I was super excited about the Trans-Masc Pump from New York Toy Collective from the moment I heard about its release earlier this year. Pumping is something I’ve seen discussed a lot in transmasc circles- in fact I’ve pretty much only seen it discussed by trans people of one flavour or another, although I don’t doubt there are a lot of cis women into it- but is also something I’ve seen a real lack of transmasculine-centered products for. The fact that a transmasc focused product was coming out was exciting enough for me, and then that it was coming from New York Toy Collective, who’ve made some of my favourite products? I was hyped about the pump even before I found it was $30- more affordable than the Temptasia Enhancement System I’ve been eyeing up on SheVibe for a while now.
Also can we talk about the packaging? It’s not super relevant, but I’m so unused to seeing visibly trans bodies in any kind of sex toy marketing that the figure on the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump’s box and their top surgery scars made me feel several Emotions.
What Is Pumping & Why Do People Do It?
I feel like it might be helpful to spend a little bit of time talking about what pumping is and what the appeal of it is, especially within a transmasculine context. Pumping in this context refers to using a suction device on a part of the body- this could be the nipples, the clitoris/dick (depending on your preferred language), even somebody’s entire labia! Suction stimulates blood flow, which can cause somebody to become aroused or help them maintain arousal.
That’s only one of the reason somebody might be interested in a pump system though. Using a pump on the clitoris, labia, or nipples can cause those body parts to become enlarged through temporary swelling. Some people enjoy this look because they find it arousing, while in the case of transmasculine people, having a more pronounced clitoris/penis (delete as appropriate for the language you use) can help with gender euphoria.
Some transmasculine people do claim that long term pumping can increase the permanent size of your penis if used consistently over a long period of time. I won’t lie- I am very sceptical about this, and there is currently no peer reviewed papers or research that supports this. However, plenty of people have claimed pumping has worked for them long term, and even my own bottom surgeon suggested pumping in the lead up to surgery. Even with my scepticism, I do trust my surgeon to know what he’s talking about when it comes to penises given that’s his entire specialisation, so consider me a firm fence sitter when it comes to if these claims are true or not.
However, because I do have some scepticism about long term pumping and because- in truth- I am very bad at doing anything routinely or reliably, I’m not going to talk about the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump in the context of long term growth. It did exactly what I expected, which is give me larger anatomy in the short term. And I absolutely took full advantage of that for nude taking.
The Trans-Masc Pump Itself
The Trans-Masc Pump consists of four parts: a translucent cylinder (3” deep and 1.25” wide), a pump, some tubing, and an (option) ruler sticker if you feel like measuring your growth long term. While my pump was disassembled when it first arrived, it was very easy and intuitive to put together.
I do really appreciate that the ruler is an optional thing! I actually went through NYTC’s design notes when writing this review, and they mention not putting the ruler as an embossed feature on the translucent cylinder because ‘not everyone wants to measure their growth or see the measurement every time they pump’. While I personally don’t have strong feelings on measurement of growth one way or the other, I do appreciate that this leaves space for those who want to use pumps for goals and reasons other than long term growth. I think the less prescriptive we get with the way we talk about transition and what people should want from it the better, and I feel like the choice to make measurement option really fits with that philosophy!
The instructions provided with the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump suggest adding a thin layer of lubricant to the cylinder, although they do also say this is optional. I’ve pumped both dry and with lube, and I definitely preferred pumping with lube. I found the water based liquid Sliquid Sassy worked better for me than my other preferred lube, the oil based The Butters Palm Grease.
Just as an additional note, I have used a pump before- it was a generic pump pretty similar to the Temptasia Beginner’s Clitoral Pumping System- and most of my observations on the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump will come from comparisons to that pump. I also have been on T for 5+ years now, so I can’t speak for the experiences of those who are pre-T or have only just started to get T growth.
The Good
The first thing I will say about the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump is that the pump itself feels so nice to use. With the ball pump based setup I used previously, I found it took a lot of effort to actually create any suction. And that was even before I developed pain in my fingers! After that, I found it exceptionally difficult to use my ball pump system- I could get suction if I squeezed with both hands, but this left the cylinder free to slip out of place. Not so with the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump system! Here the pump is a pull system, with the lever sitting in a handle. It’s very easy to use this pump with just one hand- leaving my other hand free to place the cylinder correctly- and I find I don’t need to exert a huge amount of force to move the lever. I genuinely adore this lever/handle- I think it’s superbly well designed and it works well for me where the pumps I’ve tried before absolutely haven’t. 10/10 on the pump design.
The release mechanism is similarly easy to activate- it’s a very obvious button and releases very quickly.
The Mixed
I have mixed feelings on the cylinder. I understand that the NYTC team wanted to make a cylinder that fits most transmasculine anatomies, which on T often are larger than the average cis woman’s. However, on some people I can see this meaning that the cylinder covers and pumps the tissue surrounding somebody’s clitoris/penis rather than their anatomy itself. This is less of an issue for me because I’ve been on T so long, but I still did find some of the tissue was pulled into the cylinder with particular placements.
The flanges of the cylinder are super large, which does make the pump far more comfortable in use. I also found that the flanges were helpful at parting my labia and keeping them out of the way during pumping. However, I also found that the flanges did make positioning the Trans-Masc Pump a little more difficult, and this difficulty meant I accidentally broke the seal on the cylinder quite a few times. I’ve definitely got better at positioning, but the Trans-Masc Pump did need babysitting when it came to leaving it in place in a way that the pump I’ve used before didn’t.
The Conclusion
I feel like the fact this review has no ‘the bad’ section speaks for itself. I really like the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump, and that’s even without having anything to say when it comes to long term growth. It’s so much more comfortable than the other pump I’ve used, using the pump part one handed is not only possible but comfortable. There is some awkwardness with placement, and I think the Trans-Masc Pump might work less well for those not on T or with relatively little growth, but for me it’s worked really well!
Buy the NYTC Trans-Masc Pump for $30 from SheVibe
This product was sent to me by SheVibe, in return for a fair and impartial review. Affiliate links were used in this post.
