Review: Icicles No. 26

Last week I went to an introductory anal play workshop at my local sex toy store. The instructor warned, “The rectum curves, so toys made of hard materials like glass are not ideal if they’re longer than a couple of inches or so.” I nodded my agreement, but then, at the end of the workshop, I totally ignored her advice and bought an Icicles No. 26 butt plug. It was just so pretty. And, I rationalized, I had never tried a glass plug before.

I should have listened to the instructor. This plug has 4″ of insertable length, which is longer than a firm plug can comfortably be (at least, for my body) – and to make matters worse, the tip of it is pointy and pokes me in the rectal wall. Lovely.

The tapered tip makes insertion a lot easier, which is why it’s such a staple of anal toys everywhere, but in a toy this long and this hard, it’s just not a practical feature once the plug has been inserted. I can’t sit down while wearing this plug, because it feels like I’m going to puncture something.

The base is also annoying, as circular butt plug bases tend to be. It cuts into my asscheeks unrelentingly. Will anal toy designers (other than Tantus, Fun Factory, and Njoy) ever learn that cheeks exist?

On top of all those other complaints, I also found this plug too girthy at 1 ½”, but that’s a matter of personal preference. Just be aware that a glass plug will always feel thicker than a silicone one, even if it’s the exact same size, because glass does not squish to accommodate your body. Yet another reason why silicone is the best material for anal toys.

One of the only things that makes a glass butt toy worthwhile is that, if it’s clear, it allows a partner to look up your butt. For reasons I cannot personally empathize with, some people find this sexy. If you do, this is a good plug for that.

Aside from being a butt-o-scope, though, the Icicles No. 26 is really kind of awful. Pipedream makes another glass plug which looks plenty more manageable, so maybe I’ll try it once my ass recovers from its recent trials.