How do you guys prevent blisters?

[thithothith]

I've browsed the forum a good bit, so I'm not completely clueless, but I just wanna know if there's anything I'm missing.

How I pump:
narrow tube (1.75in diameter)
long duration (4+ hours)
low pressure (5-8hg)

Context: So, I got blisters, and let those heal after 2 weeks.
after that, I tried again, but wore a silicone glans cap. that just changed the position of my blisters, from appearing along the coronal ridge to instead appearing around the meatus opening, which made sense cause theres a small air gap there, kinda like with a condom.
fast forward another 2 weeks, and it's today, and I tried simply lowering the pressure to around 6hg for a 5h session (the past 2 attempts were closer to 8hg), and right around hour 4, I got blisters again, even at the low pressure. Not that bad, but now Im out another 2 weeks

What I've read about, or tried:
-silicone glans cap (doesn't seem to work. the blisters just form around the small air gap at the tip, under the cap. might even make things worse)
-lower pressure (maybe. it definitely helps, but id prefer to not go below 6hg, so I'm looking for other solutions that could also help)
-paper tape (haven't tried it honestly. would love to get some opinions. just reading about it, it seems pretty inconvenient, but I guess that's not necessarily a deal breaker)
-water pumping ( also have not tried this, but I'm pretty confident this would also help, but I'd like to see what I can manage with the pumps I own first)
-short sets with many repetitions (this seems to get recommended a lot, but it kind of goes against how I want to pump. I don't want to reset every 15 minutes. Id much prefer to be able to stay in the tube for at least 4h at a time, if not longer)
-switch to a larger tube when you pack (Also would rather not do this. I want to gain length, not girth, and I think 1.75 is really good for this right now and would really prefer to stick to it)
-natural conditioning over time, for not getting blisters anymore (well, Im fairly new, and don't really know if this is actually a thing, but if it is, then great. I just wouldn't know)

any input or new solutions would be appreciated ^^

[alfred007]

Blisters are not fun. Here is the deal. You got to look at pumping like going to the gym. If you have not been going to the gym you can go in day 1 and bench 250lbs. You have to build up to it. It takes months to condition your muscles. And even when you do get conditioned you don't bench none stop 4 hours.

I have been pumping for years and I do 25 min in 5 min out cycles. When i am out I am jelqing to help with blood flow. Pressure keep it low. Honestly I don't even have a gauage anymore i just feel it. I do pump for 3-6 hours at a time sometimes... but that is many sets.

Also an issue that many guys have, and I had yesterday, is we do not hydrate enough. You got to keep yourself fully hydrated to see growth.

Hope this helps

[Windows8user]

A thick globular layer of Vaseline coating the glans.

Enough to wear it's like icing on a cake.

Not 100% effective all the time but seems to work best.

[PumperSoCal]

Well first I'd point out that 5-8"HG isn't considered low pressure. 3-5" is. 5-8"HG is considered moderate-high. High is basically anything near or over 10. You're also not using a gauge either to accurately gauge. Feelings are one thing, but that's generally not a safe way to pump. So that may be your partial issue right there. Too high of a pressure is usually the biggest issue with getting blisters. The 2nd one is too high a pressure for too long of a set. So it largely comes down to time/pressure balance. And everyone's tolerance is different. Narrow cylinders also dramatically increase the risk of overdoing it and getting blisters, especially once you girth pack a tube. So you're also stacking a lot up against you in this setup. My suggestion is to lower the pressure to 3-5" HG and/or pump wet. If you still want to pump at higher pressures, pumping wet can help prevent some of those issues of blistering.

[bucket]

RE water pumping, you said you'd see what you can do using your current cylinders first. You can water pump in any cylinder just about, you don't need to buy one of those Bathmate tubes. Just fill any cylinder to about a 3rd with warm water, insert yourself then lay back and pull the air out of the cylinder at the top, with the water at the bottom of the cylinder. Easy. Hg readings will remain the same as just air.

Just watch you don't pull water into your pump, easiest way to ruin it.

B

[Toledopumper]

Learn to recognize that feeling in your skin just before it happens and then stop immediately

[hammer773]

Vasoline everyday on the head did the trick for me.