textured dildo

Review: Mr. Hankey’s Toys Oni

Kate Sloan
(Soda can for scale)

Realistic dildos are great, but I’ve tested a lot of them, and, well… they’re all dicks, so even with all the many variations in size, shape, texture, and tone, they get a little samey after a while.

So I’m sure you can understand why my interest was piqued by the ultra-textured, wildly fantastical Oni dildo by Mr. Hankey’s Toys. Let’s talk about it.

 

What is the Oni, & how can it be customized?

The Oni feels conceptually similar to those hentai-inspired tentacle dildos that are so popular: it’s vaguely tentacle-shaped and has a ton of texture all along its shaft. But that’s where the similarities end: there’s no actual aquatic imagery in this dildo’s design. Mr. Hankey’s describes it as an “ogre-like demon” dildo, featuring a “demon’s face [that] lick[s] you from the inside.”

As is standard for toys from Mr. Hankey’s, this one can be customized to your heart’s content: you get 4 size options, 4 firmness options, 25 color options, and you can indicate whether you want there to be a Vac-U-Loc-compatible hole in the base of the dildo or not.

For my Oni, I went with the small size, 75% soft firmness, metallic green color, and no Vac-U-hole. In classic Mr. Hankey’s fashion, even this “small” Oni is quite hefty: it’s got 7.1″ of insertable length, and its diameter starts at 1.3″ near the head and widens to 1.9″ as you get closer to the base.

Front & back of the Oni’s shaft

A caveat on texture & firmness

I specifically chose the “75% soft” firmness for this toy because it’s so intensely textured. Firmer textured dildos can feel scrapey, annoying, and even painful – but the softness of this one gives its texture some cushion, so that my vaginal walls feel like they’re being stroked and massaged, not scraped. Generally I’d recommend that you, too, go for one of the softer options if you end up getting your own Oni – I think most vaginas and butts would prefer this particular toy soft and squishy.

That being said, the trade-off is that softer toys are much less capable of applying targeted pressure to erogenous zones like the G-spot, A-spot, or prostate. Many people prefer a firmer touch on these spots because they are somewhat buried in the vaginal or anal wall, so they tend to respond better to pressure than gentle surface-level touch.

So it really comes down to whether you want to hit specific spots (in which case, firmer is better), or just experience a diffuse, textured sensation along your entire vaginal/anal wall with each thrust (in which case, softer is better). I’m a person who generally prefers to target specific spots with firm pressure, so a squishy, textured dildo like the Oni is more of an occasional craving for me, not the bread and butter of my dildo rotation. But that’s just me.

 

Things I like about this toy

  • The design, it must be said, is intricate and gorgeous. The front bears the aforementioned demon face, the back looks like something out of a monster-of-the-week comic, and the tip resembles a regular penis head, but stylized and elongated. It really is a work of art.
  • I love that the tip is so tapered, for two reasons: it makes this toy much easier to insert, despite its challenging texture, and it can also nudge up into my A-spot fairly easily. I also love that it’s shaped vaguely like an actual dick head, as this combines well with a lot of my fantasies when I’m using a dildo.
  • The curve seems to perfectly ensure that the entire front of the shaft rubs against my entire vaginal wall on every stroke. I don’t think it holds its shape very well once it’s inside me, because of the softness of the silicone, but it nonetheless keeps the toy mercilessly in contact with my G-spot and the surrounding area.
  • The texture is enjoyable – when I’m properly warmed up for it.  This is not the type of dildo I can rush into using, even with lube (which it requires a lot of). If I go too fast, my vaginal walls get irritated – but if I take the time to make sure I’m really turned on before inserting it, the texture feels decadent, maximalist. It doesn’t give me the same breathless gut-punch orgasms as toys that press firmly into my internal spots, but the soft texture allows for a thrilling slow-build that feels great along the way, even if the orgasm itself isn’t as explosive.
  • The squishiness is fun to squeeze around, like a vaginal stress ball.
  • The base is chunky and easy to grip onto and thrust with. I also like that a part of it juts out in such a way that you can mash it against your clit when you thrust extra deep. Normally I pair dildos with a clitoral vibrator so I can get off, but sometimes it’s nice to tease myself first by grinding against the base of the dildo.

Things I don’t like about this toy

  • As mentioned, the texture can be a bit much if I’m not sufficiently turned on and/or not using enough lube. And you will go through a fair amount of lube when using this thing, at least if you want to use it comfortably.
  • As the company points out themselves on their product page, the design of this dildo makes it prone to tipping over when stood upright on its base, which could be annoying if you tend to ride your dildos.
  • Commonly for super-textured dildos, this one is a bit trickier to clean than smooth toys, sometimes requiring a scrub brush (like an old toothbrush) to get into all the little seams and crannies. But if you like texture then it’ll be worth it.

 

Final thoughts

Mr. Hankey’s Toys allowed me to pick 3 different dildos (check out my Captain’s Hook review!), and the Oni was really the wildcard of my selections, the one that’s the biggest departure from my typical taste in dildos. It’s squishy, textured, and fantastical, while most of my faves are firm, smooth, and simple.

But the design of the Oni is both beautiful and ingenious; its curve makes its texture feel more dynamic and even more stimulating than it would be on its own. It massages my entire vagina from the inside, in a way that I haven’t often experienced before.

So, shout-out to Mr. Hankey’s for creating the elegant Oni. It’s funny how a demonic dildo can feel so heavenly.

 

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: Icicles No. 24

Kate Sloan

Pipedream’s Icicles collection is notorious for ripping off other people’s designs. However, I’ve never seen anything like the Icicles No. 24 anywhere else. It’s a pink tentacle. A gnarled tongue. A glass octopus cock. My curiosity was piqued the moment I saw it.

Conscious Contraceptives was nice enough to send me one, and when I took it out of the box, I just fondled it for a while. It’s kind of scary; the bottom side bears two long rows of pointy-ish bumps, and the top side has some tree branch-like lines carved into it. It’s one of those toys that could either be amazingly pleasurable or unprecedentedly painful. My vag was nervous.

But actually, this is a pretty awesome dildo. Sure, you need to use a boatload of lube on it, or your delicate internal tissues could snag uncomfortably on the ultra-mega texture all over this toy. But once lubrication is taken care of, the Icicles No. 24 provides some very unique and very intense sensations.

I prefer to use the dildo with the handle facing up toward my clit. This puts the bumps on the bottom side of my vag, where I can’t feel them as intensely – and this is a good thing, because even when I face them upward, they hit the perimeter of my G-spot without actually rubbing the spot itself. The feeling of those bumps took some getting used to, especially since that part of my vagina rarely gets much attention at all, but a few well-lubed practice sessions taught me to enjoy all that texture.

The top side of the toy is less texture-heavy, boasting an interconnected web of ridges that can definitely be felt but are never uncomfortable the way the bumps can be. The shape of the toy puts those ridges riiiight on my G-spot, while the tip curves downward into my posterior fornix. There’s not as much sexual sensitivity there as there is in my anterior fornix, but it still feels nice.

The curved handle is easy to hold onto, though I usually just grip it in my fist instead of bothering with the fingerhole. If the handle is intended to stimulate my clit, it’s a fail; I have to push the toy in uncomfortably far for that to happen. Besides which, it’s bumpy glass, which isn’t my clit’s favorite thing in the first place.

Overall, I’m fairly shocked by how much I like the Icicles No. 24. It’s not going to be my new go-to dildo or anything, but it surpassed my expectations. It might surpass yours too, if you like glass, texture, and tentacles, and you’ve got lube to spare.

Thanks so much to Conscious Contraceptives for sending me this toy! Check out their mission statement – a portion of their profit from every purchase is donated toward helping underprivileged communities get the contraceptives they need. Shop for sex toys and help the world!

Review: Tantus Echo

Kate Sloan

When I first discovered Tantus, I quickly scampered onto their website and flicked through their pages upon pages of sex toys. Only a few items really jumped out at me as something I desperately wanted, and one of those items was the Echo. With those corkscrew-like ridges and bulbous head, it is a thing of beauty. So naturally, I snapped one up when I saw they were on sale.

Now, before I review the toy, a word of warning: I ordered my Echo direct from Tantus, and the one I ordered was white. However, they sent me a purple one. Color isn’t that important to me, especially if the toy is good, but this experience does make me mildly wary about ordering through Tantus’ website in future. I love you, Tantus, but other sex toy shops always get my order totally correct!

Truly, though, that’s one of the only bad things I can say about this toy… and of course, the color mix-up isn’t the toy’s fault!

As usual, Tantus has knocked it out of the park in terms of material quality. Their silicone is easy to clean and care for, and has lovely little swirls of lighter and darker colors, almost like wood’s grain. The only negative aspect of Tantus’ silicone formulation is that it collects way more lint than any of my other toys; I feel the need to rinse off the Echo before every single use, which is not always convenient.

While I’ve appreciated the craftsmanship and beauty of my other Tantus dildos, they weren’t always a great fit with my anatomy. I found the Flurry O2 too ridgy in the head, and too straight and boring in the shaft, plus it ate lube. I love my Adam O2, but it’s too girthy for me to use on a regular basis; I need to be warmed up and extremely relaxed before my pussy will allow it to enter.

The Echo, however, works much, much better for me. Part of it is that the silicone is very squishy, way more pliable than I was expecting – I can easily bend the toy into a 90-degree angle. This squishiness isn’t always a good thing – I’ll discuss that more later – but in terms of vaginal comfort, it’s definitely a plus for me. The Echo’s design is also fantastic in that the head is the widest part of it, at 1 ½”, and the shaft gets skinnier – so while I sometimes experience mild discomfort when initially inserting the Echo, it quickly goes away as my vagina takes in more of the toy.

The Echo has a flat, circular base which would seem to indicate that it can be used in a harness or for anal play, but I wouldn’t recommend it for either. As I said before, the silicone is very pliable – to the point that the base and lower shaft feel almost flimsy. This is especially true because of the cavity in the bottom that’s made to hold a bullet vibe. I wouldn’t trust the Echo to stand up straight in a harness or to avoid being sucked up into a butt… or even to be easy to thrust quickly, which it isn’t. Despite the fact that its base looks big, it’s just not up to the task.

As for the bullet vibe – I dunno. It’s okay. When it arrived, its watch batteries were already loaded into it, which made me wonder if it’s safe to do that (don’t they tell you to always remove vibrator batteries between uses, to avoid corrosion?). The bullet slides easily into the hole at the bottom of the Echo when lubed a little, and while it’s strong for a bullet, I don’t find that the vibrations add anything to my experience. (The bullet’s presence does, however, make the Echo’s base slightly more substantial-feeling and thus easier to hold onto.)

The Echo’s ridges are perfect. I’m normally not a fan of ridges, particularly ones that are packed close together and intense, but the ones on the Echo are fairly spread out and feel similar to the coronal ridge on a penis – i.e. not overstimulating, just nice. I used to classify myself as someone who just doesn’t enjoy ridges on dildos, but I think I have to give up that label now, because the Echo feels just grand in my pussy. And only one side of the Echo is ridged, so if I’m ever having a particularly texture-sensitive day, I know I can just turn it the other way for a smoother surface.

Also: its head is magical. Maybe it’s because it’s so big and rounded, or maybe it’s the soft silicone, or maybe it’s both, but the Echo’s head never hurts my sensitive cervix – instead, it strokes it, creating that divine anterior fornix stimulation that I thought only my boyfriend’s penis could adequately achieve. I can thrust the Echo deeper than I can insert any other dildo I own, and my pleasure-starved cervix and fornices enthusiastically thank Tantus for that.

Overall, I’m very, very pleased with my purchase. The Tantus Echo has some design issues that detract slightly from its perfection, but it hits all the right spots, feels comfortable in my smaller-than-average pussy, and is of the high quality I’ve come to expect from Tantus. If this dildo was a person, I’d buy it a bouquet of daisies, stare at its ripply muscles, and start to fall in love.