Review: RO-120mm Bullet Vibe

This review has been a long time coming. After receiving the toy in July, misplacing it in August, needing a battery recharge that fell to the back-burner in September, failing at photographing it beyond reasonable measure (so shiny!/when is my studio arriving?) I finally spent enough quality time testing, so here goes!

Babeland's RO-120mm Bullet Vibe gets four stars. With a smooth feel, metallic look and extended shaft (5"), the RO-120mm doubles as a dildo. While I prefer the traditional medium or high vibration settings, some might be intrigued as well as satisfied by one of its two vibration patterns: low to high or pulsating. Though I initially want to knock the toy for shortness of battery life (first dead after 10 uses), its life source is easily replenished with just two AAA batteries.

Easily the best feature of the RO-120mm is how quiet bullet remains--no matter what setting! Even when on high, the buzz stays at the whirr of a table fan and becomes undetectable hidden under your bedcovers.

The only truely troublesome feature of the RO-120mm that I've encountered is its on/off toggle. Instead of just pushing the top button until the vibe returns to an off setting, one must twist the top to misalign two small hash marks. I found this slightly annoying in the heat of action, but most alarming when relating with the longevity of the toy. On several occasions, I found matching up the etching ("power on") a failed activity, which worried me that the product might have broken! Even more, sometimes moving the top cap to power on makes disconcerting cracking noises, again contributing to a possible short lifespan for one RO-120mm.

In (Drug)Stores Now: Vibrators

Though covered by every news source from the New York Times to KCRA Sacremento, the arrival of vibrators to the Family Planning aisle of various drugstores still finds me ecstatic. Thus—here I return, Blogland (and Babeland), to chronicle this important change happening amongst what feels like a war on reproductive policy.

A girl's first vibrator is like her first cell phone: socially liberating, battery-powered, and, of course, a bit private. To many young women unsure of how to masturbate—let's face it, our anatomy is a little confusing!--that vibrator opens up doors to a sexuality previously unknown. As female masturbation instruction pioneer Betty Dodson says while recounting her first vibrator experience in the '60s, “It used to take me 20-30 minutes to come...[but with the vibrator] it is like 'woah,' and of course, I have an orgasm, and another one and another one... Women say, 'oh well I could never use one of those i'd get addicted!' Yeah, do it get addicted. Its not fattening, it isnt illegal, it doesn’t cost much, and after you buy it its good for as long as the motor—well, these things last much longer than a relationship.”
In other words, a vibrator makes clitoral pleasure easy; for me and many other women, vibrators taught us how to orgasm and how to be comfortable orgasming in front of a partner.

But what to do when you are under eighteen, can't risk an internet order on mommy's credit card or even stoop, or are fearful to walk in the only sex shop downtown that's covered in fluorescent lights flashing “LIVE NUDES”? A vibrator box manhandled by post-glory-hole truck drivers just doesn't seem to sit well on a nightstand next to Their Eyes Were Watching God...

Enter Rite-Aid; Walgreens; CVS; even our local Duane Reade. Trusted contraception companies such as Trojan, Durex, and Lifestyles are now placing $20-$40 vibrators models on drugstore shelves, under product names like the “Allure,” “A:muse,” and “Tri-Phoria.” The development, endorsed by both doctors and influential entrepreneurs in the sex industry such as Babeland's own Rachel Venning, brings liberation as well as fear to everyday shoppers. Though spokeswoman Vivika Vergara refers to the products as “tasteful, responsible merchandising,” in a “comfortable setting,” sources like Newsweek dub drugstore-priced personal sex devices the “Red Light Special.” All in all, however, controversy surrounding this development has oddly been at a minimum. I guess even the men pouring their pockets into anti-Planned Parenthood bills respect the toys that keep their wives happy after a long day at work. Who could blame 'em? Marketed by Trojan (below) for masturbation as well as fun with a partner, Betty Dodson's words ring true: “yeah, do get addicted.”

Returning for 2011!

Hello all! Although I'm sure my blog has far fewer readers than my column, I've still neglected you guys since november! Who would have thought working a 40 hour week and juggling a second blog (rufflife) could be so time consuming. My apologies for hoarding three babeland toys for review, a masturbation study, and the rest of my ambitions. Here goes a little bit of a start, nearly in time for February.


Product Review: Butterfly Kiss

The Butterfly Kiss, a bright pink TPR (thermo-plastic rubber) specimen, was mailed to me in early November. At first glance, the silicone-like three inch-stature with its overtly feminine jutting limb (butterfly!) came off--actually--intimdating. As a user primarily, er, solely, of clitoral-only vibes ("buttons," "pocket rockets," the like...), Butterfly's wavering cock head solidified by its rubbery base promised not only clitoral stimulation, but that of the g-spot: a realm I had yet to venture. Would such a thick (1 3/4") intrusion upon simple pleasure be welcomed?

In one word, yes. Butterfly's easy, pliable construction made for comfortable insertion during clitoral stimulation. While I found internal vibration slightly strange, the butterfly and its wings, reinforced by three levels of power, caused enough pleasure to distract from new (and a bit unsettling!) feelings. Before I knew it, all three areas (g-spot, labia, clitoral hood) of stimulation were increasingly pleasured, in sync. Only one more thing made this toy better: it is very quiet (and discrete!).

The only thing I would change about Butterfly is the butterfly itself. The minute climax has been reached, I find myself thinking, 'What the fuck is this magenta-ass-butterfly doing near my vag?" Truly. It's a bit too girly for my taste. But for $17, a great alternative to the more pricey dual-vibes like the iconic Rabbit.

Product Review: Climax Pop Vibrator

I am no at-home vibrator expert. I know what all the crazy vibe/dildo combos potentially do; for example, the rabbit stimulates your clitoris while simultaneously pressing on your gspot through vibrations on several levels, including pearls on the shaft. I know what it means for a vibrator to have greater strength than another, or what the difference between a silicone and plastic vibrator might feel like. But, in my short lifetime, I've only owned three: two of which don't classify as anything beyond pocket rockets, and one which has been my sole proprietor to cater to any animalistic needs.

My sole proprietor, which I will name, uh, Odysseus, for the purposes of this review, is a medium length (4") bright orange plastic rod with four miniature metal rotating balls stationed at the top on a circular plane. The metal spinners take the brunt of the batteries' power, acting as a pulsating unit to titilate the hood of clitoris. The power of its double A is strong and loud. An apartment with thin walls is Odysseus' antagonist.

Enter little Blue, who I will now (ironically) refer to as Charybdis. He is less than 3" long with a spherical top (pictured above). He is silicone, waterproof, and powers on with those little buttons our posterity might stick in their hearing aids. Though soft, supple and discreet compared to the cacophony that is Odysseus, Charybdis loses his strength through the thick walls of the silicone. He is merely a pop dominated, at least in my corner, by his predecessor Odysseus.

And yet, Charybdis must not be discounted from the general market. He or any of his brethren (he comes in pink, orange, and Charybdis blue) might suit a clitoris-clad body not used to the pumping waves of Odyseus's buzzer, or a fresh perineum. His calm demeanor, classy small size and cute figure could be a welcome addition to any bedside drawer, especially for a vibrator rookie. In short, I would recommend the Climax Pop to anyone looking to try a vibe for the first time or looking for an easy travel companion. If a Climax Pop goes off spontaneously in your dresser, no one but the panties (and a garter or two) will know.

You can purchase a Climax Pop for an easy $15.00 at Babeland.