dual-density silicone

Review: Tantus Cush O2

Kate Sloan

I have been eyeing the Cush O2 for a long time, but always feared it wouldn’t fit inside me. It seems to be a favorite of reviewers who proudly identify as size queens – which I most definitely do not.

However, one day the wonderful folks at Tantus offered me an item of my choosing, and I just couldn’t get my eye off the Cush.

It’s a beautiful dual-density silicone dildo that comes in your choice of pink, purple, or blue. Tantus sent me the blue, which is my favorite color (how did they know?!).

At 1 ¾" in diameter, Cush is a pretty girthy dude. The squishy outer layer of silicone helps a little, but O2 is significantly firmer than VixSkin, so you can really feel the entirety of that girth. Small-vagina’ed folks, don’t buy Cush thinking you’ll be able to wrassle it into your pussy more easily because of its squish, because it doesn’t have much.

One of my favorite features of the Cush is its tapered tip. Much like a well-designed butt plug, the Cush’s tip allows it to slide into me with minimal discomfort. (I do, however, still recommend warming up with a smaller dildo first if this is your first foray into toys of this girth.)

The Cush’s big, defined head presses up against my G-spot with little effort, and if I push it deep enough inside, it can nudge my A-spot as well. The squishiness of the tip means I don’t injure my cervix even if I attempt some fairly enthusiastic A-spot stimulation with this toy.

I find that I don’t thrust a lot with Cush. The silicone feels draggy, even with lube, and my vagina gets a little overwhelmed by that texture paired with the toy’s girth. Instead, I like to slide it in all the way and then rhythmically tap or slap the base with my hand. This feels really good, even though the toy is barely moving at all. The girth basically does all the work for me, stimulating my G-spot and my whole vagina without me really having to do anything.

One of the Cush’s claims to fame is the slightly sharp ridge toward the bottom of its shaft. Some reviewers love how this ridge rubs their G-spot or the front wall of their vagina. As for me, my vag is short, so even when I’m extremely aroused, that ridge still sits at my vaginal opening and won’t go in any further. If you find yourself lusting after Cush for the ridge, you might want to measure your vagina’s depth before you buy, so you don’t end up disappointed! (The ridge is about 4 ½" down the shaft.)

I love Cush’s base. It’s thick, firm, and sublimely easy to grab and thrust with. It would also make this toy work great in a harness (a claim which I unfortunately can’t prove for myself because I don’t have a willing strap-on sex partner!).

I was fearful when I first decided to take on the challenge of the Cush O2, but I’m glad I did. It gives my vagina something nice and thick to clench around, and it works magic on my A-spot in particular. I have to admit that I sometimes wish O2 was squishier, like VixSkin, but at the same time, it’s sort of nice to have differing dual-density options. If you like girth, I’m pretty sure you’ll love the Cush!

Thank you so much to Tantus for sending me this great toy!

Review: Vixen Creations Raquel

Kate Sloan

Pictures of the Vixen Raquel don’t do it justice. Its shape is deceptively simple: a somewhat skinny 7 ½" shaft, topped off by a slightly bulbous head that’s 1 5/8" thick. It doesn’t look fancy or fabulous, but that’s because all the magic is in the material.

See, the Raquel is made of VixSkin, a deliciously squishy dual-density silicone formulation. There’s a firm, barely yielding core, encased inside a very plushy softer silicone. So while Raquel looks more like a tentacle than a penis, it actually feels quite penis-like in use.

If you’re looking for jaw-droppingly intense G-spot stimulation, keep looking: what Raquel does is subtler, gentler. It can certainly be felt, but its presence in my vagina is cloudlike, ethereal. And my G-spot can only be satisfied by the Raquel when it’s in motion, usually being thrust pretty quickly.

But oh, does it satisfy. That bulging head rubs over my G-spot with the dexterity and sweetness of an adoring lover. This is not the kind of dildo that makes me scream, “Oh fuck yes!” like the Pure Wand does, but it can make me want to moan, “Oh yeah. Just like that.”

It has some other nice features, too. A beautiful, iridescent white base. A moderately successful suction cup on the bottom. But really, it’s all about that big juicy head. It’s a total G-spot seductress.

I don’t know what else to tell ya, bro. If your G-spot is into soft, squishy, but pussy-meltingly spot-on stimulation, get the Raquel. There’s a reason why VixSkin is one of the most lusted-after materials in the sex toy kingdom.

My Love Affair with the VixSkin Mustang

Kate Sloan

The Mustang dildo by Vixen Creations has a formidable following. People rave about it. As one of the only Vixen dildos with manageably average measurements, it’s a very popular choice. After deciding I needed to own something made of VixSkin, it wasn’t long before I set my sights on the Mustang.

But for the first month or so after I got it, I wasn’t that impressed with it. “The VixSkin Mustang is too squishy and floppy to rub my G-spot the way I like,” I wrote in my initial review. And it was true – up until that point, my G-spot had only really been exposed to firm silicone, glass, steel, and hard plastic. To use a metaphor: if you’ve been blasting Led Zeppelin all your life, you’re unlikely to be too impressed by Vivaldi when you first start listening to his delicate compositions. But give it a while, and you might come around.

That’s what happened to me. I kept trying and trying to make the Mustang work for me, because it’s an expensive toy and I didn’t want it to go to waste… and after some time, I grew to like it. And then I grew to love it.

As far as realistic dildos go, it’s hard to find one more perfect than the Mustang. It’s non-porous and body-safe, has a killer G-spot curve and ultra-stimulating coronal ridge, flares comfortably in diameter to its widest spot at the bottom of the shaft, and isn’t so realistic as to look creepy. (Well, it creeps my boyfriend out a little, but that’s okay, he’s not the one shoving it inside of him.)

The VixSkin Mustang has surprised me by becoming one of my go-to dildos – so much that I find myself lusting after it in the new “fluoro-green” color even though I already have one. When you wish you owned more than one of the same toy, that’s a pretty dependable sign that it’s a keeper.

Review: Tantus Mark O2

Kate Sloan

When the Tantus Mark O2 showed up at my house and I took it out of its packaging, I was creeped out. Holding it in my hands, I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was holding my boyfriend’s disembodied cock. Because seriously, the Mark’s dimensions are almost identical to those of my favorite human dick. And that, actually, is why I requested this toy.

See, I have a small-to-average-sized vagina, and Mark is an average-sized dildo. Not “average” in dildo-land, you understand, but in the realm of actual, real-life cocks. With an insertable length of 5 ½" and a diameter of 1 3/8", this dildo is an homage to the Average Joes of the world, and for that, I have to applaud Tantus.

Mark is from Tantus’s O2 line, which means it’s made of dual-density silicone – firm on the inside, squishy on the outside. It’s tons o’ fun to squeeze and fondle, just like a real cock. I have two other O2 dildos, Adam and Flurry, and they’re all excellent quality. If you want a body-safe toy that actually feels somewhat real, it’s hard to go past O2 (though, to be fair, I haven’t had the chance to try VixSkin yet).

Mark’s head isn’t very pronounced, but there is a realistic coronal ridge running around the bottom edge of it. The veins on the shaft are more noticeable aesthetically than tactilely – I can barely feel them in use.

This isn’t a G-spotting dildo. If you want G-spot lovin’ in an O2 toy, I suggest you pick up the Adam because it does a much better job of that. Mark is more about creating a sensation of fullness (for those of us who can actually be filled up by a 5 ½" x 1 3/8" dick, anyhow) than it is about hitting magic spots. I can get it to reach my A-spot when I thrust deeply with my knees bent, just like my boyfriend’s actual dick does, and that’s nice but not anything to write home about.

This dildo surprised me and earned a spot in my top drawer, because it feels great and I can have blended orgasms with it easily… but I don’t know if that means other people will like it. I feel I have a particular affinity for it, because of how much it reminds me of my love, and that’s obviously not a good criterion if I’m going to recommend this toy to anyone else. You might like Mark if you have a smaller vagina that likes smaller toys, or if you’re a trans* guy, boi, and/or harness-user in search of a truly average member. But if you crave something bigger, or you need G-spot attention, look elsewhere – Mark ain’t your boy.