Posts Tagged ‘vibrator review’
We-Vibe Touch X and Tango X: updates that make a difference
My vulva and I first encountered the Touch and Tango external vibrators from We-Vibe in 2012. The Touch quickly became my favorite travel vibrator because the small size bestowed powerful vibrations. Over the years We-Vibe improved these two fine vibrators by making them more rumbly, more powerful, more ergonomic, easier to charge. The new Tango X and Touch X are the latest iterations of these pleasure tools, and they’re marvelous.
Touch X
So much to love about the Touch X! Despite its tiny size, the vibrations are strong, and the shape is ideal for a senior vulva that needs strong stimulation. You can use it several ways:
- Cup the clitoris in the curved, shallow, bowl-like section.
- Hold it upright with the pointy tip on the clitoris or the clitoral hood.
- Cover the clitoris and labia with the Touch held lengthwise, pointy tip either at the entrance to the vagina or on the clitoral hood, your choice.
- Give the clitoris extra stimulation during partner sex (penetrative or not).
- What else? Let me know in the comments how you like to use it, if you’re willing to share.
Touch X (blue) + Touch (purple)
Reviewing the 2018 Touch, I was ecstatic about the improvements. Everything I liked then is even better now in 2021, I am thrilled anew by the power, comfort, and shape of the Touch X.
I don’t know if this will be an annoyance for you, but as you can tell if you enlarge the photos, the Touch X is a lint magnet. Just wash it before use as well as after. The feel of the matte silicone is worth it. Use plenty of water-based lubricant for optimal pleasure.
Tango X
Tango (white) and Tango X (red)
Use Tango X’s pointy tip, flat end, or the whole surface area for external stimulation however and wherever you want it: clitoris, vulva, nipples, penis, scrotum. Use it solo or with a partner during PIV or any other preferred sexual expression.
The redesigned Tango X sports a silicone handle which makes it easy to hold, even with lubed fingers. The earlier plastic Tango models, while enjoyable, were super slippery to hold while using lubricant. If I didn’t hold it tightly, it might jump right out of my hand and send me scurrying to capture it in the bedsheets.
If I did hold it tightly, the vibrations transmitted directly to my hand, intensifying my wrist arthritis and making it problematic to hold for any length of time. Although I still feel the vibrations in my hand with Tango X, the intensity is dampened by the silicone layer, so it’s less bothersome. This is a huge improvement for those of us with arthritis.
Both Touch X and Tango X
Touch X controls
Both Tango X and Touch X will delight you with 8 vibrational intensities and 7 patterns, and these can be combined. In other words, if you like the boop-boop-cha-cha-cha pattern, you can make the intensity subtle or yowza or anything in between. Earlier models let you choose an intensity or a pattern, but not both.
Tango X controls
The controls have been redesigned and are much improved. Earlier models had one control button at the end. You pressed it for different intensities and patterns, cycling through the possibilities to find the right setting. The Tango X has raised buttons for “+” and “-” and a separate “~” button for patterns, making it much easier to find a preferred setting.
Charging is also easier than earlier models, which had a magnetic charger that slipped off easily, leaving your vibrator sitting there uncharged. The new versions also charge magnetically, but now the magnets won’t disengage until you pull them apart.
Touch X and Tango X are waterproof for bath time fun!
Which would you like best?
That’s a matter of personal preference, of course. The two vibrators behave similarly, but with an entirely different design and therefore a different feel. If you prefer pinpoint clitoral stimulation, you’ll like Tango X . If you like more overall vulva sensation (which stimulates the internal clitoris as well as the external nub), you’ll get that with Touch X. If you like varying pinpoint and overall, Touch X does both. If you want a toy that feels especially delightful to a penis, Tango X will get your vote.
Speaking of penises!
These toys are marketed for vulvas, but the design, power, and sensations will have your penis of choice shivering with pleasure. The Tango especially is just right for your penis owner’s solo or partnered play. For partnered play, turn it on and try some or all of these:
- Roll the length of the Tango up, down, and around the consenting penis’s shaft.
- Target the consenting frenulum with the flat end.
- Use it on the scrotum during while the consenting penis is in your mouth
Try this:
For an extra zing, try chilling them first: see Refrigerator Sex.
NŌS Vibrating Cock Ring: Review by Shamus MacDuff
The Fun Factory NŌS, available from Betty’s Toy Box, is an outstanding new vibrating cock ring. I have enjoyed it immensely during solo sex. Stretching the ring over a flaccid penis, NŌS quickly brings an erection when the motor is turned on. Moving it to different positions on the shaft yields various pleasing sensations.
My own favorite position is to point the motorized ends downward and inward so that they contact my scrotum. Revving up the power then produces wonderful vibrations all over my genitals. Rub a dab of water-based lube on the frenulum, and an orgasm will soon follow.
Generally, the controls on the center button work well. However, they are somewhat difficult to operate with lubed fingers. The solution is to start NŌS before slipping it onto your penis and before using lube. It’s then easier to change the settings with or without lube on one’s fingers.
The name NŌS derives from the Latin for “we/ours.” It also means “us” in Spanish and Portuguese. This name was chosen specifically to indicate that—in Fun Factory’s marketing lingo—it is “a cock ring for both of you.” “Both of you” clearly refers to a heterosexual couple who wish to “come together” and orgasm simultaneously during penis-in-vagina
(PIV) intercourse.
NŌS is designed to facilitate this “coming together.” It fits around the penis and at the same time can hug the partner’s clitoris with its vibrating pincher-like tips. The expectation is that a couple can sync their orgasms. Fun Factory claims that “you’ll climax together harder than ever.”
The likelihood of that happening even occasionally strikes me as a tall order. Especially for us older folks, the chance of both people getting exactly the kind of stimulation they need at that same moment is unlikely and puts unreasonable pressure on the couple — and on the vibrator. Instead, experiment with the variety of ways to use the NŌS, see what feels good to each of you separately, then explore using it during PIV if you wish. Let your goal be pleasure, not a fantasy simultaneous orgasm.
To their credit, Fun Factory mentions several ways to use NŌS other than trying to produce orgasms for two people at the same time, such as wearing it on your hand as a finger vibe for your partner.
NŌS is — as Fun Factory hopes — also effective in partner sex, although not necessarily in the way they emphasize. In what my vulva owning partner and I affectionately call “old people sex,” we seldom engage in PIV, far preferring lots of stroking and oral and manual play. Two ways that we enjoy using it on me:
- Oral: NŌS is a wonderful adjunct to fellatio. Installing NŌS at the base of my penis, also touching my scrotum, my partner slowly increases the vibration level as oral sex proceeds. She giggles when she feels the NŌS-generated vibrations of my penis transmit to her mouth. What do I feel? Bliss.
- Manual: My partner holds NŌS in her hand and applies the vibrating double end to sensitive spots on my penis, scrotum, and nipples, which I find very stimulating!
NŌS is a great addition to anyone’s sex toy collection. Don’t expect it to magically provide the rare simultaneous orgasm. But do recognize it as an effective, versatile little sex toy. Some of its many qualities:
- Made of body-safe silicone
-
magnetic charging buttons
Waterproof
- Quiet during use
- Four speeds plus one pattern
- Recharging is easy via the included handy magnetic charger.
- Vibrations are remarkably strong for its small size
- Ideal size for travel
I heartily recommend Fun Factory’s NŌS. You’ll be happy to own one!
Note from Shamus MacDuff’s clitoris-owning lover:
Volta
I love Fun Factory toys — especially the Volta and Limba Flex! — but this one did not work for me as a clitoris vibrator. The so-called clit extensions felt hard, and it was too easy to accidentally pinch myself when trying to manipulate it for my own pleasure. I loved using it on Shamus, but for myself, I’ll grab the Volta from my Fun Factory toy bag.
Caution: Cock rings are safe when used properly. Wear for no longer than 20 minutes at a time. If it hurts, remove it. Do not use if you have a blood/bleeding condition.
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— Shamus MacDuff was oblivious to the delights of sex toys for penises until age 73. He’s been making up for lost time! Read his other posts here.
Arcwave Ion Review
by Shamus MacDuff
If you enjoy fellatio from a skilled, pleasure-giving partner, then you will like the Arcwave Ion, a new stroker sex toy for penises that feels more like a blow job than any other sex toy I’ve tried.
The Ion is innovative and unusual. It uses the same Pleasure Air Technology that the Womanizer pioneered for vulva owners, now re-engineered for the penis.
The lower half of the Ion contains the motor and controls, and the upper half is of soft silicone with a ribbed “tunnel” into which the penis is inserted. First, rub some water-based lube inside the tunnel and on your penis. Then situate your frenulum over a round hole in the base. Once the Ion is turned on, you will be also!
The three control buttons are easily accessible and increase or decrease intensity through eight levels. The sensations are so pleasurable and unusual that an orgasm rapidly results. While it works best with an erect penis, the Ion will also accept a flaccid one.
How Does It Work?
The Pleasure Air Technology sends pulsating airwaves to Pacinian pleasure receptors in the frenulum, producing sucking and massaging sensations that lead to powerful orgasms. Pacinian corpuscles in the frenulum are analogous to those in the clitoris. They are nerve endings in the skin that are highly sensitive to vibration and pressure.
“Female Orgasm for Men”?
That these corpuscles occur in the frenulum as well as the clitoris has led Arcwave to claim that the Ion produces “a female orgasm for men.” This strikes me as both odd and counterproductive. Odd because it is impossible for one gender to know what another gender’s orgasm feels like. It’s counterproductive because few penis owners—whether gay or straight—wish to experience a female orgasm. The quick, strong male orgasms that the Ion facilitates stand on their own and needn’t imitate female versions. To me, this strange marketing strategy seems to turn Freud’s infamous idea of penis envy on its head.
More Pros:
- Fully waterproof!
- The 6-inch long Ion twists apart into two halves for easy cleaning.
- The Ion comes in a handsome 8-inch-tall hard plastic case that charges the Ion during storage.
Just a Few Cons:
- The Ion is rather noisy, sounding like a large dog lapping up water (other reviewers have likened the noise to a bike pump or a small pneumatic drill),
but that did not detract from my enjoyment. - The combination of the Ion and its charging case is bulkier than other penis toys so it would be less convenient to carry in luggage on trips.
- It is not designed for partnered sex (unless your partner likes to watch).
Bottom Line:
The Arcwave Ion adds a delightful and very interesting new experience for penis pleasuring. The Arcwave Ion joins an outstanding group of other penis toys, such as the Manta from Fun Factory and the JETT and Pulse (in several iterations) from Hot Octopuss.
Personally, I am very happy to have this new toy, and I predict you will be, too. It may just launch your level of pleasure into the ionosphere!
See the Ion in action
Thank you, Arcwave, for providing the Arcwave Ion in return for an honest review.
— Shamus MacDuff, age 77, was oblivious to the delights of sex toys for penises until about three years ago. He’s been making up for lost time! Read his other posts here.
Kurve: Vaginal Vibe from Hot Octopuss
It’s a party in your vagina! The Kurve, the latest vibrator innovation from Hot Octopuss, promises to delight G-Spot owners — and it does.
Hot Octopuss is best known for sex toys for penises. Now they’ve taken the bass-treble dual motors used in the popular JETT and placed them in a smooth, elegant, penetrative vibrator for eager vaginas. This means you have two motors vibrating at different frequencies. The bass is rumbly and throbby and altogether wonderful. The treble is a higher frequency but not buzzy (I had worried that it would be). The two together are two musical instruments in concert.
The intensity is strong, and I mean strong! I suggest playing with low- to mid-settings before you go full throttle, even if you usually assume you need the strongest, most ferocious vibrations possible (guilty as charged). Spend several sessions experimenting to find what combination of treble-bass and more-less power for a given moment.
Even if you’re a seasoned vibrator connoisseur and you use most sex toys intuitively, I recommend that you study the one-page manual that you’ll find in the box and online, where you can enlarge it for your old eyes. I would have figured out how to turn it on (press and hold “+” for each motor) and off (press and hold “-” for each motor) and how to increase (+) or decrease (-) the intensity. But I would not have intuited that the little raised button on the treble side turns off both motors simultaneously, and the little indented button on the bass side cycles through the patterns.
Speaking of patterns! Honestly, I usually ignore patterns. Give me steady and strong, then steady and stronger. Don’t distract me with rhythms. But with the Kurve, patterns are exciting! The only one I know how to describe is #5: “beep-beep- cha-cha-cha.” With the different rhythmic patterns and the two motors that each have their own intensity choices, the combinations are plentiful. In fact, I find that every time I use the Kurve and experiment, it’s a new experience.
Why is it especially good for our age group?
- The whole design is beautifully ergonomic and suited to our genitals, from the vagina-pleasing curve to the gel-soft tip.
- The controls are super easy to see. (I’ve been asking for this!) You can even differentiate the raised symbols by touch, with eyes closed.
- The large, cushioned tip is comfortable and adaptable to our varying shapes and pressure preferences.
- It offers enough stimulation for our slow-burning bodies.
But what about the clitoris?
Personally, I had hoped it could be used externally as well as internally, making it a most versatile sex toy. Though it’s a stimulating clitoral warm-up, it does its best work internally.
Easy solutions if you need or prefer clitoral stimulation:
- Invite your favorite clitoral vibrator to join the party. Being created with two hands gives us many advantages in daily life: using a fork and knife, pouring coffee and making sure it lands in the mug, tying shoes, petting the dog while changing channels, to name just a few. I’d put on the top of that list: using a clitoral vibrator and a vaginal vibrator at the same time! Try DiGiT, Amo, Eroscillator, We-Vibe Touch, or any smallish vibe that won’t clunk against the Kurve.
- Enjoy your or your partner’s fingers on your clitoris while the Kurve is in your vagina. One partner of a vulva owner reported this technique:
“My partner had the Kurve fully inserted in her vagina on the setting she likes best. I rested the outer edge of my left hand lightly against the protruding end of the vibrating Kurve. Then, using my thumb and index finger, I stroked and manipulated her clitoris with ample lube. The vibrations from the Kurve transmitted through my hand and fingers to her sweet spot, with a lovely result.”
Caveats:
- The product description does not include the diameter of the largest insertable part. Since it’s not uncommon for older vagina-owners to require slim products for comfort, this measurement should be disclosed,
Hot Octopuss! I measured it for you: 1.5 inch diameter. The tapered, squishy tip is squeezable and after insertion the mid-section is slender, but there’s a moment that it’s a non-negotiable 1.5″, in case that’s a problem for you. - With two motors at full blast, the handle itself transmits vibrations, which will aggravate an arthritic hand. However, if you prop a pillow for the handle to rest on, you don’t really have to hold it. Just keep a couple of fingers on it to keep it from rotating out of position, and it will pretty much stay where you put it.
- You have to be careful not to accidentally hit the controls in the handle when you’re in the throes of passion.
- I don’t much love the “KURVE is a sex toy superhero on a mission to seek out your G-spot” marketing. In my view, instead of pursuing the goal of having your body work a certain way — “Was that my G-spot? Or did I orgasm because I enjoy vaginal vibration? Or am I feeling my internal clitoris? Am I doing this wrong?” — just try it different ways and let yourself relax and enjoy.
Added attractions:
Kurve charging hole
- Waterproof! You’ll need water-based lube, though, so best to lubricate and insert it before you get in the tub.
- USB rechargeable via a charging hole.
- If you have a penis-owner lover who is jealous of the attention you get from your new toy, press the Kurve against the penis along with oral or manual pleasuring. Share the joy!
Thank you, Hot Octopuss, for creating the Kurve and for caring about senior vulva owners’ pleasure!