silicone

Review: Fleshjack Boys Brent Everett Dildo

Kate Sloan

Lately I’ve told a few friends that I’m reviewing a sex toy for gay men, and they look at it and say, “But it’s just a dildo! Why is it for gay men?” and I say, “I KNOW, RIGHT?”

This is one of the weird things about the sex toy industry (and about some other industries too, for that matter). This product is marketed toward gay men but there’s literally nothing stopping a cis woman, or anyone else, from using it, so long as they like penetrative toys. The Fleshjack Boys line happens to be based off gay male porn stars but, duh, you don’t have to like or even know said porn stars to enjoy the toys moulded from their genitalia.

I was sent the Fleshjack Boys Brent Everett dildo. I’d been wanting to try a Fleshjack dildo for ages – devastatingly realistic dildos crafted in body-safe silicone, hellooo, that is so up my alley – and I chose this one based on its measurements. With its 7" of insertable length and 1.75" diameter, it’s big but not unreasonably so. I thought I could handle it and I was right.

Let it be said: this dildo is stunning. The craftsmanship is on point. It really looks like a flesh-and-blood dick: the texture and shape of the toy are all rendered in wonderfully intricate detail. Sometimes I look over at it sitting on my bedside table and just swoon a little because it’s like having an actual penis in the room with me.

However, obviously not everyone is into that. When I showed the Brent Everett to my friends who like realistic toys, they cooed and lit up. When I showed it to my friends who are turned off by male bodies and representational toys, they scrunched up their noses and told me to put the dildo away. It definitely has a polarizing effect on people, as real penises tend to do.

Fleshjack silicone is delightful. It’s got a lot of squish and give to it, but feels blissfully substantial in my vag. It’s not quite as realistic-feeling as VixSkin and it’s firmer than regular Vixen silicone but it’s more pliable than O2.

The base of the dildo is not a suction cup, but it’s very flat and tends to stick to flat surfaces slightly if you press it down, so you could set it up on a bathroom floor (or something) if you like to lower yourself down onto dildos and fuck ‘em that way.

For me, the main attraction of this dildo is that its coronal ridge is quite exaggerated and makes my G-spot convulse with glee. There is some milder texture along the remainder of the shaft, but that ridge is really the star of the show. It can be achingly intense if I neglect to warm myself up adequately, though.

Speaking of warm-up… Man, this thing is huge. My vagina is admittedly a wimp when it comes to size so I was surprised I could even get this dildo to fit inside me. Fortunately the tip is tapered and the toy’s material plays well with water-based lube so I’ve never had too much difficulty with it. I sort of gently jiggle it side-to-side as I insert it, making sure to incorporate clit stimulation at the same time, and I always get it inserted without pain. Sometimes there is some minor discomfort at first – “WOW, this is big” – but it’s nothing a little deep breathing and conscious muscle-relaxing can’t solve.

The actual in-and-out motion of the dildo is, as you might expect, very intense – in a good way. That ridge activates my G-spot instantly and the texture all along the shaft feels divine as it goes in and out. There is a subtle upward curve to the shaft which allows it to access my G-spot and A-spot more readily. The balls at the base are sometimes a little hard to keep ahold of, because they’re oriented away from my body instead of toward it, but it’s worth reaching a little farther because the balls are fun to squish and make a sturdy handle.

This is not the sort of dildo that I ram in and out of myself at top speed – the sensation is much too intense for that – but if you are inclined that way, I think it would work well for that, provided you can handle the size and the texture. The squishy silicone is comfortable and discourages injury.

Overall? I’m a little bit in love with this dildo. It is everything I want a realistic dildo to be. I’ve never seen a Brent Everett sex scene, but feel free to let him know I’m obsessed with his cock.

Review: Tantus Slow Drive

Kate Sloan

OPTIONS! I love having options. I love not needing to settle for a toy that’s almost-but-not-quite right for my anatomy, my technique, or my aesthetic preferences.

Tantus is very good at providing options. Not only do they carry a whole lot of kickass non-standard color choices (peacock-turquoise Duke, anyone?) but they’ve also been known to offer more than one size choice for certain dildos – for example, the small, medium and large Silk, and the small and large (HUGE) Amsterdam. Now they’re at it again, with a new(-ish) toy that comes in two different lengths: the Slow Drive and Slow Drive Long.

The price difference between the two is only $7, so if you think there’s any chance of you needing more than 5" of insertable length, you might as well spring for the long version and get an extra 2" for your money. Personally, I’m perfectly happy with either one; the regular Slow Drive is long enough to fill my vag to the hilt without much leftover length, while the long version gives me a little more “handle” to hold onto while thrusting. Whatever floats your boat, baby.

Sensation-wise, I’m digging the Slow Drive more than I thought I would. Its pointy shape doesn’t scream “G-spot ecstasy” to me – my spot tends to prefer rounder, wider heads, like the one on the Tantus Sport – but it’s surprisingly pleasurable. The curve is short but extreme, and it nuzzles right into my G-spot without feeling pokey.

Both Slow Drives have a diameter of 1.25". Shout-out to Tantus for consistently offering lots of options for those of us who are decidedly not size queens. An inch and a quarter isn’t tiny, but it’s small enough that I can use it without prior warm-up, and large enough that I find it satisfying 90% of the time.

Even though it has the curve-at-the-very-tip shape that I’ve come to associate with good A-spot toys, I find that the Slow Drive doesn’t really hit my A-spot for some reason. It’s decidedly a G-spot toy for me. But I’m okay with that, because what it does, it does very well. I can have blended orgasms super easily with the Slow Drive by thrusting it fast against my G-spot and leaving a vibe on low or medium on my clit.

I also think the Slow Drives would be excellent for anal play. They’re smooth and have a consistent width all the way down, their curve is gradual, their silicone is comfortably flexible, and their bases are flared.

Speaking of the base: I love it. It’s teardrop-shaped, sort of like a Ouija planchette, with the triangular tip lining up with where the toy curves – so even when the toy is buried inside you, you’ll still know it right away if the toy rotates inside you and needs to be re-adjusted. (Does anyone else have this problem? It’s one of the things that drives me nuts about curved dildos with a featureless, round base!)

While I’m not going to say that the Slow Drive is the Most Amazing Dildo in the World, it’s still a great, reliable standby to keep in your nightstand.

Thanks, Tantus! You sure know how to spoil a lady.

Review: Tantus Silicone O-Ring Set

Kate Sloan

This is sort of a mini-review, because there’s not a whole lot you can say about something as simple as O-rings. But I thought you’d like to know that Tantus makes O-rings now and they’re great.

They’re significantly stretchier than any others I’ve tried. They come in a huge variety of sizes, ranging from 1.2” to 2.5” in diameter. And they cost only $20 for the whole set of 6 rings. $20 is a pretty reasonable price for never again needing to worry if a particular dildo will fit into your harness.

(If you need a harness that will work with all of these O-rings, I heartily recommend the Aslan Jaguar!)

All in all, these O-rings are a very good buy for anyone who likes strap-on play in any configuration.

Thanks, Tantus!

Review: Bondara Silicone Rechargeable Rabbit

Kate Sloan

My expectations for rabbit vibes are low, because the vast majority of them are laughably terrible. Most don’t get me off, don’t feel particularly good, and certainly don’t wow me.

The Bondara silicone rechargeable rabbit works fine, gets me off, feels pretty good, but doesn’t wow me.

Let’s start with the good stuff: it’s made of nice, body-safe materials. It charges via USB and holds its charge well. The controls are easy enough to understand (one button for on and off, one to flip through the settings).

This rabbit succeeds in an area where some rabbits fail spectacularly, which is shape and comfort. The shaft’s girth is just right at 1.5”. The G-spot curve doesn’t poke my vaginal wall or cause pain on insertion or removal. And the rabbit ears, miraculously, always sit in the right spot and stay put, never injuring my clit or wandering off course. This all sounds pretty basic but you would be surprised how many rabbits are completely unusable due to problems with comfort and shape.

The vibrations on the Bondara rabbit are strong and deep enough to get me off, which, again, should be basic but is seldom found among rabbit vibrators, which I find are usually buzzy and weak, even the higher-end ones. I think having two separate motors is too taxing so a lot of toy designers give their rabbits two mediocre motors instead of the one really good motor they might put into a regular vibrator. The Bondara one isn’t jackhammer-strong and won’t satisfy power queens, but it can make me come so I’m satisfied with the vibe strength.

The problem is that you can’t really control the vibration speed, nor can you control the clitoral and vaginal portions of the toy separately (which, IMO, should be a standard feature on rabbits). The various modes offered by the toy have good interplay between vaginal and clitoral stimulation, but they switch back and forth too slowly so they never build any momentum toward orgasm for me. For that reason, I stick to the steady-vibration mode, but there are only two, low and high. I can get off that way but I prefer more gradation in between speeds, so I can avoid numbness and overstimulation. And I would greatly prefer to be able to control both portions of the vibe separately, because my G-spot’s power preferences are pretty different from my clit’s.

Speaking of the G-spot – this rabbit’s internal curve isn’t anything to write home about. It touches my G-spot but doesn’t really dig into it the way I prefer. The internal stimulation is general and broad, not focused and precise.

So… This rabbit is actually a pretty good buy if you consider the fact that it’s only 24 pounds (about 40 American dollars). But I still maintain that if you want dual stimulation, most rabbits aren’t worth the trouble and you’d be better off buying a good dildo and a decent clit vibe, both of which you can get for about the same amount as this rabbit if you shop wisely.

Thanks for the toy, Bondara!

Review: Tantus Echo Handle

Kate Sloan

It’s been two years since I reviewed the Tantus Echo. They’ve changed the design a little since then, but it’s still great and I still recommend it. (What can I say? It is Tantus, after all.)

The Echo Handle is what it sounds like: Echo with an added handle. This addition fulfills two purposes: a) it makes it easier for people to use the toy if a big belly, short arms, or mobility issues cause them to have trouble using traditional dildos, and b) it makes it really, really fun to swing this toy around like a lightsaber.

(Marginally relevant side note: one time I posted a picture of myself to Facebook where I was holding two dildos, and my conservative grandfather left a comment asking what they were for – as if he didn’t know! – and I told him they were for swordfighting. But I digress…)

I found the original Echo’s base a bit flimsy. It worked fine, but sometimes I wanted something a bit more solid so I could thrust with more speed and strength. The added handle totally fixes this problem. I still hold it in roughly the same place as I would hold a regular dildo, because that’s what feels most natural to me, but the thickness and firmness of the handle makes thrusting a breeze no matter where you grip it.

The handle is also made of matte silicone, while the insertable part of the toy is glossy. I find that this helps me keep a better grip, even when the whole scene is smeared with lube.

The handle makes it so that this toy isn’t harness-compatible. If you like the look of the Echo but want to use it in a harness, try the original: the base has been redesigned so it doesn’t have the flimsiness issue anymore. Hooray!

The pricing on the Echos is a little weird. You can get a regular Echo for $72, an Echo Handle for $58, or the Grab Bag versions of each for $33 or $27 respectively. (Grab Bag toys, if you don’t know, are the same as regular ones except you don’t get to choose which color you want, and it may end up being a weird swirly combination of colors.) So if value is what you’re after, the Grab Bag handled version is the best in that department. I don’t know why a toy containing more silicone would be cheaper, but hey, I’m not going to argue about it.

So, how does the toy actually feel? Fantastic. If you like that “popping” sensation when a penis or realistic dildo’s coronal ridge slides in and out, you’ll freak out over the Echo, because it’s basically that, but multiplied by five. The Echo Handle’s ridges are a little less prominent than those on the original Echo (1.5" versus 1.55") and you should keep that in mind when deciding which one to get – but the Handle’s ridges certainly don’t feel wimpy. The handled version also has a little extra useable length – 7" as opposed to 6.5".

The silicone of my Echo Handle definitely feels firmer to me than the original, but it’s comfortable nonetheless. I also notice that it’s a little more uniform in color, compared to my original Echo which has more swirls and variations within its color. Not a big deal, but worth mentioning.

Both Echos provide killer A-spot (anterior fornix) stimulation for me. I can’t figure out how they do this. You would think that a big, swollen head like this one would just bump into my cervix instead of snaking delicately into the tucked-away anterior fornix – but nope, it rubs the fuck out of that spot. That’s exactly the kind of vaginal stimulation that makes me go “HOLY FUCK I LOVE THIS DILDO” so this one is definitely a keeper.

So if you love ridges, A-spot play, and swinging dildos around like swords, get the Echo Handle. It’s yet more evidence that Tantus is one of the best sex toy companies out there.

Thank you, Tantus!