Review: Position of the Day Playing Cards

Since I received these Position of the Day cards, I've struggled with how to approach this off-beat review. I'll start with some pros: the deck features a lovely and humorous collection of sex positions, like The Second Interview (queen of diamonds), The Drop And Give Me 20 (4 of diamonds), and One Sausage Wrap, To Go (9 of clubs). For the most part the positions are doable. More than doable, positions are creative, and for the few I can attest to trying, pleasurable. A great gag gift for your Bachelorette girlfriend, Position of the Day cards cards easily transfer from a party favor to a fun little game in the bedroom. Go Fish for The Dirty Dip or X Marks the G-Spot.

Some positions I can't sign off on. The Gym Membership features the man below a barbell and the woman sitting on top of him, using gymnastics rings as leverage. Others, like the Pinwheel Stick, are more real but appear uncomfortable, difficult and overly ambitious. Nitpicky, I know, but how else can one review a deck of cards?

Consensus? Fun, festive and not so bad to have around the house for rainy red-wine kind of nights. Oh, and they look best on your coffee table.

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.

Review: Kinklab Neoprene Cuffs

My first experience with handcuffs in brief: painful scraping, paranoia over keys and their whereabouts, the inky smell of metal. Mind you, these cuffs were real police cuffs. Steel, double-locking, and hinged, they demanded a tennis-arm bend of the wrist to insert the key, and one more expert move to release the cuffs from an arm. Kinky, right? Closer to stressful.

But Babeland's Kinklab Neoprene Cuffs take the stress away, and leave the kink where it should be. The cuffs themselves are lined in neoprene, a synthetic rubber used in everything from wet suits to hydroponic gardening systems. Soft and pliable, the neoprene feels good against the skin, and quite comfortable as a cuff, almost like a woven bangle. For their outer shell, the cuffs boast a "wraparound velcro design," an easy way to keep the cuffs both structured when idle and functional to take on and off. Finally, the neoprene-velcro discs are held together by (nickel-free!) keychain hardware. This allows for the cuffs to be easily removed by another person, but difficult-to-impossible to remove by oneself during play. In short, the Kinklab product is ideal: no keys, no worries, no discomfort. Just cuffs.

The one drawback to this product is that the keychain hardware does appear a bit garish to the un-kinked eye. For a newcomer to this basic and mild form of bondage, seeing such a metal component may distract from their fun attributes and call attention to the act at hand. They are a step beyond the scarf, the ribbon, the more organic household item. But if you're ready for that, the
Kinklab Neoprene Cuffs are just what you need.

Review: Jimmyjane Iconic Ring

Product Review:
Jimmyjane Iconic Ring

Although the cock ring originated (purportedly) in 1200 AD constructed of goat's eyelids, it's iconic 2011 status is finally of elastomer--soft, hypoallergenic, phthalate-free. The cock ring has further evolved from a simple ring of fabric to be set on the base of a penis to a miniature pliable vibrating machine. Simple in purpose but complex in design, cock rings like the Jimmyjane Iconic Ring combine clitoral stimulation with sexual intercourse without intrusion. These kiddos are the best couples toy I'd recommend for light experimentation. They are safe, easy to clean and enhance a sexual experience without breaking the comforting intimacy of vanilla sex. Hey, we all like vanilla at the end of the day, right? Maybe with some chocolate chip cookies, though..

The Product Review:
Jimmyjane Iconic Ring is especially fantastic not only because of its malleable material but touch-sensitive vibration mode that responds easily with vibrations as it contacts the body. Another option lets you leave the vibrations on continuously.
I've had this ring for about six months now and its battery is still working great. This cock ring cannot be compared with the average cock ring that lasts for one use; as a hetero-couple toy, the Jimmyjane ring is the ultimate.

However, as a toy to maintain an erection or stimulate the perineum, this cock ring is not rigid enough nor built for that kind of play. This should also not be used for medical purposes (ED).

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.