as much attention as if we were counting out loud, to make sure the thrusts were registering and to keep track of whether the count was normal or whether we should be dividing the number by two. After about 1250 thrusts in the missionary-esque position (which took a while, but not as long as we might have thought), we decided to switch over to doggy style and go for a total of at least 2000 thrusts for the session. The double-counting was especially problematic in doggy-style, but we soldiered on. Unfortunately, we only added about another 500 thrusts to the count before the device stopped counting entirely, at which point no amount of shaking or tapping of the device would get the count to increment any more. We had to reach the 2000-thrust count by estimation in the end.

It was still great fun for both of us, and epic enough, though standards for 'Epic' fucks may vary with locale and temperament. Perhaps the counter had been worn out by its journey overseas?

We were disappointed that it stopped working, but the process was a lot of fun, and given the limitations of the device, I don't think we'd have been terribly likely to use it all that often, though trying to set and break records might have been amusing.

Prologue: When I first saw the Sex Counter Ring (or bonkometer, as we like to call it) making the rounds on the gadget (and other) weblogs, I was quite intrigued, and thought it was a very funny and interesting concept. I didn't seriously consider buying it, though, until my partner saw it independently and said 'we have to get this!'. As we're in the US, we didn't think it made much sense to purchase just the sex counter ring, what with the cost of international shipping. Though it's not really rational to spend more money, just to feel like one's getting a better deal by spending less

proportionally on shipping, this encouraged us to purchase several other items we'd been interested in trying, and we were pleased to find that Lovehoney had several items that we couldn't find at online vendors in the US.

Digression: It seems that measuring thrusts in sexual intercourse with accuracy takes a lot more than just a simple ball bearing that rocks on and off a contact. It probably takes a real accelerometer and some software to isolate the times and places of maximum displacement and minimum velocity.