Manly Bands | August 19, 2022
How Tight Should a Ring Be? Ring Sizing Based on Material
Wedding Tips
When you’re rolling with Manly Bands, locking down a next-level, truly badass wedding ring is no great trick. Of course, the reason for that is not only abundantly clear, it’s borderline obscene in its obviousness. It’s so clear, in fact, that we might as well all say it together. On three, now, say it with us, gentlemen: All Manly Bands wedding bands are the epitome of next-level badassery. But How Tight Should a Ring Be? Let's discuss.
But when it comes to getting the fit right, gentlemen — well, we can lead you to water, but we can’t make you drink. Nah, you need to put in a little work for yourself on the fit front. Do we have your back, though? How dare you even ask. OF COURSE, WE HAVE YOUR BACK.
From ring-sizing tools (we see you, ring sizer) to clutch advice tailored to your preferred wedding band material, you know we’ve got you covered. So let’s get into it and learn a thing or two about just how snug that balling band should feel.
First, though, before our deep dive into material-based specifics, let’s spend a moment or two swimming through some ring-fit basics.
Rule of Thumb Fit
When it comes to proper fit, you know it when you feel it. It should go over your second knuckle without too much strain. And it should take a little something to get it off. Basically, it should be sorta-easy on, sorta-easy off.
If that doesn’t create a clear enough picture for the fit you should be looking for, go ahead and swim around in this well-crafted piece on ring-size considerations.
As we are about to establish, you really need to be vigilant about making sure you end up with an absolutely perfect fit.
You GOTTA Get It Right
Guys have a reputation for being okay with close-enough. And indeed, almost right pretty often gets the job done. But if you think almost right is just fine when it comes to the fit of your wedding band — MAN, you’ve got another thing coming.
The fit needs to be PERFECT. A smidge off in either direction — too loose or too tight — and you could very well be setting yourself up for a world of pain, figuratively and literally.
If the ring is too loose, it can slide off and vanish before you even realize the ring and your finger have parted ways — you pop off a glove and don’t realize your ring stayed behind; you’re washing your hands and suddenly your drain has gobbled that damn thing. This ring-down-drain nightmare happens so frequently that a quick Google search for “wedding ring down drain” yields a cool 16 million results. That’s a lot of lost wealth down the ol’ drain. Lots of grief, too.
So, yeah, too loose — not so great, guys.
Too tight? You can pretty easily imagine that agony, a boa constrictor of a ring that’s basically serving as a little soulless torture device on your finger, squeezing on its relentless masochistic quest to ruin you, to turn your existence into an endless struggle. A little dramatic? Maybe. But a ring that’s too tight is sure as s&8$ unwearable (though you might not even be able to get it off, so not wearing it isn’t really an option).
Learning Your Ring Size
Have we done a pretty solid job of driving home the importance of making sure you get a proper fit? We think we have. How’s it done, then? Well, there are various methods. You can wrap a string around your finger, get it about as tight as you think you’d like your ring to be and then measure the length and take a look at ye ol’ ring size chart to determine where you stand.
Can this method lead to some screw ups? Oh, yeah. It sure can. When even the itty-bittiest measuring error can be the difference between just right and F$%^ NO, do you really want to trust your ability to get the size right down to the millimeter? You’re taking a risk if you go with the string method.
So what’s next? You can always roll by a jeweler and ask for a proper measurement. There are some obvious drawbacks here, too. First off, who wants to take the time to do that? To make matters worse, when you do drag yourself into a jewelry store, you have to ask someone to take time out of their busy day to measure you for a ring that you aren’t even going to buy there (if you’re here, you’re doing the right thing and snagging that Manly Band).
In this situation, you’re depending on kindness from a stranger who can sniff out the fact that you are not going to become a paying customer. Of course, loads of jewelry will happily help out of pure selflessness, but do you really want to put that little burden on someone when they don’t stand to make one red cent off you?
SO THEN WHAT?
Well, it’s simple: You get yourself that ring sizer we mentioned a few paragraphs back. It’s truly a works-every-time tool that will give you at-home precision. The simple genius of our ring sizer hooks you right up with throwaway sample rings in various sizes that you can pop out and wear. It’s so easy it makes the other approaches seem as archaic as steamship travel.
Now let’s dip into our investigation into the different ways different materials should fit.
Getting It Just So with Silicone
These days, many dudes like to saddle up with a nontraditional ring. And when it comes to tradition bucking, silicone is pretty much at the forefront. Silicone is especially great for dudes who get their hands dirty on the reg and don’t want to have to worry about damaging an ultra-expensive piece of finger jewelry.
But how should these things fit? Well, the material might be quite different than your standard metal band, but when you get right down to it, fitting basics apply. You might assume that when you go silicone, you should get something a little extra snug because there’s no way that damn thing isn’t going to expand.
So will it? Well, it will expand just enough. It’s true that when you receive your silicone ring and slide it on the first time, it might feel a little snug. That’s fine. Because the ring will adjust to your finger. They are kind of like skyscrapers designed to sway just a bit with conditions.
So, yes, silicone has a bit of flexibility. But that thing is always gonna fit.
Would you like a deeper exploration on all things silicone? Well, good news — we knew this day would come and made preparations many moons previous. We anticipated your bevy of silicone questions and have already answered them in this Manly Bands piece on silicone rings.
What About Traditional Materials?
It makes sense if dudes think silicone sizing might be tricky. After all, the material absolutely has some give. But what about your straight up traditional materials: your silvers, your golds, etc.? Is there something tricky about getting the size right with these metals?
The short answer: No. But it’s not a crazy thing to consider because when you rock most rings, the fit will vary. Why in the s&5$ does that happen? Well, you’re forgiven if you think the ring is expanding and contracting.
That’s not the case, though, dude. So what gives because something sure as hell is shifting around? Well, my man, that thing that’s shifting around is you — your fingers vary in thickness depending on various factors, primarily temperature. When it’s cold, your fingers are slimmer, which means your ring might feel like it’s rattling around on there. And the opposite is true when it’s hot. Your fingers plump up like hot dogs in the microwave.
That shrinkage is called “vasoconstriction.” And the expansion? That’s a little thang called “vasodilation.” This article in the India Times provides a pretty thorough rundown of finger size vicissitudes.
Due to those inevitable fluctuations, we encourage dudes who saddle up with our ring sizer to take their time before making a call on their ideal size. When you find an option that seems just right, rock it for a couple of days and in different environments before you make your determination. We always recommend hooking it up with the smallest size that you can get off with a little twist over the knuckle.
When Can You Resize?
In case you can’t tell, we are trying to hammer home the importance of getting the size just right. But the fact is, sometimes things just don’t end up fitting as well as you anticipated. What happens when that happens?
Well, you’ll be pleased to know that most wedding bands that are made from traditional materials can rather easily be resized. It’s just a little built in safety net.
Of course, when you travel down that nontraditional ring path, you might not be able to resize. Silicone and wood — sorry, bros, those rings can’t be resized. And the same holds true for some especially brawny metal rings. Titanium is a lightweight, tough-as-nails metal, but that sucker cannot be resized.
So, dudes, when it comes right down to it, sizing basics pretty much apply across the board, no matter your preferred wedding band material. And if your band size is off, do something about it before your finger gets choked out or your ring slides down a drain and ends up in a sewer somewhere. Luckily, Manly Bands will exchange your ring for free for 30 days. So if the size isn’t just right, swap it out for one that is.
Image Credits
Lakeview Images/Shutterstock.com
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