With the big debate over packing, of course we all need to laugh. To pack or not to pack, that is the question; well, if you're here, then you obviously came for info about it, so let's get packin'.
How should I pack? What should I use? Well, let me start by telling you what you don't want to do, which is make it look like you've got a dang Hickory Farms® Beefstick in your pants (then again, you don't want to look like you're packing a Slim Jim, either). Unless you're a gay FtM who wants to be cruised and followed like a puppy dog through the Castro (or any other gay quarter in the world), you never want to pack too much. Sure, you want to pack as much as you think you should, but you also want to be realistic about it, right? Do some research: look at men's clothed crotches (do not, I repeat, DO NOT make your research obvious!), men in their swim trunks--how low does it hang? How much does it stick out? You'll find that some men are lucky, some not, but most are average.
No matter what you do, you want a pair of briefs that fit snug against you, so that nothing would be able to fall out of them. Calvin Klein, Jockey, Tommy, Hanes--anything fitting. Colors don't usually matter, but the standard color is white. And for any packer with no adhesive, use common sense--they WON'T stay in boxer shorts alone!!! Like an MtF friend of mine said, that would be like wearing, or trying to wear, breast prostheses/enhancers without a bra. I can't believe this had to be said, but believe me--it did.
The cheapest and, in the past, most common method of packing (plain and simple as it is): a rolled up sock. Sure, it's not as realistically floppy as a store bought one, but it works. Just don't use three pairs.
How about a store-bought "cheap" solution? The Bulge®, at $19.95, is a lightweight over-cup that fits over a bioman's bits n' pieces to make it look larger than it actually is. If an FtM uses it, he'd need to use it with some sort of filling, otherwise it'd cave in; use a sock or piece of cloth, rolled up, so it just barely fills the thing. There you go (even FtMs who've had metoidioplasty--or phalloplasty-- can use it).
Here's a homemade method that's moderately priced, if you have the patience and the will to do it; if you're truly creative, then maybe you can modify it to your own specifications.
The Pack-n-Play by Vixen Creations offers you a packy that's makes you an instant sparrin' partner; it's firm enough for intercourse, but flexible enough to be used as a packy. Heck, sounds great to me; though we've seen a few reports that when you use it as a packy it makes you look like you're walking around with and erection (again, fine by me!). You can get it direct from Vixen or through Stormy Leather and a whole host of other adult toy retailers. Not to worry, it comes in "vanilla" colored as well as black (Vixen is known for their funky colored strap-ons and dildos).
One last willy before we get to the pricey stuff: The Ultimate Packer. Its creator, Lady Amber Thorne, boasts 100% satisfaction rate, and I don't see why not--it's made from "Realfeel Superskin" (whatever that is), and looks pliable enough; it even comes in three different sizes. At $39.95 plus s/h, it's a steal compared to the next ones. (Note: There is also something called the "Mr. Softee", which I do not have a link or pics to yet, and I hear it's great and moderately priced under $20--from what I've heard, I'm going to assume it's like The Ultimate Packer. I'll get the info ASAP.)
Now, two options for the rich boys: The FtM Prosthesis and The Phallusprosthesis. The former is made by an Australian prosthetist; on his site, he boasts about how many compliments from the FtM community he gets on his product. You can choose from a little over a dozen skin shades (he'll send you samples for $20), choose between sizes (small, medium, large, and erect), and wear it adhered to the skin for a few days at a time. The downside: the smallest one is $350.00, plus $70.00 for the medical adhesive. The pics on the site look good (they'd look better if the subject had more hair around his willie) though, so if you have the cash to blow, why not?
Now for the doozie: The Phallusprosthesis is made by De Nijs prothesen, a Dutch company. The whopping pricetag on its packer is $550 with balls, $350 without balls. The intriguing info on this one is that it's made of silicone (gel within a skin). The site doesn't give much info on what its customers have said about the product, but I'm including it here since I included the FtM Prosthesis.
Look at me. I almost forgot to give advice about the potty, or rather "How to Pee Standing Up". There are three commercial ways (that I know of), two of which will be depicted here with piccies et al. You'll see that I will mention the other ways, but I'd like to focus on the following two.
First, I want to say that it's okay for you to use the stalls in the men's bathroom; all too often, FtMs become too paranoid about "discovery" in the men's bathrooms that they feel pressured to scramble for a way or the means to be able to pee standing up at a urinal. Nonsense, my dear men! Heck, biomen from different cultures (certain ones in Europe, for example) are taught to actually sit down to tinkle; also, it's been realized that men don't really care what other men are doing in the bathroom (they aren't socialized the way women are--they do not use their bathrooms as meeting or discussion places. Well, straight men don't.), they just want to get their business done and get the heck out of there as fast as they can, rarely noticing whether the guy's shoes in the next stall are pointing towards or away from the porcelain queen.
But, if you still feel compelled to do the deed vertically, then here are a few methods.
There's a popular device out there made explicitly for women's convenience during camping trips and vacations called The Freshette System by the Sani-Fem company. As pictured, it kind of looks like a funnel with a tube sticking out of the end; it comes with a zip-up carrying case, and from the reports, I've heard that it's pretty good--it's moderately priced from $21.95-$27.95. You can even buy different lengths of extender tubing (6", 36", 48") to suit your needs (and I figure you could even cut it if you needed to)...Travel MateThe second device, The Travel Mate, is provided by restrooms.org, and is a cheap alternative--$3.00, $11.00 (plus $3.00 s/h) with denim carrying case--to The Freshette, and looks kind of like a measuring spoon. Restrooms.org is great not only for its Travel Mate, but it also gives directions to women on how to pee standing up without the use of any aids or devices!...Castle Supply, home of many transgender products for MtFs, also offers FtM some recourse on whizzery--the Urinating P-String. I mention it here only for the fact that it exists, and I for one am not going to deny you information; at appx. $100, it's the pricey alternative, but to tell you the truth, it needs work. What it is: basically, it's a strap-on that allows you to pee standing up, but the scant fake hair around it kind of looks like the fuzz scraped off of desert roadkill (their V-String for MtFs is slightly better looking). But hey--to each his own. There are also methods of using a large coffee cover (the plastic part), female condoms, etc.--and I'm sure we're bound to come up with more creative solutions to the problem, but for now the ones I've shown you should suffice, right?
Okay folks, enough dicking around. Now that you've made your little nest eggs, it's time for me to take a breather. Don't forget--packing is purely a subjective choice, though it doesn't hurt if you feel you're not passing enough. Oh, and I apologize for the lack of piccies on the page--we are, after all, under G-Rated hosting at the moment.