Penis weights: do they work, and are they safe?

A quick Google search of “penis weights” turns up countless commercial products. These come in many varieties—from weighted adjustable cock rings to silicone sleeves or penis extender apparatuses that connect to dangling weights (sometimes called penis hangers).

But what exactly are penis weights, and what do they do? Do they actually make your penis bigger? Read on to learn more about these “male enhancement” contraptions.

Penis weights are a type of penile extender or penis enlargement device. They’re meant to gradually stretch the skin and tissues of the penis so that it becomes longer—or, at least, that’s the idea. 

Despite claims that they give you a bigger penis, there’s not much published research on these devices. That said, there is some research that suggests the basic idea—that you can make your penis longer by stretching it—may be legitimate (Campbell, 2017; Nowroozi, 2015).

The skin, tissue, and ligaments of the penis are flexible. They have to be; otherwise, erections wouldn’t be possible.  

Obviously (and thank goodness), the penis is not like a piece of taffy where you can yank it out and have it stay that way. But the idea behind penis weights is that by gently stretching the penis for several hours each day, you can gradually produce significant and permanent enlargement of the penis’s length, both while flaccid and erect (Campbell, 2017).  

Again, products vary. But pretty much all of them require you to attach or dangle weights from your penis—either while clothed or naked—on a daily basis.

That’s the million-dollar question. Unfortunately, there is virtually no solid research specifically on penis weights. If someone tells you science has shown that hanging weights on your dick will make it bigger, they’re lying. 

That said, researchers have looked into several penile extension devices that attach to the penis and gradually stretch it out. They don’t use weights; instead, these “traction devices” hug the tip and base of the penis and can be extended so that they gently stretch the shaft. 

Studies on these devices indicate that the basic premise underlying penis weights—which is that stretching the penis can make it bigger—may have some truth to it (Campbell, 2017).

For example, one study found that after nine months, men who wore a traction device for 4–6 hours per day lengthened their flaccid penis by an average of 1.7 centimeters (0.67 inches) and their erect penis by an average of 1.2 centimeters (0.47 inches) (Nowroozi, 2015). 

The researchers also looked at whether these devices increased girth. Despite some of these products claiming that stretching the penis increases girth and length, this study did not find any increases in girth (Nowroozi, 2015). 

There have been a few more studies on these sorts of devices. In some cases, this research has documented up to a 3 cm (1.18 inch) increase in penis length after 3–6 months of daily use. Also, studies have found that users tend to be happy with the results.

However, these studies have been small—just a dozen or so participants. And experts who have reviewed them say they may have been influenced by bias (for example, they were funded by the companies who make these devices), so they may not be reliable (Campbell, 2017). 

While there’s almost no research on penis weights, some published work on penis-related hospital visits has documented “strangulations” and other injuries stemming from the use of penis rings or rubber bands, which could be references to penis weights (Pandher, 2020). 

More work has documented injuries among men who became erect while wearing inflexible rings around the penis. Again, this seems possible with some commercial penis weight devices (Mandal, 2020).

Internet reports—threads on online forums, expert interviews, etc.—are not solid evidence, but there are enough of these out there to suggest that a lot of injuries are possible. Some penis weight problems that come up frequently include:

• Large or micro-tears to the skin of the penis

• Nerve damage 

• Bruising

• Chaffing or scraping

• Loss of sensation in the penis head

• Penis fractures (breaks to the penis)

Basically, you really can’t find a thread or site on penis weights that doesn’t warn of significant risks. 

Once again, there is no published research to guide best practices or safety measures. Also, every product out there is different, so each one may require different steps. 

However, most seem to involve hanging or attaching light weights to your limp penis so that it is gently yanked or stretched downward. Internet guides on Reddit and other sites suggest that, over time, you would gradually add more weight in order to increase the stretch—and hopefully the gains. But right now, all of this is speculative.

There are surgical procedures—often known as penile augmentation or cosmetic enlargement procedures—that can make a penis slightly bigger. 

A urologist or plastic surgeon typically performs them on men who have verified micropenis, which is considered a diagnosable condition. A recent research review found that, after one year, men who underwent this procedure added 1.1 centimeters (about 0.43 inches) to their penis length (Littara, 2019). 

Apart from surgery, there is very little solid evidence that other measures—weights, vacuums, hormone treatments such as testosterone, etc.—can make a penis larger. Yes, there are studies on traction devices. But again, expert reviewers consider these studies too small or too methodologically flawed to count as strong evidence (Campbell, 2017).

A lot of men worry about their size, but most have a normal-sized penis. Researchers have found that exposure to pornography (where men tend to have abnormally large dicks) and other cultural influences may give men a false impression about their penis size. 

Also, some men may suffer from “penile dysmorphic disorder,” which means they have distorted views of their own penis size. Like people who have forms of body dysmorphia, which lead them to think their body is larger or smaller than it really is, men with penile dysmorphia believe their penis is much smaller than it is in reality (Soubra, 2021).

Long story short (no pun intended), your penis is probably completely adequate. Sure, you may wish it were bigger, but that’s true of most men. Right now, the research on penis weights or other enlargement treatments is sparse, and there seems to be a significant risk of injury. 

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Current version

May 20, 2022

Written by

Health Guide Team

Fact checked by

Felix Gussone, MD

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About the medical reviewer

Felix Gussone, MD, Ro

Felix Gussone is a physician, health journalist and a Manager, Medical Content & Education at Ro.