Posts Tagged ‘vibrator review’
Crave Duet: a most unusual vibrator
The Crave Duet completely surprised me! I had seen photos of this unusual clitoral vibrator and read reviews, so I thought I’d like it — but I had no idea I’d love it.I originally planned to include it in my holiday gift guide 2012, but after testing it, I knew the Crave Duet deserved a complete review.The two-prong shape is the most unique quality of this delightful little vibrator. The dual motor makes each prong vibrate independently, and when the prongs surround your clitoris, it’s a wild sensation indeed!
If you like strong, pinpoint pressure on your clitoris, you can pinch your clit with the prongs — they open and close a little bit (do not force it to open more than pinky-width) — if that’s what you like.
Or, to stimulate a larger area and not pinch anything, you can nest it horizontally between your labia so that the prongs surround your clitoris and hug much of the vulva. This worked for me! This would also work during partner penetration when your clit needs an extra assist.
The Duet is also unusual because it charges via your UBS port. Pull apart the silver part from the silicone, plug the USB in, press the center
button, and Duet recharges in an hour or two. No cords or batteries needed ever.You
can buy a version of the Duet that acts as a real flash drive, too, but why
bother? Do you really need to carry your work files in your vibrator?
Before I tried the Duet myself, I read some early reviews. Some reviewers said they wanted to love the Duet, but they didn’t because it either wasn’t strong enough or, because the prong tips were practically touching, they pinched their clits uncomfortably in the normal position.
Crave listened to reviewers and customers and resolved these problems admirably in the second generation Duet. Now there’s an extra-strong “turbo” setting — which is strong enough even for me! The shape has been redesigned with a wider gap, so it hugs instead of pinches, unless you intentionally close the gap. (Anyone who bought the first generation may receive a free replacement — now that’s customer service.)
One con: The controls at the end of the shiny part are impossible to distinguish unless you’re peering at them up close with your reading glasses on. The middle one is obvious: press for off, on, or to change patterns. But the “+” and “-” are easily confused, and you don’t want to turn it down when you intend to turn it up.
My suggestion: Start with it on the highest “+” setting you might want, and leave it there, adjusting sensation by pressure. Either that or memorize which side the “+” button is on before you get started.
I don’t usually discuss packaging in my sex toy reviews — it’s usually a “who cares?” aspect of a product. But the Crave packaging is laudable: instead of a big box with lots of plastic around the product, the Duet arrives in a tiny cardboard box, with a “quick start guide” printed right on the box.
A more detailed user’s guide is online, and the URL is engraved on a tiny charm. The charm idea is cute but silly, because you can’t attach the charm to the zipper pull of the case (I tried). So you’ll probably just lose it unless you wear it on a chain as statement jewelry or put it on a key ring.
The Crave Duet comes with a slim, discreet storage case that you can fit in a purse, pocket, or laptop carrier, making the Duet easy to carry with you should the need arise before you get home (nothing’s that urgent for me these days, but your urges may vary!) or in case you anticipate an interesting date. I’ll definitely carry the Duet on my next trip!
The business end of the Duet is silicone, so be sure to use water-based lubricant with it — not silicone lube. The whole thing is waterproof — just be careful that it’s all the way closed so the seam is sealed before taking it into the tub with you or washing it. It’s also very quiet!
I hope you’ll try the Crave Duet and let me know if you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy buzzing!
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LELO’s GIGI: slim, smooth, sensual
This review was originally written in 2009. I updated it November2012. GIGI has become a favorite sex buddy, one I reach for
regularly even though I have many dozen to choose from after reviewing
sex toys from a senior perspective for four years! Sex-toy designers are catching on to the notion that sexual enhancement products (okay, vibrators) that work best for women’s anatomy might not be in the shape of a penis (or dolphin, rabbit, and so on) but rather a design that actually fits the way we’re shaped and makes contact with our hot spots most effectively. As we age, our bed buddy also needs to be pleasant to hold for an extended time without inflaming arthritic wrists or burning out before we do.
I’ve had the pleasure of testing the lovely GIGI “sensual pleasure object” from LELO. The rechargeable GIGI specializes in G-spot stimulation, and indeed the flared shape at the tip easily locates, stimulates, and hugs my G-spot. Great design!
It’s also dandy for clitoral stimulation. If you like both, just alternate placement, or use a clitoral vibrator while the GIGI is vaginally inserted — which is what I do. The curved shape makes it easy to keep GIGI inserted and out of the way when you’re using another vibrator on your clitoris.
I love the shape and size — not girthy (so helpful for post-menopausal vaginas), shaped for easy insertion, flared for the best sensation. The velvety silicone surface “tugs” a little when you move it in and out, a most pleasurable sensation.
Choose from five intensities/modes, or vary as your arousal
increases. I would have liked just one more, extremely intense setting,
but for the size, it’s amazing.
It’s also quiet, in case the grandkids are in the next room. The part that
does its magic is available in rose (pictured, though it’s not as
shocking a color as my point-and-shoot camera thinks), turquoise, or
“petal pink” to match the decor or your lingerie, or make it easy to find in the toy box. A lovely product!
Use a water-based lubricant. Don’t use a silicone-based lubricant with silicone toys — it can degrade the toy and make it tacky.
As you’ll see from other recent sex-toy reviews, we now have a swell selection to choose from or alternate, if you like variety. Thank you, designers, and enjoy, dear readers!
Lelo Smart Wands: for massage or… ?
The new LELO Smart Wands are truly gorgeous — deep, rich plum (or black if you prefer), sensuously curved, vibrating wands made of silicone with gold-colored accents on the handle. They’re sleek and almost too beautiful to hide away between uses. But “smart”? How is that supposed to work? Read on.
Lelo offers two models: medium and large. I was eager to test the large Smart Wand which promised the most intensity, but while Good Vibrations waited for that model, they sent me the medium size.
Beautiful, gift-worthy, art-quality wand, to be sure. But not nearly strong enough for me. It’s pretty weak, actually.
Now you may not need the vroom-vroom-vroom power intensity I do for clitoral stimulation — in fact, many of you are downright scared by the intensity I describe in my favorite toys. If you like subtle to medium intensity, you’ll likely love this pleasure object.
If, however, your sensations need extra power to fire, go for the big one! I was happy when I received the big guy for comparison.
The large model is about a foot long and weighs almost a pound. (The medium is about 8″ long and weights just under 6 ounces.) The large head sends vibrations to the whole outer vulva, which I like, not just the clitoris — though I know that some women prefer being able to pinpoint the clitoris.
Some reviewers have complained of hand numbing between the vibrations all the way from head to handle and the heaviness of the wand, but you really don’t have to tax arthritic wrists by holding it in the air or holding it at all. Thanks to the ergonomic styling, you can aim the rounded end where you like it, and barely lift the length of the wand to keep it there. So don’t worry when it feels hefty when you lift it.
Given the size — in both length and head size, similar to the Hitachi Magic Wand — I thought the vibrations would be similar in intensity to the Hitachi. No, nothing is similar in intensity to the Hitachi, sorry. But if you don’t need Hitachi power (and huge crowds of women do not, even at our age), this is an elegant alternative.
Why the “Smart” appellation? You can choose among eight vibrational patterns manually by pressing buttons — or you can hold down the pattern button to activate “SenseTouch” which automatically goes to 100% intensity when the wand is pressed to the body. Take it away from the body (why? a phone call? a break?) and it whirs down and waits on low. I honestly don’t know how valuable this feature is. I tend to just crank it up to maximum intensity and keep it there, no need for a break.
Oh! I get it! The “SenseTouch” is for giving a “real” massage (without the “wink wink”)! Of course, you want it to stop when you’re switching body parts for muscle relaxation. Whoops. I should have guessed from the illustration on the box. Silly me!
In fact, LELO’s own website says it’s for “deeply satisfying all-over body massage.” Why didn’t I think of that? Of course if you’re using it for all over body massage, you might have the numbing hand problem. I wonder why it’s made with a vibrating handle, since there’s no way to use that handle for anything other than holding on. Sex blogger Dangerous Lilly mentioned in her excellent review of the Smart Wands that if you hold the large wand in the middle of the handle (the thinnest part), the vibrations are weakest there.
Like all LELO products, you charge the vibrator (ooops — massager) for two hours first, then you have no cords to fuss with while you use it. It’s quiet and even waterproof! The vibrations are rumbly (which I prefer, personally) rather than buzzy, especially in the large model. Like all LELO products, the wands are made of medical grade materials. They come with a 1-year warranty and a 10-year product quality guarantee.
Whether you decide to enjoy your Smart Wand as a sex toy or a massage tool, I’m sure you’ll have many delightful experiences! Thank you, Good Vibrations, for sending me these elegant Smart Wands.
X1 Orgasmatron review: If a jackhammer is sexy
When “Dr. X. Treme” offered to send me the X1 Orgasmatron for review, I jumped at the chance. It’s a funny looking contraption — one of my Naked at Our Age Facebook followers asked if I got it from Woody Allen when I posted a photo.
The actual machine resembles a black plastic light bulb, over which you fit a bubblegum pink dildo. The light bulb has one cord, but you have two more cords to attach before you can plug it into a wall socket.
Yes, three cords, total. Once you’re all plugged in, so to speak, you dial up the intensity you want, and supposedly get a physics-law abiding orgasm. According to the inventor’s website, http://www.doctorxtreme.com:
This vibrator’s design is based on an understanding of the applied physics of sex machines… Most vibrating machines only move a tiny patch of skin on the tip of the clitoris. While this part of the body is incredibly sensitive, the clitoris is like an iceberg. A vast structure of nerves exist beneath the surface of the skin that are not stimulated by a typical small-mass vibrator.
I’m sorry, I really wanted to like the X1 Orgasmatron. But it didn’t work that way for me. If my clitoris was an “iceberg,” the X1 Orgasmatron was a giant jackhammer battering away at it–and at my hand which was trying to hold it.
I have no idea how it might have worked as a dildo, because at 1.9 inches in diameter, it was much too girthy for me. Dr. X. Treme assured me,
The “dildo” can also act as a mechanical finger on the outside of the clit, and that is how some users exclusively use it, as well as turning the whole human hand into a vibrator.
So that’s what I tried to do.
Unfortunately, it was uncomfortable to hold, the “fingertip” was very hard (consider a softer, slightly squishy attachment, Dr. X.), and the combination of the noise, the silliness of having three cords to contend with, and needing to use both hands just to keep it from escaping as it clattered about made the experience too unsexy to continue.
Yes, I tried dialing down the intensity, but then it was just one more toy that didn’t deliver. I wanted the intensity — but not in the style of a silicone jackhammer.
Did you notice that the slogan of XTreme Orgasmatronics is “Less pants, more science.” What did you make of that? I had to ask Dr. X. Treme, “I don’t understand ‘less pants’ – do you mean fewer trousers, or less heavy breathing?”
He replied, “The idea of the tag line is that when one applies physics to sex toy design it’s still real science but trousers are no longer needed in order to go to work.” Oh…. May I respectfully suggest that Dr. X. rethink this tag line? One more thing to rethink: the X1 Orgasmatron retails for $180.
If a sex toy doesn’t work for me, I try to figure out who would like it. After all, I’m just one person with particular tastes, and just because I’m ready to pull out all three cords doesn’t mean you won’t love it. If my jackhammer analogy made you squirm with delight rather than recoil, you’d probably have fun with this. Whether you’d have $180 worth of fun, I can’t say.
Update: in case this 2012 review inspired you to get your own Orgasmatron, sorry, there are no purchase links because the company went out of business.