Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I love oral sex. Now, you’d figure that’s a given, but I have met many women who say they can take it or leave it. I’m told that I should accept this as their preference, but it is not mine. I like the feeling of tongues, which can be pointed and hard or broad and soft, against my clit and between the folds of my labia. Oral sex is awesome, and I hold my breath, almost afraid to break the spell, as I wait for whoever is between my legs to make contact with my body and claim it in the name their tongue.
Yes, I know this is fucking cheesy, but there is nothing quite like oral sex, which will invariably end with me grabbing the back of your head and grinding my cunt against you until I come if you’re done at least a halfway decent job and if I want to get off.
So the idea that a toy mimics oral sex is something like the holy grail for me. It has to provide pinpoint sensation like the tip of a tongue. It has to be something I can get pressure from through grinding. And, no, I don’t want a disembodied head. At least, not for orgasmic purposes. To put it bluntly, an oral sex simulator has big shoes to fill, and no one’s gotten it quite right yet.
However, Lelo wants us to forget that others have tried and in quite similar ways to the Ora. You see, this little vibrator is basically the SaSi by JeJoue with a few refinements and a small size. I actually like the change in size, functions, and build, but that doesn’t negate the fact that the idea is not new.
Oral Sex.. from a Toy?
Like I said. This toy is quite similar to SaSi. So the Ora is a round-ish toy with one flatter end where the ball is. The oral sex part comes from a rotating “marble” or ball bearing beneath a thin and flexible layer of silicone. When you press this against you, it’s supposed to feel like oral sex. When the ball moves, it pushes the silicone up out of the little valley where the ball mechanism is situated, and the ball itself extends a little higher than the sides of the valley.
The rest of the toy is covered with taut silicone and is very similar to many of Lelo’s other toys. It reminds me an awful lot of Alia, but it’s definitely bigger. This is good. Alia was too small to insert your fingers to grasp, but Ora works just fine.
There are three buttons, the same as the Insignia line, embossed into the silicone. Let me say straight out that I hate these buttons. My fingertips might not be very sensitive, but I can never differentiate between the buttons to find the one I want, so I always have to pull the toy away from me and change it. I don’t like toys that do this. The Form 6 is similar but the buttons are further apart, which means I can figure out which is which. Lelo really needs to ditch this three-button-in-silicone design. Like now.
The buttons work in an interesting way. The + and – buttons do exactly what you think. The center button cycles through settings, but it also increases vibration strength if you hold it for 3 seconds. After doing this, you get a steady vibration boost kind of like the Boss. The difference between the boost and not boost is noticeable, both to my ears and clit. In fact, the boost actually feels deeper and stronger. The boost stays on if you turn the toy off and back on again. I think this is a bummer. It’s like toys that start on High. Why would you do this to us, why, Lelo?!
The settings are as follows
Ora’s protruding ball
- Vibration, ball moves in a circle
- Ball moves in a circle with no vibration
- Ball moves in back and forth U motion
- Ball moves in U motion, vibes pulse
- Vibes pulse, balls moves in circle
- Ball moves in back-and-forth C shape (to the side), vibration repeats a slow escalation
- Vibes do the same escalation, ball moves in a circle
- Balls moves in C shape, vibration does an escalation + pulsation pattern
- Ball moves in circle, vibes escalate and pulse
- Ball moves in circle, long pulse
Unlike the Sasi, Ora allows you to have both the movement of the ball and vibration. There’s a setting where just the ball moves, but you don’t have to pick or choose. You can have both. The downside is that whenever vibration is on, the ball’s movement is a little less intense. This is to be expected and could possibly be minimized with a larger ball. Read more on that below.
So, I like the boosted vibration, but I actually like some of settings, which might very well be a first for me. I always, always, always discounted silly pulsation and escalation, but the later settings with an interesting pattern combination both feel good, and during the vibration’s pause, I can focus on the movement of the ball. This is pretty much a first for me. I do tend to return to steady vibes during orgasm time, but that’s about it.
Because the Ora is more narrow, it fits between my labia better and I get more direct contact with the ball. SaSi was kind of a letdown when it came to this. I had to hold my labia out of the way. The ball being in the “dimple” means that the rigid shell meets my labia, and this provides the pressure that I like. Yes, I can ultimately grind against the Ora, and I got off with it this way.
SaSi also couldn’t take a lot of pressure. While placing more pressure on the ball used in Ora is going to slow it down and you’ll hear it strain, I couldn’t force it to completely stop with my hand while I was trying. Of course, I imagine this stress would make the toy wear out faster, but it’s good that you can get a little pressure without the enjoyment coming to a screeching halt.
Speaking of audible noise. You’ve got both a mechanical wine due to the ball bearing and the sound of vibration. This is louder than a bullet vibe and Siri, for example. But it’s definitely not the loudest toy I own.
Room for Improvement?
There’s no doubt that Ora does this better than any other toy I’ve had. But it’s also not something you’d confuse with a real, human mouth and tongue. The mobile ball beneath the thin layer of soft silicone just doesn’t protrude enough. It could be a little larger, given the shape and size of Ora. or Lelo could go back to the drawing board and come up with something a little larger for a much larger toy. Either way, I’d love for it to extend past the edge of Ora and make better contact with my vulva.
Even with lube, the texture isn’t exactly human. A heating element might change things. I don’t think this is particularly realistic, given the size of Ora, but it’s a thought.
I don’t necessarily love the rounded shape on the other side. Perhaps it wouldn’t bother me as much if the buttons were easier to find and differentiate. It doesn’t cramp up my hands as much as most, but keeping my fingers inside the loop doesn’t feel natural, either.
The Standard Spiel
Yes, this is made of silicone. Use high-quality silicone or water-based lube. Wash with soap and water. Be careful of the charging port. There’s nothing to cover it and while technology works wonders, I’m still wary of open ports. Plug it in and charge for a couple hours to power it. Silicone picks up lint, as you can clearly see in my photos. It comes with Lelo’s box, warranty, and a storage pouch.
Final Thoughts
Essentially, this toy is less-than-perfect but allows me orgasm and enjoy sensations. That doesn’t typically happen. Orgasms are hard work. They’re about release, not pleasure. I can get both with Ora. It’s not necessarily easy, but it happens.
I think Ora will get a fair bit of use from me, but I will likely keep reaching for my old stand-bys when I want to get off quickly.
Categories: Reviews, Vibrators
This was a post that I thought of not too long ago. It struck me that most single people use condoms as both birth control and to protect against sexually transmitted infections, but my case is a little different.
