Keeper – My thoughts

Unfortunately their normal hole punch was lost, so they hacked out a chunk of the side of my sample…

Though it does look like it’s laughing… (see the other cup icons I made from it)

So as a result of the cut, I can’t really test it properly. So much of the cup is missing, it not only doesn’t fold properly, but it probably wouldn’t keep the suction enough to see if it works at all. Rating this particular sample is troublesome since it’s not an intact sample. but I’ll do my best where I can.

Testing it out – Its a size “B” (small). In a dry run I found it difficult to insert due to the cut bit of the cup making it impossible for it to fold up correctly. I can’t compare on cleaning as it wasn’t worn during bleeding. Though it is very similar in shape and size to the Mooncup UK, the stem is slightly more comfortable than the Mooncup UK and prehaps the Diva – even though it is longer.. not sure why…… but it still pokes. It, like the Mooncup UK , pokes out of my vagina slightly, and thus pokes into my labia. The outside base is smooth, so there are no ridges to help you get a hold on the cup if you’ve cut the stem off. I’m concerned about a potential latex allergy (I’ve read that you can develop them from exposure to latex), and as I’m allergic to elastic, so I may be more susceptible… so I wouldn’t buy this cup for that reason, and I must admit, I find the brown colour less appealing than the clear silicone – but I guess you won’t notice discoloration (as the clear silicone cups can get), which is an advantage of the brown. (and I probably find the brown Keeper more appealing than the yellowed silicone of the Mooncup UK – but that apparently gets less yellow if you soak it in a hydrogen peroxide solution – which I don’t have and wouldn’t use).. Its got basically the same ridges on the outside rim as Mooncup UK does, and also it has some on the inside for some reason… both of which in my little dry run had collected discharge, so that would be equal to blood it would probably have collected… making it harder to clean than the Lunette and Lady Cup which don’t have that pronounced rim (I’ve seen a photo of a newer Divacup that also has a less pronounced rim)

Gear – Mine was sent with a black satin pouch that has a lacy trim. Quite fancy, though very flimsy (the “drawstring” was by way of a ribbon passed through the lace. But the Goth in me finds it appealing. I also got some photocopied leaflets and instructions. A little cheap looking I must admit, though at least they used purple paper to make it a bit more fancy and it’s in coloured ink). I’ve seen several references to the fact the Keeper’s instructions are just photocopied (and early on the Moon Cup USA ones were just keeper instructions with “Keeper” crossed out and “Moon Cup” written in….) But still, they are functional.

Personal observations – Its no secret that I hold a grudge against this company over the “Moon Cup” name for it’s silicone version…. however I’m mostly reviewing the product here and I have nothing against the product itself. I do have to give them credit for being the first successful cup, and for paving the way for the other cups. Also, when they saw the need for silicone cups they did bring out a silicone version, which (despite its name) I think was a very good move. Solving not only the latex issue but also the unappealing brown cup one. Giving consumers a choice is always a good thing!

However the lack of response to my 4 requests for samples and/or advertising materials does not make a good impression. Not even a “no, we don’t give out samples”….. I would have been happy with just some flyers! (or even an e-mail saying no – some sort of communication would have been nice) I’d even pointed out that I had all the other cups that were available (whose companies had gladly sent me samples), so I was able to show them to potential customers and wouldn’t be able to show their cup since I didn’t have one (and pointed out that since the Keeper is the only cup us Australians can actually buy here, it was important to have one to show!!).  Still no response.   Luckily their distributors are more approachable than they are, so contacting one of their distributors was how I eventually got the sample. So based on that alone, considering that other cup manufacturers have gone out of their way to be helpful to me and provided me with samples (and in some cases more than one sample) and advertising materials when Ive asked for it, I think customer service aspects put all other cup manufacturers far ahead of Keeper. Personally I don’t like to give my business to companies who have terrible customer service. If you’re buying a keeper, I’d go through a reseller, since you’ll probably get better customer service that way.

Ratings

I’ve rated all the cups I’ve tried. They can be found here: https://menstrualcups.wordpress.com/2008/06/11/my-comparisons-and-ratings