vibrator

Review: Doc Johnson White Nights Super Bullet

Kate Sloan

When the folks at Sex Toys Canada offered to send me a bullet vibrator, I thought they meant something more like this – tiny, silver, cheap, one-speed. I was pleasantly surprised when, instead, I received the Doc Johnson White Nights Super Bullet, which is bigger than my hand, and as girthy as a rather gifted cock. It’s certainly a bullet, but not a run-of-the-mill one by any means.

The first thing that struck me about this toy, other than the unexpected size, is the material. The Super Bullet is made of ABS plastic, the same phthalate-free, silky-smooth material frequently used by Lelo. As a diehard Lelo fangirl, I found the choice in material very appealing, as it’s associated with luxury and pleasure in my mind. And, conveniently, ABS plastic is compatible with any kind of lube you choose to use with it, and can be cleaned with soap and water.

I encountered my first issue with the Super Bullet when I went to load the batteries. The battery compartment takes a few good shakes before it’ll slide out. The positive and negative indicators on the chamber are confusing, so I had to do some experimenting before I figured out the way the batteries need to be inserted (hint: the positive sides go where the springs are, despite what the little icons would have you believe). Line up the arrow sticker on the battery chamber with the arrow sticker inside the toy, slide it in, screw it on, and you’re good to go.

I believe my Super Bullet has a defect, which is that the on/off button doesn’t seem to do its job. It’s supposed to cycle through the toy’s three speeds and then turn the toy off when pressed a fourth time. However, no matter what I try, I cannot get it to do this. It went through the speeds when I first got it, but wouldn’t turn off. Now, it seems to be stuck on one of the speeds – I have no idea which – and I have to unscrew the battery end slightly to get it to turn off. Needless to say, this is a pretty annoying problem, but I’m told that it’s not normal for this toy.

That said, I can look past a vibrator’s flaws as long as it still vibrates, which this one luckily does. After all, even luxury sex toy company Jimmyjane has a toy, the Little Chroma, which has only one speed and needs to be unscrewed to be turned off – and this is marketed as beautiful simplicity. Having read that the Little Chroma’s intensity can be controlled by which part of the toy you apply to your body (with the motor, and therefore the highest level of vibration, being located in the tip), I decided to try out the same principle with the Super Bullet.

The trouble is, though, that the vibrations travel through the entire bullet. There doesn’t seem to be one particular part of the toy where the sensation is most intense. In fact, I can feel the vibrations in my hand as much as I can in my clit, regardless of placement or positioning. This leads to Numb Hand Syndrome eventually – not so fun.

The Super Bullet feels pretty good on my clit for a while, and it can almost bring me to orgasm, but not quite. I’m the type of girl who needs to bump up a vibe’s intensity as I approach climax, and with only one functioning speed, that’s hard to do. So clitorally, this toy has led to mostly frustration for me. (On the plus side, it is a fairly quiet vibe, so the only sounds to be heard from my bedroom were my groans of irritation.)

Vaginally, though, it feels damn grand. Indeed, when I told my boyfriend I was planning on trying out the Super Bullet internally, he said, “There’s no way that thing’ll fit inside you,” but with adequate warm-up and lube, it’s surprisingly easy to get it in – all five of its insertable inches. And once it’s in, it’s a wonderful complement to any clit play I do at the same time. Using my beloved Turbo Glider on my clit while the Super Bullet fills up my insides can lead to earthshattering orgasms, as my pussy muscles clench down on the thick, solid bullet. This also holds true when I use my boyfriend’s tongue instead of the Turbo Glider (if you’ve never had someone use a toy on you while going down on you, you are missing out on some seriously stellar orgasms!).

Overall, I’m not sure how I feel about my Super Bullet. It has more than its fair share of problems – controls defect, overly diffuse and not-quite-strong-enough vibrations, finicky battery chamber, and gets hot quickly – but it also has several features that I appreciate, like being waterproof, smooth, and the perfect size to entertain my pussy while I play with my clit. And there are some things about it that I’m utterly ambivalent about, like its removable wrist strap (do people drop sex toys so often that we need a strap to prevent this problem?). Overall, I think this toy would be a decent choice for a beginner wanting to test out vibrations for the first time, but a seasoned pro would risk frustration over the toy’s more problematic points.

Many thanks to the good people at Sex Toys Canada for sending me this toy to review! Your discreet shipping and marvelous customer service make me all smiley inside.

Review: I Rub My Duckie travel-size vibrator

Kate Sloan

Let me tell you the story of my very first sex toy.

Almost four and a half years ago, I was dumped by my first girlfriend. Despite the fact that our relationship only lasted five weeks, I was decently devastated.

Luckily, I had a new friend (soon-to-be-lover) who was sex-positive and cool and kind, and didn’t like seeing me sad – so she offered to take me to my first sex shop on the day of New Year’s Eve before we headed to our respective drunken parties. The idea sounded just cheery and fun enough to get me out of my miserable rut for a day. So we went.

Honestly, I have no idea how I managed to peruse the entire shop and still decide that the toy I wanted most was a rubber duckie vibrator. I’m assuming I chose it for reasons of discretion – youngsters shopping for sex toys for the first time will tend to go for something that their parents wouldn’t recognize as an implement of lust – but really, there’s no valid excuse. This toy is a joke.

In fact, the standard rubber duckie vibe must have done so poorly that I can’t even find it in most online toy retailers – I can find weird versions involving bondage, Paris, and even pirates, but not the plain one that I bought. I’m gonna guess this is because, if you have a toy that doesn’t work very well, you have to spice it up to get it to sell.

The I Rub My Duckie vibe has many downfalls, the most obvious of which is its shape. Upon showing it around to some friends at the aforementioned New Year’s Eve party, many of them asked the same question: “So, which part of it do you… use? The beak?” After rigorous testing, I discovered that the beak really isn’t ideal for clit contact at all – it’s hard, pointy, and awkward. Plus, who wants to feel like a duck is performing cunnilingus on you? Not me. (This is also why I never attempted to use the duck for internal stimulation – I just couldn’t stomach the thought of stuffing a duck’s head into my vagina. And it would hurt.) So most of the time, I used the tail of the duck on my clit, since that’s roughly where the motor is located anyway. Not that having a duck’s butt against your nether bits is much better than the oral sex scenario.

The other major problem with this vibrator is its controls. According to the internet, the duck now has three speeds which you can cycle through by pressing a button; this is not the way my duck operated. There was a tiny dial on the bottom, too small for even my eager adolescent fingers to properly manage, which you had to rotate to turn up the power. As someone who likes to slowly increase vibration throughout a session, I was not pleased with this system. I ended up using tweezers to work the dial, because it was just too small and tricky for my non-tweezer-sized digits.

Researching this review has led me to the discovery that, on top of its other issues, the I Rub My Duckie is made of latex, which may contain phthalates (potentially carcinogenic toxins). Fantastic. On the plus side, this toy is compatible with both water- and silicone-based lubes.

I can’t be entirely cruel to this duckie. There are a few good things about it. It’s powerful enough to get me off, and it did, on a multitude of occasions (though that may have been because, back then, it was my only vibrating option, whereas now, I have, you know, Lelos). It’s waterproof, which is fun because you could just keep it in your bath all the time and pretend it was a real rubber duck if you wanted. It’s a good size for travel (about 3″x3″), if you can evade questions from airport security about why you’ve got a rubber duck in your carry-on, you naughty thing. And it’s not too loud, so no one’s going to overhear your bath and think you’re having a little too much fun.

You may have noticed that much of this review is written in the past tense. That’s because, a few weeks ago, while doing a massive bedroom cleaning, I decided to get rid of my formerly beloved duckie. That should give you an indication of just how bad this toy is – I am the type of person who keeps things for purely sentimental reasons, and I couldn’t bring myself to keep my first sex toy. Not even just to look into its cute little eyes or hang out with it in the bath.

My Sexual Wishlist

Kate Sloan

We all have those things that we’re a little embarrassed to have on our Amazon wishlists, incase mom and dad have a peek to see what to get us for our birthday. Here are a few of mine.

1. Jimmyjane Form 2 – Despite the fact that this toy has some mechanical issues, it’s also supposedly very strong and effective – and it’s Jimmyjane, so it’s luxurious as fuck. I’ve wanted this one pretty much since I discovered it existed.

2. Jimmyjane Iconic Rabbit – I almost got this one when I was shopping for rabbits about a month ago, but then I read some reviews which said that the toy broke quickly and didn’t live up to expectations, so I bought a highly lauded Cal Exotics rabbit instead. Very much regretting my decision now. I mean, Jimmyjane’s toys come with a warranty, so if it broke, it could have been replaced. Hmm.

3. Lelo Siri – Is this the perfect clitoral stimulator to use during intercourse? Quite possibly. Every time I pick up this toy to examine it at a sex shop, I’m struck by just how small, portable, and adorable it is. And strong! I can so imagine this nestling between my body and my boyfriend’s while we go at it – and more importantly, I can imagine it actually getting me off in that situation, unlike a lot of distracting, weak toys I’ve tried.

4. Eroscillator – I think the wiring in my brain has been permanently shaped by all the time I spent listening to Sex Is Fun when I was 14. And part of that manifests as a pressing lust for the Eroscillator. It doesn’t vibrate, it oscillates – which means no nerve desensitization, which means I wouldn’t have to keep turning up the power constantly, and I wouldn’t have to worry about having subpar sex the next day. This toy is ugly as shit but I want it, dammit.

5. Impressions Love Paddle – I am, admittedly, one of those vanilla people who thinks she’s super awesome for occasionally venturing into mild BDSM territory. Whatever, man; I know I’m not the kinkiest person in the world, and I’m okay with that. But I bet I’d be even more okay with it if I had a gorgeous paddle like this, with which to get the word “LOVE” emblazoned onto my ass by my handsome lover.

6. Njoy Pure Wand – Many, many women have told stories of this being the first toy to allow them to squirt. Personally, I’m a bit mystified by the sight of it, but I’m sure that if I gave it a shot, I would succumb to its stainless steel charms.

7. Don Wands cobalt Bent Graduate – I am a fan of glass dildos. My first one was made of glass, and you always remember your first. This one looks like it would leave me panting and sweating… and it’s bright cobalt blue. Swoon.

8. Liberator Wedge – I always used to think that sex furniture was largely a waste of money, especially these Liberator shapes that look like you could achieve the same effect with a stack of pillows. But the thing is, I don’t always have a stack of pillows on hand, nor do I always want to take the 30+ seconds it takes to arrange pillows into a neat little pile that won’t topple when I lay my ass on it. I think the Wedge would be a great investment. Especially in this color. (Can you tell I love royal blue?)

Review: Orchid G-spot vibrator

Kate Sloan

I bought the Orchid a few years ago as my first foray into G-spot toys. At only $28, it was a steal for a toy with such a delicious-looking shape. When I found out I could get in turquoise (as opposed to dark purple), that clinched it – it had to be mine.

The Orchid is made of hard plastic, which some find too rigid for their pleasure, but I’m a fan of vibrators that don’t give at all – they give my clit the pressure it needs.

The Orchid has an egg-shaped head that’s made to press nicely against the G-spot. It does, once it’s in, but the entry is a bit of a bitch – that bulbous head never seems to agree with my vaginal opening. Lube helps, but it still feels weird initially.

The other major downfall of the Orchid is its very narrow neck. The toy is recommended by Good For Her staff as a great pick for beginners, but it’s not the best choice for intermediate to advanced G-spotters who may prefer a more filling sensation. The Orchid’s rigid, narrow body doesn’t satisfy my vagina, even while its head is doing a sweet number on my G-spot.

But – BUT! – the Orchid is great for clitoral stimulation! In fact, for at least a year, it was my primary clitoral stimulator. Since its vibrations are designed to penetrate thick vaginal walls, they are very strong and rumbly, just the way my clit likes ‘em. The head is a nice shape for sitting on top of the clit and curving around it a little bit. At its highest setting, the Orchid is more than strong enough to bring me to a roaring orgasm. I wish the toy’s control dial was easier to reach with one hand – I always end up having to use two hands to manage the Orchid, because I like to turn up the power throughout my use of it, which makes it difficult to handle a dildo at the same time.

This toy takes two AA batteries, which go into the twist-off battery chamber at the base. There’s a little rubber strip around the chamber which makes the Orchid totally waterproof – fun times in the bath, anyone?

Overall, I would recommend this toy to someone who wants to begin to explore their G-spot, or someone who likes a fair bit of power on their clit. It’s certainly not a perfect toy by any means, but it gets the job done, and it comes in pretty colors.