Let the experimentation begin. In the past I tried
• Stock medical grade 3/16” clear noose cord- same stuff they package with the kits. Wears out fast, expensive, and stretches too much. Slip factor isn’t bad but it does slip.
• Foam wraps for nooses. These are not a bad idea at all, but they add complexity to setting up the rig in that you also have to slide the noose into the foam, and they increase the slip factor because of being larger than noose alone. They also increase the comfort factor, but at a steep price. Between the added slip and fuss and cost I choose not to use these. By the way, there is also a type of thin foam medical tape available at Walgreens for cheap that does the same thing. You cut off a piece, wrap the noose with it and it sticks to the noose somewhat. I used that for a while.
• VacExtender. This is a clear cup and soft silicone rubber sleeve that you put over your penis and it pulls on a cross brace at the end. It uses suction instead of mechanical action (noose etc.) to grip the penis. The problem with this method is the blisters. You will get blisters that take a week or more to heal. During that time you do zero PE. How many blisters you get seems to be related to individual anatomy, in that a tough glans will not blister as much as a soft one. I have a soft one and this device was a disaster for my penis. The website does not explain the risk very well, although it hints that there is a risk. You can manage blister risk by using foam tape on the glans, use less tension, longer sleeves, etc. But NONE of these techniques ever made it stop blistering my dick like blockbusters, so I gave up on it after 6 months of attempting to use it. In the time I used the VacExtender on my X4 Labs penis extender, my PE hours went way down and my injury factor went WAY up. I therefore cannot recommend this device. The replacement sleeves are also impossible to source other than through the company (I tried), tear easily, wear out, and are costly.
• Other types and sizes of noose cord. Like I said above, this is what I do now, and has been successful for me. In contrast to the clear medical grade silicone noose material, you can order various diameters of medium soft rubber cord (dark red in color) from McMaster Carr at trivial cost. This is the best thing for me by far. It is tougher than clear medical silicone rubber, it lasts a looong time, it is cheap, it is excellent at gripping the glans helmet, and it is fairly comfortable. I use McMaster Carr 3/16” diameter, 96505K24 red rubber cord in a bareback configuration. Been using it for a long time now and I HIGHLY recommend it. I have no idea what it is originally intended for, industrial machinery perhaps, but it is great for penis extending and appears to be a little known secret although I have been blabbing about it for a year now at another penis forum. If you are experimenting, why not get a few other sizes as well. It is cheap and effective as a noose material.
• Silicone straps. This is the white or black soft rubber strap the extender companies package in with most of their extenders now. You are supposed to put a foam sleeve on your penis end, then place the strap over that, then clamp down on the foam using the strap. X4 Labs devices use this method, in fact most of them do. I found that the slip factor was still very high for my particular so could not use them without a lot of foam reinsertion and reapplication. Also, these strap are expensive and they tear, as does the foam sleeve. It was a lot of fuss and money for not much more comfort and a lot of slippage. The extender companies love them because they are fairly comfortable which therefore sells extenders, plus they get to nail you on replacement parts. I do not recommend them however I think most people try them and a few people even like them. I suspect those users eventually quit extending though, because of the cost and fuss.
My “philosophy” of penis extender gear is this- whatever you use, it should be quick to put on, fairly cheap and easy to get supplies for, reliable, not slip, and be reasonably comfortable. I found the golden balance in all this for me is found in the red cord specified above, using a bareback noose method of extending. But all penises are not built the same. They vary a lot in fact. Proportions, overall size, cut or uncut, blood pressure, skin texture, sensitivity to pain, there are MANY variables at work. That is why the most important principle of penis extending is- EXPERIMENT with your particular penis anatomy until you find your golden extending setup. Then set up a daily routine that works for you, keep a log of your hours and findings. I use MS Excel. I have a daily entry for every single PE day since day one.