Tantus

Cheap Orgasms, Anyone?

Kate Sloan

I usually believe that a more expensive sex toy has got to be better than a cheap one. After all, my all-time favorite toy costs $140 plus a $40 attachment; runners-up cost anywhere from $79 to $139. These toys are pricey for a reason, and that reason is: they’re good.

However, some quality sex toys are, indeed, cheap. Here’s a few solid and inexpensive options…

1. California Exotics’ Turbo Glider is a popular, classic, traditional vibrator. It’s made of hard plastic, the only sex toy material I’m aware of which manages to be non-porous, body-safe, and cheap. It’s waterproof, has some very pleasing texture, and is also the strongest battery-operated vibe I’ve ever come across. At $16, you can hardly call it an investment, but if it was, it’d be a worthwhile one!

2. Don Wands’ Bent Graduate is a wonderful glass dildo that goes straight for the G-spot. It’s double-ended, easy to get clean, and comes in cute colors. What’s not to like?

3. Tantus makes a dildo called Acute which is tiny but hits my G-spot like a mofo. Seriously, I’ve switched over to this toy many times mid-wank because the dildo I was previously using just wasn’t cutting it in terms of G-spot stimulation. It would also be fabulous for pegging, though I don’t currently have a willing partner for that one! At only $32, it’s an absolute steal for a toy I use as often as I do.

4. Another California Exotics toy! (See, they’re not all bad.) The Eclipse vaginal balls are one of the best kegel toys I’ve found – lots of delicious bouncing, sturdy retrieval cord, cute design – and they also happen to be made of body-safe materials. Plus they cost $23. I recommend these all the time to people who are looking for balls to put in their vag, because I’ve tried several and these remain my favorites.

5. The RodeoH briefs harness is arguably not that cheap on the whole, but as far as harnesses go, you’re not going to find a better one for any cheaper. It retails for $45, looks foxy on just about anyone, holds dildos in place for sexytimes, and doesn’t have a million straps you have to snap and adjust and fiddle with. This is the only harness I own and I don’t have any desire for another, because this one does its job so damn well.

What are your favorite toys for under $50?

Giveaway: Tantus Tsunami from SheVibe!

Kate Sloan

I have excellent news for you today, lovelies: I’m teaming up with primo sex toy retailer SheVibe to give away a Tantus Tsunami!

I had the good fortune of reviewing a Tsunami last month, and it’s easily one of my favorite dildos. Made of 100% body-safe silicone, it features several delicious ridges and a curved tip. If your G-spot or A-spot need some loving, the Tsunami is just the ticket. It also has a flared base, so you can use it anally, and a spot for a bullet vibe, which it comes with.

This competition is open to anyone in the USA, Canada, UK, or Australia who is age 18 or older. The winner will be chosen at random; the more ways and times you enter, the more of a chance you have to win! The winner will get to pick whichever color of Tsunami they’d prefer (strawberry, purple haze, or midnight purple).

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Edited to add: Please note:
1. Reblogging this post counts as one entry, for “reblog.” It does not count toward “blog about this giveaway.”
2. When you submit an entry for “blog about this giveaway,” that entry must have a link to this post.
3. When you submit an entry for “comment on another post,” that comment must be thoughtful and non-spammy. For example, a smiley face or “Great post!” does not count.

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.

Review: Tantus Acute

Kate Sloan

The Tantus Acute is my ninth Tantus toy. You think I’d be used to the company’s excellence by now. You’d think some of the charm would have worn off. But nope – my love for their toys has persevered. (Hence the zillions of Tantus reviews that have been popping up on my blog lately, and will continue to do so for a little longer!)

I saved up reward points to buy my Acute, because I’m worried it might be discontinued. It’s currently hanging out in the closeout section on Tantus’ website, often a sign of impending discontinuation. I haven’t heard anything to confirm this, but I was concerned, so I snapped one up, and I’m glad I did.

The Acute is the smallest silicone dildo I own. It has an insertable length of 5" and a diameter of 1 ¼" at its widest point. These measurements might make you think that this is a toy for beginners, and true, it would work just fine for someone with little penetration experience under their belt. But the beauty of the Acute is that it’s not just for beginners. Unless your vagina flat-out needs to be filled up in order to be satisfied, you might find the Acute surprisingly pleasing. I certainly did.

As its name suggests, the Acute boasts an acute angle. Because it’s top-heavy and leans heavily to one side, it can’t stand up by itself. I’ve been propping it up against a lube bottle and affectionately calling it “little baby,” like a child who hasn’t learned to walk yet.

But what that angle lacks in balance, it more than makes up for in G-spotting ability. The Acute is a G-spot dildo, through and through. Its pronounced head finds my spot effortlessly and rubs it with every thrust, creating that need-to-pee sensation almost immediately, while the gentle ripples along its underside massage my vaginal wall and opening. This is a dildo that knows what it wants to do, and does it very well.

Sometimes, the Acute doesn’t feel completely fulfilling, as you’d expect from a toy of its size. When that happens, I just switch to a bigger one. It makes for a great warm-up dildo. Many people love it for anal, too, since the same curve that enables it to reach the female G-spot also brings it into direct contact with the male prostate. And of course, it’s harness-compatible, so peg away, ladies.

The Tantus Acute isn’t a glamorous dildo, it doesn’t rock my world, it hasn’t changed my life. But it’s a reliable G-spotting toy that provides just enough girth for those days when my vagina needs a rest but still wants to be stimulated. It’s definitely going to be a staple of my collection for a long time to come.

Review: Tantus Tsunami

Kate Sloan

Yep, there’s been a lot of Tantus around here recently! And there’s still more to come. What can I say? I’m a lucky, lucky girl.

I count myself as especially lucky because one of the Tantus items I was sent this month is the Tsunami – and it is about as perfect as a dildo can get. Remember when I said I loved the Echo? Yeah, this is way better.

The Tsunami is designed to look like a wave, as its name suggests. It has a curvy, rounded tip, followed by three large, jutting ridges. The bottommost ridge doesn’t quite fit inside me – the Tsunami is 6 ¾" insertable, and therefore longer than my vagina – but the other two are delicious. They need a fair bit of lube before they start to feel pleasurable rather than pointy, but it’s worth it.

There are also three small ridges on the back side of the dildo, toward the bottom. I feel ambivalently about stimulation on the back wall of my vagina, but if you’re into that, you’ll appreciate this feature.

The Tsunami is made of Tantus’ classic silicone – squishy and bendable, but firm; beautifully colorful; 100% boilable and bleachable. As usual, Tantus leaves nothing to be desired in terms of material quality. And the base is flat and flared, so you can wear the Tsunami in a harness if you want to fuck your lover with a badass tidal wave.

So why do I love the Tsunami so much? I’m going to try to refrain from saying unhelpful things like “it just feels really fucking good,” and instead, try to explain why it feels so good. For one thing, its ridges are marvelous at hitting my G-spot. They stroke past it every time, with little effort on my end, and manage to be satisfying without being overly intense like some other toys can be.

But truly, the real reason I’m in love with the Tsunami is its tip. The top of the wave is smooth and rounded, and acts like a slender penis or a thick finger. And it rubs the fuck out of my A-spot.

A-spot stimulation is something I don’t hear a lot about in the sex toy reviewing world, or in the world in general. I think this is owed to the fact that many people don’t know what the A-spot is. Maybe they have some semblance of an understanding that it feels good when they thrust a dildo really deeply and hit a spot somewhere near their cervix, but they don’t know it’s an actual erogenous zone with a name and a specific location.

I’m very aware of my A-spot, or “deep spot,” because it’s the source of most of my melty, tingly, “oh my god don’t stop” feelings when my boyfriend is fucking me. I’m also hyper-aware of it because, in order to stimulate it, I have to be very careful that I don’t bump my cervix. Cervical contact is, for me, uncomfortable at best, and agonizing at worst. So it’s bloody annoying that one of my favorite pleasure zones is located right next to my cervix.

But back to the Tsunami… Its tip has the perfect shape, size, squishiness, and curve to hit my A-spot without ever giving my cervix any grief. And that’s the main reason that the Tsunami will remain in the top drawer of my sex toy storage system, along with other all-time favorites like the Fling and the Amethyst. When I’m craving deep, satisfying, intuitive A-spot stimulation (with some kickass G-spot rubbing to boot), I’ll reach for the Tsunami.

Now, before I demand that every one of my readers buy one of these dildos, let’s just make sure you know what you’re getting into… This toy is 1 ¾" at its widest point. It’s squishy, so I can fit it inside me even though I’m on the smaller side, but it needs plenty of lube. If you’re tiny, you’ll want to skip this one (or just use the upper half, which, frankly, robs you of the toy’s greatest advantage). Likewise, if you don’t like texture, this is definitely not the dildo for you. And if you’re a size queen in search of something to stretch you and fill you up, the Tsunami won’t do it.

But if you like ridges on your G-spot, and firm but sweet A-spot stimulation, and both of those things in tandem… well, you need the Tsunami, pronto.

Thanks so much, PinkCherry.ca, for this stunning piece of silicone!