Bathmate vs Air pumps - don't buy a bathmate.

Hey TP,

About 5 months ago, I decided to commit to PE and got suckered into buying the quite expensive bathmate x30, a pump I could use in the guaranteed privacy of the shower.

Last week I got an air pump (LeLuv MAXI pump with gauge), and I’d like to share my experiences and OPINIONS with both for the purposes of comparison.

Bathmate:
Pricey ($160 i believe), a bit confusing, and still sometimes frustrating. It took me about a week to finally get the hang of it. It’s hard to get suction, the valve at the end has a safety mechanism that constantly releases pressure, any slight movement seemed to pop the thing right off, and getting hard to get back in it isn’t the easiest thing for me to do while in the shower. The design of the pumping system is with a jagged angled rubber “gator” that will pinch and dig into the base of your dick leaving marks after the pump. It’s not comfortable in the slightest. Using the “comfort ring” it came with definitely solves the comfort issue, however you lose almost all of your suction and won’t be able to pump as hard. I could never get anywhere near a good pump using the comfort ring. Air would constantly leak in from the base and eventually I’d have to start over, frustrating. Without the comfort ring, it can sometimes be kinda painful, but after a minute you really don’t notice it again until you take it off. Going in erect and pumping to max pressure for the length of my shower, about 10 minutes, gave good results but with a lot of fluid retention (obviously from the water). It left my dick feeling very soft and squishy, but definitely thicker. I must say it works. I also found that during cold days, the hot water in my shower runs out very quickly and I couldn’t get a long enough pumping session in. This is actually what led me to consider an air pump.

LeLuv air pump:
$60, got a great pump the first time I used it (might be because i had experience with the bathmate, but I think it’s easier in general). The glass tube seemed to work much better maintaining suction, and the gauge lets you see exactly what you’re doing to yourself. The pump is great, gets my dick really fat, and unless I pump for 30+ minutes and get lymph/fluid buildup, still very hard. Cylinder sizes are customizable so I got one that was a perfect fit for me. The bathmate is way too big for basically anyone under 6” girth MEG. This means It’s overall more comfortable around my crotch and pubic bone (even for being hard glass) and provides better suction. I’ve never needed to use lube to pump, I just pop it on and go. The whole experience is much more relaxed. Pumping is part of my routine that I now look forward to, not dread.

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My takeaway from this is that the bathmate is not only not worth the money, but it’s not as effective as an air pump, doesn’t have as much utility, and is nowhere near as comfortable. With the bathmate you need to be in the shower or bath to use it (it 100% does not work without water. i know some people use it outside the bath but frankly that’s crazy. one false move and you spill the water everywhere), you don’t get a consistent pump because it’s comparably hard to use, and the lack of a gauge means you’re more likely to hurt yourself using it (yes, you DEFINITELY can overpump with the x30, i learned the hard way - bruised dick, dark red spots, “gator bite”).
I theorize that the main reason people say that water pumping is better than air pumping is because with water pumping you naturally will use water that is hot or warm. The heat allows your dick to expand much faster and farther. If you apply the same direct heat with air pumping via space heater or heat pad, you reap the same benefits of water pumping, without the extreme inconvenience. Use heat when pumping all the time. Just do it.

The ONLY case I can recommend the bathmate is if you’re sure you don’t have the privacy to pump unless you’re doing it while you shower. It’s still a functional, all-in-one device, it’s just nowhere near as good or as affordable as an air pump.

My advice, save a hundred bucks or more and buy a decent air pump. You’ll get more use out of it and more fun.

Feel free to ask any questions, but keep in mind most of this is just my opinion and advice to those trying to decide which route to go (I was there once).

Great thread man. I have a bathmate as well that basically just sits in a drawer now since it hasn’t done much of anything for me but cause problems. I saw your original post about buying an air pump and was very pleased to see a decent price for what appears to be a quality air pump. I’m still focusing on manuals since I’d consider myself a newbie still, but down the line I might dab into some air pumping. It looks fun and seems many have had decent gains from pumping. I’m eager to see what progress you make on it. Thanks for posting this comparison!

Thanks fit! I remember seeing your first progress report, we started one at around the same time!

I think the main inspiration for this was the widespread support for the bathmate on most PE forums that i no longer can understand.

I’m definitely still a newbie too, just an impatient one that started pumping after his first month of JP90…. Still have a lot to learn about not just PE but my own body and what it responds best to.

I think you should definitely give one a try as soon as you feel your routine going stale. I could never have seen myself using a pump before, but it’s actually fun and feels great. I pump before i clamp and squeeze, so hopefully the combination will net into some good gains! I’ve got a thread over in progress reports if anyone is curious.

Good luck and keep up the gains!!

Looks like we’ve made similar gains too! Good work, just checked out your progress thread. Since I’m stealth not sure how I could hide a pump. I told my wife about the bathmate when I got it, she wasn’t thrilled but didn’t seem upset either. But then I had issues with it, so not sure how she would take me buying another pump.

Sounds like you have a great routine going now though, keep it up! I just want to see myself pack a tube a little big, haha. Just seems so ego boosting!

Before I bought my LeLuv I used a beginners pump (under $20) in the shower and it works really good for that. I wanted the Bathmate originally but being cheap I just bought what I could it’s not intended for the shower but it works great in there.

Like I said I have the LeLuv now and all I can say is WOW much better. I took like a 3-4 week break and started using the LeLuv since I’ve been back. I haven’t measured lately but it feels notibly thicker now in my hand afterwards compared to ever before, maybe that means I’m on the brink of these gains they’re just around the corner now? Who knows.

I definitely do recommend using some sort of oil when you pump, usually a water based oil works good but I added coconut oil to my lube and I really like that too plus I’ve been rubbing excess coconut oil on my balls and they shave like a dream now I don’t even believe it.

First purchase was a Bathmate, then got an air pump with gauge and haven’t looked back.

I think we’re starting to see a pattern here.

Maybe it’s because the bathmate looks simple and less intimidating?

Or because it’s pushed hard all over the net including on most other PE sites !
Nobody here is trying to sell you anything so you can be more confident that the advice is unbiased.

I definitely agree with this statement. You can’t go to any other PE site without seeing the bathmate in various ads or guys promoting it. I’m not saying it’s a horrible device, but not one of the best IMO either. Too many guys get sucked into it, go too hard, don’t pay attention to their PIs and have issues with it. Just my 2 cents

Wow this is a surprise for me! I have only purchased one pump and it’s only been about 9 days. I bought the barhmate X30. It works perfect for me! I never lose suction! I shower, then get out and shave and it just hangs there!! It never comes loose at all! It’s simple to use. It does hurt a little at the base on the bottom side of your penis. I use the comfort ring with no problems at all. I’d say the suction is intense!! Lol. I use it for 18—20 minutes and when I’m done it’s FAT!! Lol. As far as permenant.. I can’t say. Like I said, I’ve only owned it 9 days.

I am also a Bathmate positive guy. That doesn’t make me anti air pump, as I have never owned one (yet). My first one was the old “Hercules” model, which eventually I outgrew. I now have an X40, but I haven’t used it much in the last couple months. So I can’t say which is better, but I had a good experience in general with Bathmate pumps. Somewhere on Thunder’s I have a really long thread called “RayBbaby’s Bathmate log” or something like that. All this said, I do like the looks of that LeLuv pump, and at around sixty bucks, I may buy one just to try some air pumping.

How was your results with the Hercules? I have only skipped one day since I bought it 9 days ago. How long before you see permenant results? 6 months?

Dude if you just got it you shouldn’t use it daily. You need to condition yourself. That’s what my post was about, guys buying it and going overboard. Not sure how hard you pump or if you’re going in fully erect, but be careful. Yes it comes out fat but a lot of that might be fluid buildup, which isn’t always great. Make sure you’re doing fire goat rolls to lessen that build up.

I honestly can’t remember. Maybe go to my log. We don’t want to "derail" this thread.

Raybbaby’s Bathmate log and expansion study

What are fire goat rolls?