Choosing between glass, steel and silicone

Glass is heavy and stays exactly where you put it. Steel is heavier still and warms quickly in your hands. Silicone has give, which means it moves with you rather than against you. All three are non-porous, so clean them properly and they last for years — but they feel entirely different to use, and what suits one person leaves another cold.

This guide walks through what each material actually means when you're using it, how to look after it, and which one makes sense if you're just starting out.

Glass plugs and dildos are smooth, rigid and surprisingly heavy. That weight is most of the appeal — you always know exactly where a glass toy is, which matters when you want that constant, grounding pressure. The rigidity means no flex at all, so angle and size need to be right before you start. Glass warms slowly to body temperature but responds quickly if you run it under warm water first, and it works beautifully with any lubricant.

Steel is heavier again, and it conducts temperature fast — hold it in your hands for thirty seconds and it's warm, run it under cold water and it stays cool for minutes. That makes it popular for temperature play, but it also means steel never feels neutral the way silicone does. The weight and rigidity are more pronounced than glass, so it's unforgiving if the fit isn't right. Like glass, it's completely non-porous and works with any lube.

Silicone has drag unless you use enough lubricant, but once you do it's the most forgiving of the three. It has give, so it moves with your body rather than demanding you move around it. That makes it the easiest material for beginners, and the one that works across the widest range of bodies. Silicone warms to body temperature quickly and stays there. The only limitation: it degrades with silicone-based lubricant, so stick to water-based.

All three materials are non-porous, which means bacteria can't get inside the material itself. Wash them with soap and hot water after every use, and they'll last for years. Glass and steel can be boiled or run through the dishwasher if you want to sterilise them between users; silicone can be boiled but check the manufacturer's guidance first, as some shapes don't hold up well to repeated boiling.

Of the 110 best-reviewed anal toys we score, 48 are made from a non-porous material — silicone, glass or steel. Clean them properly and they last. Another 29 are made from PVC, TPE, TPR or jelly rubber, all of which are porous and cannot be sterilised. The remaining 33 have no material stated in the supplier spec, so we can't score them for safety.

That 48 includes every material covered in this guide. The full breakdown, with filters and scores, is on the main anal play page.

If you're new to anal play, start with silicone. It's the most forgiving, it warms quickly, and if the size or angle isn't quite right it will give a little rather than making you work around it. Look for something small, smooth and with a defined base — the beginner plugs we score well all meet that brief.

If you already know you like the feeling of weight and presence, glass or steel will give you that in a way silicone never does. Glass is the middle ground: heavy enough to feel constant, smooth enough to need very little lube, and widely available at reasonable prices. Steel is heavier, conducts temperature faster, and costs more — it's the choice for people who know exactly what they want and have the budget for it.

For care, all three are simple. Wash with soap and hot water after every use. If you're sharing a toy between people, boil it or run it through the dishwasher first — glass and steel handle that without complaint, silicone usually does but check the product guidance. Store them somewhere dry, away from other silicone toys if yours is silicone, and they'll outlast almost anything else you own.

The scored products are below, filtered by material where we know it. If the spec doesn't state it, we don't guess.

Can you sterilise all three materials? Yes. Glass and steel can be boiled, run through the dishwasher, or wiped down with a 10% bleach solution. Silicone can be boiled, but check the manufacturer's instructions first — some shapes or densities don't hold up well to repeated boiling.

Does glass break? Not in normal use. The glass used for sex toys is borosilicate, the same material as laboratory glassware and high-end ovenware. It's designed to handle thermal shock and impact. If you drop it onto a hard floor from height it might chip, but it won't shatter in your hands or during use.

Is steel too heavy? For some people, yes. The weight is the point — it gives you constant feedback and a grounding pressure that lighter materials don't — but if you're new to anal play or prefer something that disappears once it's in, steel will feel like too much. Try glass first; it's heavy enough to feel present but not so heavy that it's uncomfortable.

Why can't you use silicone lube with silicone toys? Silicone lubricant can degrade the surface of a silicone toy, leaving it sticky or tacky. The reaction doesn't happen with every combination, but it's unpredictable and irreversible, so the standard advice is to stick to water-based lubricant with silicone toys.

Which material is coldest? Steel, by a long way. It conducts temperature fast, so it feels cold when you first touch it and stays cool for minutes if you've run it under cold water. Glass warms more slowly than silicone but faster than steel. Silicone reaches body temperature quickly and then stays there.

Material safety and porosity: Journal of Sexual Medicine, "Chemical Composition and Potential Health Effects of Phthalates in Sex Toys" (2014). Non-porous materials defined as those that do not absorb fluids and can be fully sterilised.

Borosilicate glass properties: Schott Technical Glass Solutions, "Properties of Borosilicate Glass 3.3" (2021). Thermal shock resistance and mechanical strength data.

Silicone lubricant compatibility: Journal of Sex Research, "Degradation of Silicone Elastomers in Contact with Personal Lubricants" (2016). Documents surface degradation when silicone lubricants contact silicone toys.

Cleaning protocols: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities" (2008). Adapted for non-porous personal items.

The Snug Report is written and maintained by the team behind Coy, a New Zealand retailer. We spend our days handling this stock, processing the returns and reading what buyers actually say about it. We are not doctors, nurses or sexual-health clinicians, and nothing here is medical advice.

The Snug Report is published by the team behind Coy, a New Zealand retailer that stocks many of the products reviewed here. We say so on every page. Our scores come from aggregated public reviews, not from us — the method is on the methodology page and the evidence count is on every review.