silicone vibrator

Review: Magic Wand Mini

Kate Sloan

The Magic Wand franchise turns 54 this month. Yep! Can you believe it? In 1968, around this time, a vibrator was being launched that no one knew was going to change the world. In fact, it seems that no one knew it was even a vibrator; for decades after its launch, the toy’s makers, Hitachi, still insisted it was merely a “body massager.”

Brief primer on Hitachi Magic Wand history (which someone should really pay me to write a book about one of these days – don’t think I haven’t pitched it!): While officially billed as a non-sexual device, the Magic Wand’s popularity for pleasure first picked up steam in the late great Betty Dodson’s legendary masturbation workshops, so I’ve been told. The story goes (and I believe it to be true) that she would hand out wands to each workshop participant when the time came, and that many of them had their lives changed in an instant by their first taste of genital vibration. In the years since, the Magic Wand has gained nicknames like “the Cadillac of vibrators,” has showed up in countless porn videos (especially those featuring queer performers), and has become one of the most instantly recognizable vibrators in the world.

There was some drama around 2015 when Hitachi almost pulled the plug (so to speak) on producing the wand anymore. I don’t know why for certain, but I’ve been told by sources in the know that the company is relatively conservative and didn’t like having their name associated with a world-famous sex toy. An American sex toy distributor called Vibratex, then best known for their Rabbit Habit vibrator which was featured in a memorable episode of Sex & the City, stepped in and offered to take over marketing and distribution of the wand. They also overhauled the mechanics, making the toy safer (it had previously been known to overheat or even burst into flames) and adding a rechargeable version to the lineup but otherwise leaving it as close to the original as possible. As far as I’m aware, still to this day, the wand is physically produced by Hitachi but officially it is a Vibratex product.

(If you’re wondering why I know all this, it’s because in my last year of journalism school, they let me spend a semester writing a feature story on anything I wanted, and I wrote it on the Magic Wand. In the process, I interviewed, among other people, Vibratex’s VP and several people who had owned multiple wands, having immediately bought a new one when their old one died. Some interviewees even allowed me to sit in on real-life sex or masturbation sessions where they used their wands; I sat in the corner fully clothed with a notebook and pen, rapt. Truly don’t know why my professors let me do this but hey, it led me here.)

Anyway, I bring this up because there’s a new member of the Magic Wand family: the Magic Wand Mini. And it’s fucking ADORABLE.

Before we get into pros and cons, let’s briefly go over the basic differences between the Mini and the other versions, so we know what we’re talking about here.

  • The Magic Wand Mini is rechargeable, like the Magic Wand Rechargeable. It does not plug into the wall like the Magic Wand Original or Magic Wand Plus (except when it’s charging, obviously).
  • The original wand is around 12″ long; the Mini is only 9.6″ long.
  • Of course, it’s also lighter – 9.7 oz, which is less than half of what the other wands weigh.
  • The Magic Wand Mini’s head is made of silicone, like that of the Magic Wand Rechargeable and Magic Wand Plus – as opposed to being made of porous vinyl (which is a health hazard and also just gross), like that of the Magic Wand Original.
  • The Mini uses a different charger than the Magic Wand Rechargeable.
  • The Mini does not have vibration patterns, as the Magic Wand Rechargeable does – it only has steady speeds.
  • The Mini has 3 different vibration speeds, as opposed to the Original which has 2, and the Rechargeable and Plus, which both have 4.
  • Unlike the Rechargeable, the Mini cannot be used while it’s charging – so if your wand dies mid-session, you’re out of luck. It has battery life indicators though.

Okay, now let’s talk about what I actually think of this vibrator, shall we?

 

Things I like about this vibrator

  • First of all, I have to commend Vibratex for keeping the exact same aesthetic and basic proportions as the original wand, just in miniaturized form. I truly cannot overstate how cute this toy is. It’s like if someone made a Magic Wand for a doll. (Uhhh, that actually sounds like a very kinky dollification scene I need to do, like, yesterday.) It might not have quite the same appeal if you’ve never seen an original Magic Wand in person, but every sex toy nerd to whom I’ve showed this toy has shouted “IT’S SO CUUUUUTE!!” because it really fucking is.
  • The first speed of this toy rules. Vibratex should be very proud of this speed; as far as vibration speeds go, it is primo. It’s got a lot of rumble to it, and is strong enough to get me off easily on an average day, provided I use it in ways that work for me (more on that below). There are very few vibrators that can comfortably make me come on their lowest speed; one of the only other ones is the Magic Wand Rechargeable. So, at least on this one speed, Vibratex has succeeded in evoking a full-size wand experience in a smaller package. The rumbliness is such that I can definitely feel it in my internal clit, whether I’m holding it on the external part or even just my outer labia. This leads to orgasms every bit as intense – and almost as reliable and easy to achieve – as those I expect from other Magic Wands. I should note here, though, that I’m not a person who commonly uses wildly strong vibrators on high settings to get off. I think diehard fans of true power would be vastly disappointed by this toy (more on that in the “things I dislike” section).
  • One of my fundamental problems with full-size Magic Wands is that they cause some temporary numbness if I leave them in one place for a while. I prefer to move them around my vulva, staying in one spot for a minute or two and then packing up and moving on like a circus runaway. Granted, this is true of most vibrators, but it becomes more obvious with big wands because they’re so heavy that moving them around becomes a chore. But the Magic Wand Mini is much more nimble, and it makes a noticeable difference: I can move it around my inner and outer labia, come at my clit from various different angles, use it to stimulate my vaginal opening or perineum, etc. and my arm doesn’t get tired. As a person with chronic pain and strength issues in my hands/arms, I really appreciate that the wand is less than half the weight of the original.
  • When I use a regular-size Magic Wand, I usually tilt it so that only the corner/edge of the head is against my bits. This is because I like more pinpointed clit stimulation than the full width of the head can offer. The Magic Wand Mini is sufficiently small that I don’t really have to do this, and can target specific areas of my vulva as needed.
  • The smaller form factor would also make this toy better for using during PIV, I suspect. (Tragically, I cannot find out at the moment because my partner is 500 miles away from me.) I do notice that the vibrations are slightly dampened when pressure is applied to the head of the toy – which, incidentally, may also be an issue for people who like to push vibrators very firmly against their body – but it’s not so much as to cause problems for me. I’d still be likelier to use this in rear-entry positions, though, because wands – however petite and adorable – are just not well-suited for missionary.
  • Speaking of my partner being 500 miles away from me – I do a fair amount of travel (or did, when there wasn’t a pandemic happening), so I appreciate a wand I can comfortably fit in a purse or small suitcase. I think this would be a terrific vibe for hotel sex.
  • The buttons are super intuitive. There’s a power button and “plus” and “minus” buttons, which all do what you’d expect them to do. They make a satisfying click when pressed, but require just enough force to do so that I never press one accidentally. Kudos, Vibratex.
  • There’s some flexibility in the neck, similar to the amount offered by the Rechargeable. I’d still be worried I’d break it if I bent it too far, but it flexes enough to be comfortable when you’re applying pressure. This isn’t super important to me because I don’t apply much pressure when I use vibrators, but I know a lot of people feel strongly about this.

Things I don’t like about this vibrator

  • It has to be said: the vibrations are not as powerful or as rumbly as you may be used to if you’re a Magic Wand fan. The first setting is excellent, but the other two are pretty disappointingly buzzy – so, even though they supposedly have the same RPM (revolutions per minute) as the original wand, they just don’t feel as impactful and can cause temporary numbness. I think this probably has a lot to do with the smaller size of the toy, not just the motor.
  • Like all the Magic Wands, it’s kind of loud. It’s certainly quieter than the high settings of any other Magic Wand, but it has a shrillness to its tone that makes the noise seem louder somehow, even if, decibels-wise, it’s not. I don’t like using this vibe late at night, for example, lest it disturb my roommate… through a wall. (I have anxiety and some past trauma around being punished for being disruptively noisy, though, so take this with a big ol’ grain of salt.)
  • This wand won’t work with most classic Magic Wand accessories/attachments, because of its smaller size. Some companies do make attachments for smaller wands, though. Those made for the Le Wand Petite or the Mystic Wand, for example, should fit the Magic Wand Mini, albeit maybe slightly tightly or loosely.
  • I miss being able to use the toy while it’s charging, like you can with the Magic Wand Rechargeable.

 

Final thoughts

I’ve tried a bunch of smaller wands – including the buzzy-AF Le Wand Petite and the gorgeous Bodywand Midnight – and the Magic Wand Mini certainly ranks as one of the best. Vibratex and Hitachi clearly both care about vibration quality and have tried to make a smaller toy that still does the Magic Wand name proud, by prioritizing motor quality and strength above any extraneous bells and whistles.

It just seems that the smaller size and lighter weight of the Mini make its vibrations feel too buzzy on the higher end of the speed spectrum. I might use one of those two higher speeds as a “finisher” – there are times when it takes a dash of buzz to push me over the edge – but the first speed is really the only one that satisfies me in the way that Magic Wands usually do. It’s a damn good speed, but it wouldn’t be strong enough for true power aficionados, who’d be better off sticking with full-size wands.

I would pick up the Magic Wand Mini instead of a larger wand if I was having a pain flare-up or just feeling lazy, because it’s much easier to maneuver around my vulva. I’d also reach for it if I wanted a wand to use during penetrative sex. I would not, however, use it if I was craving a lot of power or a lot of rumble – the Magic Wand Rechargeable is still king for that. But, I mean, look at this cute little wand. It’s doing its best. And I think its best is pretty decent.

 

Thanks to LuxuryVibrators.ca for sending me this product to review! This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: Bubblefunny Bubble Flower Beauty

Kate Sloan

As a big fan of receiving cunnilingus (what a great way to start a blog post), I have tried many an oral sex simulator in my time.

They have licked and flapped and sucked, some skilfully, some less so. But I never give up hope that the next one will be the one that really does feel like getting head from a talented and enthusiastic lover. It hasn’t happened yet, but hey, tomorrow is a new day.

That said, this latest addition to my collection of cunnilingus simulators – the Bubblefunny Bubble Flower Beauty – actually surprised me with how close it got to feeling like the real thing.

(There’s a coupon code at the end of this post incase you want to buy your own, FYI!)

 

What is the Bubble Flower Beauty and what does it do?

The whimsically-named Bubble Flower Beauty is a dual-stimulation toy: there’s a mechanized silicone tongue on one end, and a phallus on the other end that thrusts and vibrates; between the two is a flexible silicone cord.

Bubblefunny recommends various different uses for it, including slipping the thruster into your vag while the tongue teases your butthole, but I think the main usage the toy designers had in mind was probably having the tongue stimulate the user’s clit while the thruster pleasures their G-spot. (That’s the only way I chose to test this toy, anyway. I’ve got nothing against rimjobs, I just didn’t want one from a robot.)

 

Things I like about this toy:

  • Firstly and most importantly, I actually love the tongue. It’s made of soft silicone with just enough flexibility to feel comfortable and just enough firmness to feel impactful. (Cunnilinguists-in-training, take note.) I won’t say it feels like a real human’s tongue, both texturally and size-wise, but it is in that general neighborhood of sensations. It starts at a pretty fast speed – like, way faster than any partner of mine would ever start licking me – but it slows down slightly with pressure, which I found actually felt better for me.
  • The design of the toy allows you to move the tongue around your clit while you’re using it, so you can stimulate the tip, the sides, the hood, etc. as your whims dictate. I strongly prefer indirect clitoral stimulation, so I love being able to switch up the toy’s location, turn it upside-down, and so on, to get the type of stimulation I’m craving. In some ways, I think that more advanced cunnilingus simulators have failed by trying to replicate the dynamic motions of a human; being able to hit the exact right spots yourself, exactly when you need to, can be better than having a machine try to guess where they are.
  • The orgasms actually remind me a lot of the orgasms I have from real oral sex. There’s a similar slow build, and a similar sense of teetering on the precipice of coming for longer than usual before going over the edge. However, as with real cunnilingus, I find that this toy works best if I maximize my sensitivity before I use it, by taking a break from vibrators and/or orgasms for at least a day, shaving my pubes, holding my outer labia open, smoking weed, or some combination thereof. It’s not quite enough to get me off if I’ve had an orgasm recently or if I’ve used strong vibes in the past day or so.
  • Although there are only three steady speeds (more on that below), the tongue’s motions do get noticeably faster and harder when I click up to the next speed.
  • This toy is waterproof! Hooray!
  • It comes with a cute black velvet storage bag that doesn’t shed lint all over the toy, like cheap storage bags tend to do. Nice touch.

 

Things I don’t like about this toy:

  • The tongue often doesn’t quite feel powerful enough to get me off, especially since it slows down when pressure is applied to it. I find that I always have to either thrust against the toy or rub it up and down or in circles against my clit, or I won’t be able to get off. That said, sometimes I thrust my hips during actual cunnilingus for the same reason, so maybe it’s just authentic like that.
  • Both the tongue and the thruster only have three steady speeds, followed by seven patterns. As someone who uses steady speeds almost exclusively, I find this disappointing. And sometimes orgasm-ruining, if I hit a button by accident while already on the third steady speed.
  • Speaking of buttons, there are only two of them. Two is better than one in this case, certainly, but it’d be really great if it had four: an “increase intensity” button and a “decrease intensity” button for each part of the toy. I hate having to cycle through all the patterns to get back to the speed I was using before.
  • My preferred way to use the tongue is upside-down, because that way it’s licking downward on my clitoral hood, rather than flicking upward against the hypersensitive head of my clit. However, when used this way, the buttons are on the opposite side of the toy from you, which makes it tricky to hit the right one in the heat of the moment.
  • The thruster tends to slip out of me during use, especially if things are especially lubed-up down there. I would actually recommend using less lube than you normally would, or perhaps even none at all, on the thruster part of the toy, to give it a better shot at staying inside you.
  • The cord is just slightly too short (for my anatomy, anyway), so I often find myself accidentally tugging the thruster out of my vag while I’m adjusting the tongue.
  • The vibration of the thruster is pretty damn buzzy. I actually think I’d like the thruster better if it was just thrusting and not vibrating, since the buzzy-as-fuck vibration kind of mutes the sensation of thrusting. But you can’t separate the two in this toy; they’re a package deal.
  • So far as I can tell, once you’ve activated either part of the toy, there’s no way to turn it off without turning off the whole toy, which takes a few seconds. So, for example, if you decided mid-session that you wanted to shut off the thruster and just focus on the tongue, there would be no quick and easy way to do that.
  • You have to put a fuckton of lube on your vulva before you use the tongue, or it’ll feel like receiving head from a Tinder boy who’s baffled by vulvas and has a dry mouth from smoking too much weed. (Can neither confirm nor deny that this has happened to me.) When testing this toy, I’ve mostly used a coconut oil-based lube I’ve been loving lately, and I actually think natural oil-based lubes (if you’re not too prone to getting infections from them) are the best pick for this type of toy, because they won’t react poorly with silicone toys like silicone-based lubes do, and they won’t dry up every few minutes like water-based lubes do.
  • The product page says that this toy sucks and licks, but there is no sucking to speak of. I tried pressing the toy firmly enough against my vulva that it would have created a seal if any suction was indeed happening, and all it did was slow down the tongue enormously.

 

Final thoughts:

I know I had a lot of critical things to say about the Bubblefunny Bubble Flower Beauty, but it actually is one of the better oral sex simulators I’ve tried. It gets me off (usually), and the orgasms feel, if not as good as those that happen in my partner’s mouth, at least somewhere in that direction.

I wish the thruster portion of the toy had been executed better – it feels like an afterthought, with its buzzy vibrations and tendency to shimmy out of my vagina – but the tongue part of this toy is really the star of the show anyway. I would happily use a version of this toy that was just the tongue. Sometimes you just need a little oral action, and head from a silicone gadget is better than no head at all.

 

Thanks to Bubblefunny for sending me this toy to review! You can use the code “GJ20” to get 20% off anything on their website. Maybe you want a wand vibrator shaped like a person? Or perhaps a clitoral stimulator that looks like a moon? This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: CalExotics Red Hot Flare

Kate Sloan

I am a big fan of clitoral pleasure, so I’m always thrilled when I see sex toy companies taking novel approaches to clitoral stimulation.

There are so many different ways toys can touch this long-underestimated organ: they can vibrate it, suck it, blow rhythmic airwaves at it, massage it with a rotating wheel of tongues, and so much more. It’s a part of the body that, as far as we know, exists only to make us feel good – so why not try out as many different avenues of pleasure as possible?

That’s why I like clitoral vibrators that have two “prongs” or “ears,” so as to surround the clit on both sides, the way a partner’s lips can. They just feel different from any other type of toy, and help me discover wonderful new sensations within my own body. The one I’m reviewing today is the Red Hot Flare vibrator from CalExotics, sent to me by my pals at Mindful. Let’s talk about it.

What is the Red Hot Flare?

The Red Hot Flare is a USB-rechargeable, silicone clitoral vibrator made by CalExotics. Formerly known as California Exotic Novelties, this company was once infamous among sex toy reviewers for pumping out toxic, low-quality toys for ultra-low prices – and, while they still do their fair share of that, they have significantly stepped things up over the past decade and now make many body-safe, decent-quality products.

As I mentioned, this vibe is unlike most clit vibes in that it has two little “bunny ears” that its vibration transmits into. I think there are a few main reasons someone might prefer a two-pronged vibe over a more traditional clitoral vibe:

  1. If you are transmasculine or have feelings in that direction and would like a clitoral toy that feels gender-affirming, this type of toy might be a good pick. You can stroke the ears up and down on either side of your shaft for a BJ- or HJ-esque feeling. (I will say, however, that this particular vibe may not work as well for someone who has experienced much bottom growth on testosterone, because the distance between the ears is pretty minimal. They’re flexible, so you could make it work, but I think this toy is better suited for people with small- to medium-sized clits.)
  2. If your clit is very sensitive and/or you just prefer indirect clitoral stimulation (like me!), you might enjoy the way these vibrators can stimulate your clitoral shaft through your inner labia and clitoral hood, rather than stimulating the tip of your clit directly, which can be painful for some people. These vibes also stimulate deeper parts of the internal clit than most toys do – most notably, the clitoral bulbs, which are located inside the body on either side of the vaginal opening.
  3. If you’re very sensitive and enjoy light, fluttery sensations on your clit, like very gentle tongue-flicking, you might like this type of vibe because the ears (especially if quite thin and flexible) may sort of flutter back and forth when they vibrate. You can position them wherever feels best: the tip of your clit, the side of the shaft, the top through the clitoral hood, etc.

No matter how you’re using this toy, make sure to use a good water-based lube with it. This is especially important if you’ll be stroking it up and down or otherwise moving it around in any way, but the fluttery motion of the ears feels better with lube even when I’m holding it totally still.

 

Things I like about this vibrator

  • It is surprisingly powerful and respectably rumbly. This, as I’ve ranted about before, is the most important quality of any vibrator: its motor. The strength and rumbliness of this toy are such that I can orgasm from it easily and hardly experience any desensitization with it. Good job, CalEx!!
  • There are a lot of different potential ways to use this toy. I love that it invites exploration and experimentation. For example, sometimes I will tease my clitoral shaft through my hood with the tips of the ears, massage each side of it through my inner labia, and then eventually switch to the position that generally makes me come: one ear on either side of my clit, with the top of my clit nestled into the crook between the two ears. Full surround-sound stimulation, baybee.
  • This toy stimulates the sides and base of my clitoral shaft in a way that almost no toys do (at least not without some creative positioning), which, for me, makes orgasms feel more intense and full-bodied, and less overstimulating. For my particular clitoral preferences, I’d much rather use a toy shaped like this than a standard bullet vibe on most occasions.
  • The ears are very flexible – way moreso than those of similar toys I’ve tried, like the Jimmyjane Form 2 and We-Vibe Gala – which makes it easy for me to position them on either side of my clit, even as it swells with arousal.
  • The toy is quite petite, which makes it great for travel/transport (especially since it has a travel lock function) and also means it would be useable during PIV in pretty much any position.

 

Things I don’t like about this vibrator

  • The main issue is the battery life. The instruction manual for this toy says that a fully charged battery will last up to 30 minutes on the highest speed; in my experience, that is a generous estimate. I use the toy at various different speeds throughout a session, not just the highest one, and I typically have to charge this one after every 30-40 minutes of use. There’s also no visible indicator that the battery is close to dying, which is why one day the toy unfortunately shut off when I was about 5 seconds away from orgasm. Sigh. (Don’t worry, I grabbed my Eroscillator to finish the job.)
  • This toy only has 3 steady speeds, followed by 7 patterns, and you have to scroll through each setting one at a time using its one button. Fortunately, if you just want to get back to the first steady speed, you can achieve that more quickly by turning the vibe off and then on again. As always with toys that work this way, I wish this one had more steady speeds, fewer patterns, and even just one more button to help me navigate to whatever setting I’m looking for more easily.
  • The space between the ears is so slim that I always end up having to manually reposition each “ear” on either side of my clit whenever I move the vibe or take a break. It would be way better if the ears would just spread open when I push my clit between them, but that would require more space between the ears to begin with. I feel like most toys of this type are made with the assumption that all clits are small and that none of them get larger when aroused, which is… not the case.
  • While the motor and bendiness of this toy feel better than those of the Jimmyjane Form 2, I miss the thickness and firmness of the Form 2’s ears, because of the way they stimulated the spots between my inner labia and outer labia. That’s one of the best/easiest ways to stimulate the clitoral bulbs, but it requires that the ears have a little more heft to them so you can press them into the flesh there, and this toy does not have that ability.
  • The silicone is highly prone to collecting lint/hairs/dust (as you can see in the photos in this post, sigh), and is also pretty draggy. Lube is imperative.

 

Final thoughts

The CalExotics Red Hot Flare is, in many ways, a fantastic vibrator. It stimulates my clit in a pretty unique manner, has a delightfully rumbly and powerful motor, and is discreet and travel-friendly enough for long-distance sexy adventures. It gives me intense orgasms with ease.

But it won’t work for everyone’s anatomy, and frankly, for $100, I expect better battery life than what this one offers. If CalExotics fixed that issue, this would become a top-drawer favorite of mine, but I’m just not willing to charge a vibrator after literally every use.

If you love clitoral stimulation, particularly the kind that is indirect and focuses mostly on your clitoral shaft, you’d probably dig the Red Hot Flare. As long as you don’t mind keeping its charger by the bed forever.

 

Thanks to the folks at Mindful for sending me this product to review! This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.

Review: SnailVibe

Kate Sloan

I was recently tasked with writing an article about the best rabbit vibrators on the market. As per my usual process for such articles, I dug deep into the annals of my own memory to find this information, as well as interviewing several experts in the field: sex toy reviewers, sex educators, and so on.

I did six interviews for this piece, and when asked what rabbit vibes they would recommend, almost every interviewee said some version of the same thing: “I know the We-Vibe Nova 2 is good. Can’t really think of too many others.” This was, unfortunately, the exact same opinion I myself had held before I began the research process for the piece.

My wonderful interviewees were able to give me useful recommendations, and I do think that that article covers the cream of the crop when it comes to rabbit vibes, a notoriously difficult category of toy to execute well. But it really is true: the We-Vibe Nova 2 is one of the best rabbit vibrators released in the last 5 years, if not more, for one major reason. It maintains firm contact with your clit even when you thrust with it.

There are other reasons too – it has a great motor, many settings, a travel-lock function, is rechargeable, is made by a reputable company, etc. But I think the main thing the Nova got right was its approach to clit contact, and the new-ish SnailVibe is astounding for exactly the same reason.

 

What is the SnailVibe & how do you use it?

The SnailVibe is a dual-stimulation vibrator, i.e. a vibrator that offers vaginal penetration and simultaneous clitoral stimulation. (One could also, theoretically, use it for anal penetration, with the external portion stimulating the perineum.)

What sets the SnailVibe apart from all other dual-stim vibes is its spiral-shaped external portion, which is designed to roll/furl and unfurl every time you thrust the internal portion in and out. The spiral offers enough resistance that it remains firmly in contact with the clit (or at least, my clit) for the entire thrust.

I cannot overstate how important clitoral pleasure is to many vulva-havers’ sexual response, and to my own. The clitoris is the anatomical pleasure equivalent of the penis, so for many of us, it is absolutely central, potentially much moreso than penetration. It always baffled me that so many toy companies seemed to put all their resources and inventiveness into bells and whistles on the penetrative parts of rabbit vibes – rotating beads, come-hither stroking, and so on – while assuming a pair of flimsy rabbit ears would be enough in the clitoral stimulation department. The SnailVibe seems, comparatively, much more focused on clit pleasure, and I appreciate it.

 

via GIPHY

How does it feel?

The SnailVibe has two motors and both of them are excellent. I don’t even have that much to say about them because they’re just… satisfyingly good, at the level one would hope and expect from a vibrator at this price point ($150 USD or about $200 CAD). I will say, there are some surprisingly huge jumps between vibration speeds, which are sometimes jarring, but mostly it doesn’t bother me that much.

The toy is designed such that the clitoral portion not only remains in contact with the clit during each thrust, but maintains pretty firm pressure on it. So if you’re not a fan of clitoral pressure, this might not be the toy for you – maybe the fluttery ears on standard rabbit vibes are more your speed.

Another sex toy reviewer, Felicity of Phallophile Reviews, disliked the SnailVibe intensely because its penetrative shaft is long, straight, and rigid. This is one of the key qualities that could make a user either love or hate this toy. If you want intense G-spot stimulation, it’s true that this is not the right toy for the job. But if you tend to enjoy thrusting for how it stimulates your vaginal walls more generally, and/or if you like deep, firm penetration that strokes your anterior fornix or posterior fornix, I think you’re likelier to appreciate this toy.

The shaft is also pretty long – 8 inches insertable – which could be off-putting for some folks, but I don’t think it has to be. You don’t have to use the full length of a sex toy in order to use it at all, and this vibe is designed such that you’ll get clitoral contact if you insert the vibe as shallowly as 2 inches inside you.

The buttons that control this toy are intuitively-placed, IMO, and thus great for finding and using in the heat of the moment. You can control the internal and external motor separately, and set each to any of several steady vibration modes and patterns at any time.

 

Drawbacks & things to keep in mind

YOU HAVE TO PUT LUBE ON THE EXTERNAL PART. If you found this review while idly googling the sex toy you just bought, I hope this is the main thing you take away from this review. PUT LUBE ON THE EXTERNAL PART.

The external part doesn’t just sit there statically; it spins/rotates against your clit, so if it’s unlubed, it’ll just scrape over the area uncomfortably. This toy literally feels completely different when the external part is lubed. It’s non-negotiable as far as I’m concerned. (Don’t forget to add some additional moisture to reactivate your lube every so often if you’re using a water-based one.)

I find that thrusting with this toy is the only way I can get myself off with it. Its straight shaft and firm clit stimulator don’t quite do enough to get me there without additional motion. If you want a rabbit vibe you can use without needing to move it or hold it, I’d suggest a rabbit that thrusts or strokes the G-spot.

 

Final thoughts

I’m not generally a huge fan of dual-stimulation toys, but I have to say that the SnailVibe is in the top 3 I’ve ever tried in terms of sensation (the others being, I think, the We-Vibe Nova 2 and the CalEx silicone jack rabbit). It’s rumbly as hell, feels lovely when thrusted, and gets me off easily every time. It’s also entirely unique and hella cute-looking.

It won’t work for everyone – you gotta like (or be okay with) firm clitoral pressure, thrusting, and rigid penetration that targets spots deeper than the G-spot – but there is no vibrator that would work for everyone, and that’s like 10 times as true when it comes to rabbit vibes. I’m glad to have found another one that works for me, even though it looks like a damn snail.

 

Thanks to the folks at Lovers for sending me the SnailVibe to review!

Review: Treediride Adele 3-in-1 Thruster

Kate Sloan

Since the beginning of my career as a sex toy reviewer, I have gotten annoyed at internal vibrators and wished they could thrust in addition to (or instead of) vibrating. While I know there are plenty of people who enjoy internal vibration, anecdotal evidence (from talking to others about this and from my own experiences) leads me to believe that many people with vaginas prefer that those vaginas be stimulated with motion in addition to, or in lieu of, vibration. Maybe it has to do with the G-spot being buried in the vaginal wall and requiring more robust stimulation than other erogenous zones; maybe it speaks to the evolutionarily-honed desire to be fucked; maybe it just feels good and we don’t need to overthink why.

In any case, I got excited about reviewing the Treediride Adele 3-in-1 thrusting vibrator because it does 3 different things: it thrusts, it vibrates, and it sucks your clit. And I think that’s pretty great.

 

What is it?

The Treediride Adele (presumably not named after the singer, although who knows) consists of a pressure-wave stimulation toy for your clit, attached via a very flexible and floppy cord to a dildo-like object that can both vibrate and thrust.

Each of these 3 functions can be controlled separately, which is crucial for a toy like this. I don’t want to begin my masturbation session by bombarding my genitals immediately with suction, vibration, and thrusting – I want to build up gradually, as my arousal grows. I also don’t always want to change the intensity of stimulation on my clit when I change the intensity of internal sensations, or vice-versa; it’s far better to be able to control each sensation independently.

This functionality, combined with the flexibility of the toy’s connecting cord, also means that if you wanted to use only one component or function of the toy, you could. For example, I could insert the thruster part of this toy and use a different vibe on my clit, if I was in the mood to mix-and-match. I love when dual- or triple-stim toys are actually versatile, rather than pigeonholing you into using the toy in only one specific way!

 

How does it feel?

The clitoral stimulation of this toy is somewhat unique among pressure-wave toys, because it has a little “tongue” inside its “mouth” which stimulates the clit in addition to the air-pulse action also at play. I find that this makes it unusually suitable for using over my clitoral hood, which is usually how I prefer to use this type of toy because my clit is hella sensitive. Often, my hood mutes pressure-wave sensations, so that using a toy directly feels like way too much and using it over my hood feels like way too little – but the addition of that “tongue” seems to make the toy still feel great even when used indirectly. Cool!

The thrusting function is what I’d expect for a thruster at this low-to-middling price point: a bit too manically fast, and not super impactful (so not ideal for people who like getting fucked very hard), but certainly good enough to hit my erogenous zones in a satisfying way and contribute to wonderful orgasms. I think the shape of the internal portion makes a huge difference here: it’s semi-realistic, with a sculpted head and “coronal ridge” reminiscent of a flesh-and-blood dick, but with gentle hills and valleys along the length of the shaft to amp up the stimulation. The thruster component itself is only 5″ long but still manages to hit both my G-spot and my A-spot on every thrust if I nudge it into the right position before I begin.

The vibration is just okay. It’s strong, but buzzy. Paired with the thrusting motion, it feels fantastic, seeming to amplify the pleasure of each thrust without adding too much numbness – but it’s definitely not the type of vibe I like to use on my clit, so if you want anything resembling a clitoral vibrator, you should look elsewhere because this toy ain’t it.

That said, this toy’s combo of thrusting + vibration + clitoral suction (or even just thrusting + clitoral suction) gets me off remarkably quickly and intensely. The orgasms feel so easy they almost sneak up on me. I think the fast tapping against my G-spot and A-spot simultaneously is the biggest factor in my response to this toy. That and the fact that I can move the clitoral portion to different parts of my clit – the tip, the hood, the side – as needed to prevent overstimulation of any one area.

That’s one major benefit of this toy’s components being connected by a bendable cord, rather than being locked in place as they are on many rabbit vibes: you can move the clit portion however you see fit. Not only does this mean you can stimulate whatever spot on your clit feels best at any given moment – it also means, crucially, that you can move the clitoral stimulation slightly aside during/after orgasm, to mitigate the sensitivity overload that can happen at the point of climax. This contributes massively to the quality of my orgasms with this toy, because for me, an orgasm interrupted by an onslaught of direct stimulation during my most sensitive moments is almost as bad as a ruined orgasm.

Is there anything you don’t like about it?

The thrusting starts at a fairly high speed and doesn’t slow down, so if you’re looking for firm, steady thrusts at a reasonable human speed, you’re not gonna find that here. But that’s been true of pretty much every thruster I’ve tried, including high-end ones like those in the Fun Factory Stronic line.

The flexibility of the cord between the toy’s two components leads me to wonder if their electrical connection could be severed by overzealous bending or pulling of the cord. I wouldn’t tend to yank it around much during a masturbation session, but things do happen in storage sometimes (which is how, for example, I damaged my last pair of wired Apple earbuds and had to get new ones) – so I’d recommend being careful about how you store this toy and how roughly you pull on its two parts.

It is a little odd that this toy has 10 sucking modes, 5 vibration modes, and 9 thrusting modes. Typically I’d expect each of a toy’s functions to have the same number of modes/speeds/patterns. But it’s not a huge deal, because I tend to only use the first mode of thrusting and vibration while varying the suction mode as I get closer to orgasm.

For folks with strength/mobility issues, or folks who are lazy masturbators, this toy is a mixed bag. The thrusting motion is more self-sufficient than that of any thruster I’ve tried, not requiring much repositioning or holding in place in order to keep hitting those internal spots, perhaps because the ridges on the shaft allow it to maintain its purchase against my vaginal walls. But the clitoral stimulator basically has to be held in place by hand while you’re using it (at least, on my anatomy), or else it falls right off. You win some, you lose some.

 

Final thoughts

At $45.99, I think the Treediride Adele is very well-priced for what it is: a well-designed triple-function toy that feels really fucking good. It’s made of silky-soft silicone. It’s magnetically rechargeable and holds a charge well. It seems to be waterproof (or at least, mine hasn’t broken when I’ve washed it in the sink), though I can’t find official confirmation of this on Treediride’s website. It has, in short, many of the qualities I expect from great toys – including the ability to give me super intense orgasms.

If you like the feeling of internal thrusting, and you like pressure-wave sensations on your clit (or think you might), I think this toy would certainly be worth the $46 for you. I was surprised by how good it felt; maybe you will be too.

 

This post was sponsored, meaning I was paid to write a fair and honest review of this product. As always, all writing and opinions are my own.