Defects in condoms were examined, then characterized and compared with defects introduced using various techniques. Eighty-five percent of the condom defects examined were classified as either a hole (void in material) or a slit (puncture). Laser drilling and puncturing with a 160 μm diameter acupuncture needle artificially introduced similar types of defects. Microscopic examination of the created defects, before and after FDA water leak testing, showed that this test method does not increase the size of preexisting microscopic defects. Examination also showed that these creation techniques generated reproducible defects within a condom type, with the size of acupuncture needle defects varying less than laser drilled defects. Results of water leak testing showed that the leakage characteristics of defects are affected by the material type, the condom shape and size, the type of defect and the defect size, and the presence of lubricant.