Product PerformanceComparison of condom deterioration in different pack shapes

Most condoms, especially those purchased by international aid agencies, are packed in square aluminium foil packs. The alternative rectangular packs use less packing material, and are more compact to ship and store. In this article, we describe a trial where condoms in square packs and in simulated rectangular packs were tested for physical properties after oven-conditioning for 3 months at 50 °C. We concluded that some products' inflation properties were unaffected by the pack shape. All products' tensile properties were adversely affected by a rectangular pack when a ring sample was used, but when more conventional dumbbell samples were used, the effect was quite small.