Is Silicone less durable than TPE ???

[tpefan19]

You kinda corrected the article.
I found a couple more bits of misinformation here.
1." The silicone sex doll feels heavier than TPE sex dolls."
Most silicone dolls have foam cores that reduce the weight. TPE dolls are usually heavier. A TPE 140 or 145 cm weighs as much as my silicone 145. My doll is solid silicone, no foam core.

2."Thanks to its realistic feel and ease of maintenance, silicone has been regarded as the product for sex doll makers like WM Dolls for a long time."
WM makes TPE dolls, not silicone. They just started making silicone heads I think, but the bodies are still TPE. Most of their dolls are TPE head and body.

You may want to change these as well because people who are new to this hobby will not know that they are getting the wrong information.

For the weight, it could be explained more clearly: while silicone as a material is slightly heavier than tpe, many silicone doll makers also use foam core between the skeleton and silicone, making their dolls lighter (in the case of your doll vs 140cm tpe doll, it could be a number of reasons: skeleton difference, thickness of the silicone/tpe on a doll, etc.).

For WM, someone really inexperience wrote that w/o editing by coworkers with more experience.

[seagull]

I believe Kimberdoll have a foam core in the chest area to reduce weight of their tpe masterpiece, just can't remember where I saw that

[Rollo62]

Don't forget that TPE ist poured at 250-300 Degrees (Celsius). This messes with every skeleton adjustment. You will never get a TPE doll with a "more loose" or "medium loose" joint adjustment that stays this way for a long time, like DS Doll. TPE manufacturers can't use PVC-washers as friction elements in the joints, because they melt during the pouring process. Even the tempering temperature of some steel alloys will be exceeded, so that you can't rely on the torque with which the nuts and bolts are fixed.
I believe that TPE will remain the material of choice for the budget product lines with cheap skeletons, and silicone for the medium and high-end dolls.

[PDutus]

Don't forget that TPE ist poured at 250-300 Degrees (Celsius). This messes with every skeleton adjustment. You will never get a TPE doll with a "more loose" or "medium loose" joint adjustment that stays this way for a long time, like DS Doll. TPE manufacturers can't use PVC-washers as friction elements in the joints, because they melt during the pouring process. Even the tempering temperature of some steel alloys will be exceeded, so that you can't rely on the torque with which the nuts and bolts are fixed.
I believe that TPE will remain the material of choice for the budget product lines with cheap skeletons, and silicone for the medium and high-end dolls.

That sums it up nicely and also explains why a TPE doll can't have a foam core the way a silicone one can. My Sino doesn't have a foam core and is therefore as heavy as one of her TPE sisters of the same dimensions, but of my three girls (the other two being a JY and WM, both TPE) she has the best skeleton. I have a new JY on order and I've given specific instructions re joint stiffness, so it will be interesting to see how she turns out.

[HornedPear]

If I requested a silicone doll manufacturer make me a doll without a foam core, do you think they would be willing to do that? Would there be any downside besides the added weight?

I have a Sino and, as far as I can tell, she has no foam core. She is much softer than my Sanhui but quite a bit heavier of course. My Sino weighs 34kg but is much easier to move around than a typical TPE doll at the same weight due to her tight joints and the lower elasticity of the silicone compared to TPE. Basically, she holds her shape better than a TPE doll.

I would think there would be great advantage to offering the option of no foam core because then people could make their own choice about how much trade-off they want to make for softness vs weight while still getting the durability benefits of silicone.

Perhaps if you remove the foam core, a silicone doll's sculpt won't look as sharp? My Sanhui has a great sculpt with a "chiseled from stone" kind of look whereas my Sino has a bit of a softer look, like a wax doll that got too hot and melted a bit. TPE dolls tend to have a similar "melted" look in my opinion.

There's a lot of great information in this thread. I posted a question in "Dolls in General" that has some overlap with this topic so I'll post a link to it:

viewtopic.php?f=87&t=128038

[tpefan19]

If I requested a silicone doll manufacturer make me a doll without a foam core, do you think they would be willing to do that? Would there be any downside besides the added weight?

I have a Sino and, as far as I can tell, she has no foam core. She is much softer than my Sanhui but quite a bit heavier of course. My Sino weighs 34kg but is much easier to move around than a typical TPE doll at the same weight due to her tight joints and the lower elasticity of the silicone compared to TPE. Basically, she holds her shape better than a TPE doll.

I would think there would be great advantage to offering the option of no foam core because then people could make their own choice about how much trade-off they want to make for softness vs weight while still getting the durability benefits of silicone.

Perhaps if you remove the foam core, a silicone doll's sculpt won't look as sharp? My Sanhui has a great sculpt with a "chiseled from stone" kind of look whereas my Sino has a bit of a softer look, like a wax doll that got too hot and melted a bit. TPE dolls tend to have a similar "melted" look in my opinion.

There's a lot of great information in this thread. I posted a question in "Dolls in General" that has some overlap with this topic so I'll post a link to it:

viewtopic.php?f=87&t=128038

The best method to move a heavier tpe doll is in vertical position, held next to you, with both your arms wrapped around her waist or hips.

You may have a point about foam core stiffening up the surface, and allowing for better sculpting, HornedPear.

[tpefan19]

Don't forget that TPE ist poured at 250-300 Degrees (Celsius). This messes with every skeleton adjustment. You will never get a TPE doll with a "more loose" or "medium loose" joint adjustment that stays this way for a long time, like DS Doll. TPE manufacturers can't use PVC-washers as friction elements in the joints, because they melt during the pouring process. Even the tempering temperature of some steel alloys will be exceeded, so that you can't rely on the torque with which the nuts and bolts are fixed.
I believe that TPE will remain the material of choice for the budget product lines with cheap skeletons, and silicone for the medium and high-end dolls.

it's not that uncommon to see/hear about silicone dolls not holding their tightness, although I don't know how much more loose you can get if you order loose joints in the first place... most loose-joint problems occur with dolls that were purchased with tight joints.

[seagull]

tpefan19: any mechanical product line will have flaws, even the Roll Royce had engineers ready to service breakdowns back in the day
Most will be ok, a small number will not, and this is one forum where these inconsistencies get aired

[DARKSUN]

Okay so if i could jump in here and ask the question again,......

I am 2 heartbeats away from ordering a Piper doll. I have heard there TPE blend Piper Dolls are pretty darn good, as far as TPE goes. But lo and behold they are just releasing a 160cm Silicone version of Akira for sale.
for those of you with this comparison experience of owning both TPE and Silicone dolls,.. should i definitely go with the silicone?
Considering, I don't care about weight, or cost. I just want softness, realism, durability, water resistance, and resistance to germs bacteria growth sounds pretty good. but i definitely want her to be soft

[gonestill77]

Okay so if i could jump in here and ask the question again,......

I am 2 heartbeats away from ordering a Piper doll. I have heard there TPE blend Piper Dolls are pretty darn good, as far as TPE goes. But lo and behold they are just releasing a 160cm Silicone version of Akira for sale.
for those of you with this comparison experience of owning both TPE and Silicone dolls,.. should i definitely go with the silicone?
Considering, I don't care about weight, or cost. I just want softness, realism, durability, water resistance, and resistance to germs bacteria growth sounds pretty good. but i definitely want her to be soft

I don't own a TPE doll but I have assisted in repairing them more than once and seen and felt many of them in person. That experience made me very glad I never bought one. In my experience, they are not built as well as silicone dolls. They are not hypoallergenic and you can't sterilize them.
Pipers silicone lady looks pretty soft in that boob video that was uploaded.
If it were me, I would go with the silicone for ease of care,maintenance, repair and for the longevity of silicone.
I have a silicone lady who is my first doll and 4 years old and is still going strong.

[PDutus]

I don't own a TPE doll but I have assisted in repairing them more than once and seen and felt many of them in person. That experience made me very glad I never bought one. In my experience, they are not built as well as silicone dolls. They are not hypoallergenic and you can't sterilize them.
Pipers silicone lady looks pretty soft in that boob video that was uploaded.
If it were me, I would go with the silicone for ease of care,maintenance, repair and for the longevity of silicone.
I have a silicone lady who is my first doll and 4 years old and is still going strong.

I have only been a doll owner since January 2019, so all my dolls are under a year old. My first TPE doll broke her back after four months and eventually went to a new home (I did not feel up to undertaking the repairs), so my oldest current girl, a JY175, is coming up to 10 months, the Sino 161 is almost 5 months old and the WM172B is the youngest at just over 3 months (there was a sale on for both the Sino and the WM before Christmas and I was able to pay in instalments). So it is too early to draw firm conclusions about durability, but I can make some observations:

Whilst not quite as soft as the JY or the WM TPE (especially the WM), the Sino's silicone is reasonably soft, but feels the most durable. The JY's TPE feels more durable than the WM's. The Sino's head is harder than those of the two TPE girls and whilst you wouldn't exactly want to, feels more likely to survive being used as a football. A harder head is more realistic, but the downside is that the lips aren't as soft and kissable as those of a TPE girl.

Make-up lasts a lot longer on a silicone doll than on a TPE.

My Sino has the best skeleton of the three, and I think this is something that comes with the more upmarket slot of the silicone dolls.

The Sino is much less demanding to look after, easier to clean and repair (I had to do a minor repair to the sole of one foot). And of course you can sterilize her (not sure I like the way that sounds!).

The main downside for me with silicone is purely an aesthetic one: the seams are more visible on a silicone doll than on a TPE one. But the higher up the market you go, the more likely it is that steps will be taken to minimize their visibility. It will be interesting to see what the newcomers to silicone like SM, SE and XY are like in this respect.

Bottom line: I am very fond of my TPE girls and in fact have another on the way (a replacement for the one that broke - just loved her body), but if you want durability in the long term silicone is the way to go. However at the current state of the art, TPE still wins on overall softness.

[DFan04]

I don't own a TPE doll but I have assisted in repairing them more than once and seen and felt many of them in person. That experience made me very glad I never bought one. In my experience, they are not built as well as silicone dolls. They are not hypoallergenic and you can't sterilize them.
Pipers silicone lady looks pretty soft in that boob video that was uploaded.
If it were me, I would go with the silicone for ease of care,maintenance, repair and for the longevity of silicone.
I have a silicone lady who is my first doll and 4 years old and is still going strong.

I have only been a doll owner since January 2019, so all my dolls are under a year old. My first TPE doll broke her back after four months and eventually went to a new home (I did not feel up to undertaking the repairs), so my oldest current girl, a JY175, is coming up to 10 months, the Sino 161 is almost 5 months old and the WM172B is the youngest at just over 3 months (there was a sale on for both the Sino and the WM before Christmas and I was able to pay in instalments). So it is too early to draw firm conclusions about durability, but I can make some observations:

Whilst not quite as soft as the JY or the WM TPE (especially the WM), the Sino's silicone is reasonably soft, but feels the most durable. The JY's TPE feels more durable than the WM's. The Sino's head is harder than those of the two TPE girls and whilst you wouldn't exactly want to, feels more likely to survive being used as a football. A harder head is more realistic, but the downside is that the lips aren't as soft and kissable as those of a TPE girl.

Make-up lasts a lot longer on a silicone doll than on a TPE.

My Sino has the best skeleton of the three, and I think this is something that comes with the more upmarket slot of the silicone dolls.

The Sino is much less demanding to look after, easier to clean and repair (I had to do a minor repair to the sole of one foot). And of course you can sterilize her (not sure I like the way that sounds!).

The main downside for me with silicone is purely an aesthetic one: the seams are more visible on a silicone doll than on a TPE one. But the higher up the market you go, the more likely it is that steps will be taken to minimize their visibility. It will be interesting to see what the newcomers to silicone like SM, SE and XY are like in this respect.

Bottom line: I am very fond of my TPE girls and in fact have another on the way (a replacement for the one that broke - just loved her body), but if you want durability in the long term silicone is the way to go. However at the current state of the art, TPE still wins on overall softness.

How do you feel about the WM172B? I've been considering that doll alot recently. I'm kind of torn between getting a WM172B or a Sanhui 168 as my second doll.

[DARKSUN]

thank you tpefan19 for making this thread and thank you to everyones comments and discussion here. very interesting and informative for me since i have yet never owned a silicone doll but am seriously ready to buy my first one any moment now.
I have only ever owned two TPE dolls before and overdue to replace the last one. at this point i m ready to make the investment in a silicone Piper doll as my first silicone gal and this thread helps alot

thanks all.