Reviewed 2011-04-24 l Last update on 2023-05-03
Swank Magazine has been around in one incarnation or another since the 1940s, and now this long-running men's magazine has made the leap into the digital millennium. Here at their official site, you can access several year's worth of archives of the original magazine and check out hundreds of exclusive videos and over 1200 exclusive photo galleries from the magazine's vast archives. The collection features mostly pro models and porn stars, and membership includes bonus access to 14 other sites in the network.
There's quite a bit to see here at Swank Mag with over 560 videos and 1280 photo galleries available so far, and new video and photo updates coming each week. In addition to the photo and video sections, members also get access to a couple dozen full issues of the magazine from years 2006, 2007, and 2008. I'm not sure why the magazine's from prior to that period of time and after that period of time aren't included, that at least what's here makes a nice addition to the main materials.
The materials here are a mixture of solo posing and masturbation, lesbian action, and hardcore sex. There are one-on-one scenes as well as threesomes and groups. It looks like recently the majority of updates have been in the lesbian category. The photo section here is pretty much exactly what you would expect from a magazine based site. Magazines might definitely has its own style, and many people, myself included, feel that it generally appears too posed, fake, and generic. Unfortunately, that definitely applies here. Even though the collection is all exclusive, it has the feel of a generic collection cobbled from various different sources. All that being said, things aren't all bad here. Many of the most popular models and porn stars are featured here, and there are definitely some sexy themes to be found in these large video and photos sections.
Quality here is about average to slightly below average when compared to new release materials in 2011. Videos max out at about 640 x 480 pixels, 2000 kbps. This would have been top-of-the-line three or four years ago, but it's definitely behind the times now, and it shows. Videos are typically grainy, and the color balance is not always correct. The photos are professionally produced with bright and vivid color and more than sufficient lighting, but they're far from high-resolution photos maxing out at about 1400 pixels on the long side.
Although not quite as informative as I'd like it to be in terms of offering hard facts about the size of the collection and the update schedule, the tour pages for Swank Mag do an excellent job of showcasing the kind of magazine style action you'll see inside with preview images and streaming trailers for several of the available videos.
Once inside, I found that the members area is set up like your typical general porn site then most magazine sites I've visited over the years. The very top of the page provides access to the network homepage, a news and blog section, a favorite feature, a calendar of updates, and the private messaging system to contact the site staff. Below that, you'll find the second menu as well as the search tools for the network. It's easy to search any of the individual network sites, and there's a drop-down menu that lets you select from dozens of different categories.
Photo, video, model index, bonus content, and more are found just below the search tools. Although the site is fairly easy to use, I do think that they could improve things with the addition of some advanced search tools. What's here isn't exactly bad, but there's a lot to see and more options would certainly be helpful.
The options for accessing the videos here vary over time and don't always make much sense. For example, I found many videos divided into clips, yet each clip was offered in a different file format than the last. Sometimes, the first two clips of the video are offered in HD format while the last two clips in the same video are not. I'm not sure if this is a mistake or what, but it's very frustrating. Things make a bit more sense and are definitely more consistent in the photos section. Here, members are offered the choice of viewing the photos in basic thumbnail galleries, downloading them in ZIP files, or viewing them as an automatic, variable speed slideshow.
In the end, I can't say that I was particularly impressed with the offering here at Swank Mag. Things feel quite generic, the members. Could use additional features and options, and the video section can be downright annoying at times with its inconsistent video options and missing file formats and quality levels. For those who enjoy the porn magazine athletic, this is a great join since it gives you access not only to this site but also several other similar magazine based sites in the network.
