Nexus G-Rider

November 10th, 2009

Nexus G-Rider

Nexus G-Rider
$105.00 from TabuToys

Generally anchor shaped, the Nexus G-rider reminded me a bit of the triple stimulator I had a while ago but, while the stimulator was dinky and annoying, the G-Rider should come with a warning:

“Caution – Dangerous Curves!”

Okay, so maybe not dangerous but painful? Yes. Definitely painful. Very much so.

I’d leave it at that if I were a crappy reviewer, I’d leave it at that but I’m not so here’s the deal. The G-Rider is a small, insertable vibrator with a base which tapers on each side to offer external stimulation as well. Overall, it’s quite small, especially compared to some of the ginormous rabbits I have. On TabuToys, it’s listed as a G-spot toy and it doesn’t seem a stretch. The insertable shaft has an extremely unique shape (as do all Nexus toys, it seems) with bulges and curves.

Unlike the tiny Swinging Pendulum, it’s made of hygienic silicone and the insertable part is seamless and velvety smooth. It feels great to the touch. On the bottom is the cap to the battery compartment and it’s relatively flush to the toy but there are some seams and cracks there. It’s also not the most secure battery compartment ever. I wouldn’t even call this splashproof so be careful when washing. A wipe or spray would be best.

The sides of the base, one which is perfectly smooth and the other which has nubs, do have some flexibility which I like. However, there is much less flexibility in the shaft and head of this sex toy. The pink silicone can be twisted a bit from side to side but the head only has minimal range of flexibility bath and forth. I know that many women need firm stimulation but it felt nearly rock hard when I tried to insert it. Although the head seems small (it’s 1.34″ diameter is smaller than the widest part of the shaft), it bends at just over a 90 degree angle which means insertion is tricky (and gives, then it has to be maneuvered behind and around the pubic bone, if used vaginally.

This is really where the toy failed for me. I used some lube but insertion was painful. I added more lube and it didn’t help at all. There is no way a head bent that far, with so little flexibility was meant to be inserted into my vagina. Plus, once it is inserted, the rest of the bulgy shaft is around a stiff core which makes the shaft just had to manage, despite the fact that it’s not really huge. The widest part of the bulge is about 1.4″ in diameter. Furthermore, because my G-spot is rather shallow, the angle of the head meant I couldn’t use it comfortably like I wanted. If I inserlit and, then, it was generally pleasant but no where enough to get me off. The other pted the toy further in (with the head dragging against my sensitive flesh painfully), it was able to stimulated me enough to squirt but it hurt the whole time.

Because of my unique proportions, I couldn’t really get the base to work for me, either. I had to have the 4″ shaft inserted fully for the nubs to reach my cart of the base sort of floated in the air, making no contact with my perineum at all. Of course, were the head not bent so much, I’d have only two inches inserted at most and it still wouldn’t make contact with all parts.

So, much to my chagrin, the G-Rider had to come out. With more painful dragging, like I was hauling a dead body over rocky terrain, I extracted it. It hurt every minute. While I usually try to give toys a couple go ’rounds, there was no part of me that wanted to go through that ordeal again.

Which leads me to the last point I will cover. Powered by 1 AAA battery, the G-Rider is not the strongest toy I have ever used, of course. The vibrations are relatively mild in strength but are not super high pitched. Nothing that will blow your mind, but overall quite pleasant. It’s pretty easy to use. There’s one button to push one and cycle through the settings; hold it to turn off. The settings, on the other hand, are just confusing. There are 5 and they are all some sort of variation on pulsation and escalation. Don’t get me wrong, they’re unique but they all sort of blend together and having 5 of them is overkill. It’s hard to tell where one ends and one begins. Not having at least one steady vibration mode is a bad idea, in my book. Plus, some of them seem like the toy is actually cutting out; which it actually does if it’s bent or at the wrong angle. I’ve read about it on other reviews

I cannot help but wonder if the G-Rider by Nexus is better used as a prostate toy. I’ve read reviews of it where it was and they are more positive than my experience has been; I certainly wasn’t taken for a pleasurable ride. Although higher quality than similar toys, the G-Rider seems to be quite buggy in execution. If this toy is truly meant to be a vaginal toy, it’s much too hard to be shaped as it is or perhaps much too bulgy to be hard. Bad, Bad Girl wrote a review which highlighted some of the same criticisms I have. G-Rider? I think not.

3 Comments

Categories: Reviews, Vibrators

Decadent Indulgence

April 30th, 2009

Decadent Indulgence
$96.66 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

Years ago, before we were concerned with safe or environmentally friendly materials in our sex toys, we focused on function alone. The toys which were best loved, like the Decadent Indulgence, came with a high price because they performed so admirably and, even though it may now be considered inferior by some, there were hordes of women who were singing their praise for this rabbit style vibrator. Despite the fact that I have tried more than my share of rabbit vibrators, and I usually find a fault, I knew it was my responsibility as a reviewer to try out one of the Decadent Indulgence vibrators. I went with the original because it’s the original for a reason, right?

Back in my early days of sex toy exploration, people raved about the Decadent Indulgence. I never once read a bad review. Women wanted to marry it, despite the fact that it cost over $200. Today, this rabbit vibe costs only a fraction of the price at just under $100. Some wonder if a toy which is made of only TPR is really worth the price but I have to tell you, it’s not the material that will blow you away! Powered by 4 AA batteries, the original Decadent Indulgence is pretty much a powerhouse of vibration and rotation.

Let me back up a bit. This pink rabbit vibrator by California Exotic, as mentioned, is made of TPR over a rotation shaft and beads as well as a bullet in the humming bird shaped clitoral attachment. The box claims TPR is “hygenically superior” but not only is it spelled wrong, it’s just wrong. Pure silicone or even a silicone composite would be better if hygiene is your concern. Also, considering the stiffness of this material, it wouldn’t make much difference if it were upgrade to silicone. In fact, that is my one major complaint about the Decadent Indulgence. The wings and beak on the humming bird are cute and vibrate loosely when the clitoral stimulator is on but they’re rather thing, pointy and sharp. It’s not something that bothers my hands but I found use of the clitoral stimulator to actually be painful unless I was firmly pushing the bullet against my clit so that those appendages were more stationary instead of vibrating freely against me. Because my use of dual stimulators tends to focus on clitoral pleasure, this is a big issue for me. I really wish there were no protrusions at all, just a TPR-covered bullet.

There are two controls for the functions, one for the vibrating hummingbird and one for the shaft/bead rotation. I always prefer separate controls for shaft rotation and beads so I would like to see that here. The buttons are not the hard-to-press digital kind; they are easy to find and press which I like. In fact, they might be too easy. I hadn’t realized there were 8 levels for each function because the “ultra sensitive control pads” tend to increase 2 or 3 levels at a time. There is also a button in the center which switches modes from basic vibration and rotation to a slower pulsation and back and forth rotation and then a must faster mode. The mode applies to both functions so the rotation and beads occur at the same speed as the pulsation, resulting in a more profound effect than if they operated at separate modes. Overall, the combinations are endless.

I found the vibration to be adequate but the increases were more of speed than size, as is typical with bullets of that size. What I really liked were the pulsation modes. They were incredibly strong, almost too strong at some points, and not at all like the high frequency pulsation of other vibes which left me wanting. Even as I lay thinking about how the beak was painful, the pulsation led me orgasm. It was really the first orgasm I had without even trying and that was vibration-induced alone so it was something of a milestone even if it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. If that doesn’t say something about the value of this toy, I’m not sure what can.

For once, I quite enjoyed the rotation of the shaft. The 3 tracks of 3 beads each move in the same direction and at the same speed as the shaft and were noticeable but the overall effect felt like there was only one internal function. The rotation was also rather powerful and stood up to clenching but it was hard to tell if both the shaft and beads stood up to my muscles or if it was just the shaft or beads. Either way, I have had few rabbits which stand up at all to clenching so it was nice.

One of the things I especially like about rabbit vibes is how they hug my pubic bone and the Decadent Indulgence did a decent job. The TPR, while pliable was stiffer than some jelly I have experienced, and helped with this. I wouldn’t complain if it was a more snug fit. The bullet seemed to be a little further away from the shaft than in some rabbits I have used, resulting in a clit stimulator which is a bit too flexible. I found that in order to place the bullet as high as I like on my vulva, the beak was simply in the way, poking at my mons, and the shaft did reach a little further than I like but this was less of an issue than the beak.

A few other thoughts on this toy. The TPR will attract a little lint and has a slight rubbery smell but it’s really not offensive. The battery pack is closed with a slide-on cover which doesn’t seem super secure. This toy should not be submerged an this warning can be found on the bottom of the box along with a reminder to only use water-based lube. However, TPR should be safe with both water or silicone based lubricants so I am not sure why this would be the case.

In the end, I loved the functions of the Decadent Indulgence. The pulsation truly lived up to the name of this toy. However, I could really do without the painful clitoral stimulator. California Exotic does have a lot of toys with similar functions so I will definitely keep my eye out for something that has all the strengths of the Decadent Indulgence without the bite.

7 Comments

Categories: Reviews, Vibrators

Image © MisterUnlucky; used with permission.