AUTOSTRADDLE ANONYMOUS SEX TOY REVIEW #46:

It’s our 46th Autostraddle Anonymous Sex Toy Review! Over the last few years, sex toy companies and stores have propositioned us to review their toys in exchange for, you know, their toys.

This week, two of our anonymous reviewers tried out the We-Vibe 4, available at Lovehoney.

• Material: medical-grade silicone
• Color: pink or purple
• Size: 2.9 inches long, 1.2 inches wide, 1.6 inches high
• Price: $160

The We-Vibe 4

The We-Vibe 4 is marketed as a couple’s vibrator, which in this case means that a person with a vagina can wear it during sex for hands-free G-spot and clit stimulation while leaving room for penetration.

Two anonymous reviewers discussed the We-Vibe 4 over email and g-chat. Though we were both initially excited about the toy’s concept, neither of us was impressed with the execution.

Reviewer 1: To start, I was mostly into the We-Vibe 4’s hands-free vibrator element, both during sex but also especially while walking around. I mean, I had visions of wearing it while my girlfriend had the remote in her pocket and having her able to control it while we were out in public or driving or something, and also of wearing it during kinky scenarios and being similarly at her mercy.

Reviewer 2: The big draw of the We-Vibe 4 for my girlfriend and I was the idea of wearing it during strap-on sex. We really enjoy strap-on sex already but were looking for something to pleasure the strap-on wearer even more. I also like scissoring with a vibrator between us, and this one seemed perfect for that. Also also, the idea of wearing it secretly in public intrigued me as well, but let’s just say it’s not great for that.

Reviewer 1: Was it not great for public things because of the fit? Or another thing?

Reviewer 2: It was so loud! But also the fit. It slipped out of me. The flexibility of it was too tense and it wouldn’t just stay open.

Reviewer 1: YES. As if the tension of the little connecting middle bit was too strong.

Reviewer 2: Yeah, exactly!

Reviewer 1: Also we are both kind of small people, I feel being a not-as-small person would make it even worse.

Reviewer 2: Yeah, for sure. That’s a really good point.

Reviewer 1: But also, even though it wasn’t flexible enough, it seemed it also wasn’t tight enough where it needed to be. Maybe it would have been better if it worked less like tongs and more like pincers? I mean, how did you find the placement?

Reviewer 2: The inside placement wasn’t long enough. I feel like the designer was like, “This will hit the G-spot!” but didn’t think of it staying inside. The outside bit was a good size and hit the right place, though.

Reviewer 1: Even with a strap-on forcing it deeper, it still kind of missed inside for me. It also just kept falling out — when I tried wearing it for kinky activities when nothing was really holding it in place, if I walked around, or when we moved too enthusiastically with the strap-on.

And even though the outside hit my clit, I found it too bulky during penetrative sex, though that might have been my activity partner’s harness and dildo placement. I mean, when I first saw the toy, I assumed you were supposed to use it the reverse of how it’s supposed to go, because having something more minimal outside makes sense to me.

Reviewer 2: I thought you used it the opposite way, too! I was so confused as to why the buttons would go on the inside.

Reviewer 1: And why the front wasn’t long enough.

Reviewer 2: Exactly.

Reviewer 1: Let’s talk more about strap-on sex!

Reviewer 2: It wasn’t terrible inside a RodeOH.

Reviewer 1: “Wasn’t terrible”?

Reviewer 2: My girlfriend loved wearing it during strap on sex, to be honest. The “wasn’t terrible” were her words when I just asked her how it fit inside with the harness and dildo, but that could just be the RodeOH because the o-ring is a lot higher up. And we used a softer silicone dildo, no hard parts at all. What kind of harness were you using?

Reviewer 1: Spareparts, also a soft one and with a slightly lower o-ring placement than the RodeOH, but with the Outlaw. I was wearing it to receive, and the room issue was because the Outlaw’s base is bulky, which means there’s not a lot of room for anything else down there, even if part of the vibrator is actually inside me.

Reviewer 2: Ohhhh, that makes sense.

Reviewer 1: But the We-Vibe made the cock vibrate, which was cool for my girlfriend.

Reviewer 2: Totally! I liked that a lot.

Reviewer 1: That part actually felt way more “natural” than usual, which I liked. Instead of holding a vibrator to the base of a dildo, the We-Vibe just worked all on its own, though it wasn’t as strong as the We-Vibe Tango held outside against the base.

Reviewer 2: Yeah, I wasn’t even planning on that kind of vibration happening but I liked the effect a lot. It kind of got overwhelming for me, though. I guess I’m sensitive when it comes to pubic bone bruising or whatever, but it seemed to be kind of brutal afterwards when I was the one being fucked with the We-Vibe in as well.

Reviewer 1: I found that too!

Reviewer 2: Oh good! Or bad. But I’m not alone!

Reviewer 1: Not even at all!

Reviewer 2: And I haven’t tried the We-Vibe Tango, but I didn’t like the range of vibration intensities the We-Vibe 4 offered. It started out as way too much and then it wasn’t enough. It was just very middle of the road. I was not impressed.

Reviewer 1: I loved the Tango. It’s my go-to and absolute favorite vibrator, and I paid actual money for it and would do it again, even with a short battery life. But that just made the 4 that much more disappointing. I was expecting the same thing, but hands free, and instead I almost couldn’t tell the difference between the three levels of intensity. I didn’t really use the patterns because I find them distracting, how were they?

Reviewer 2: There was one pattern that kind of revved up that I really liked when masturbating. But mostly they were just distracting during partner play.

Reviewer 1: Yes, agreed. I found that it didn’t seem to stay in place when masturbating, and stopped using it positioned as it was supposed to be and just held it against myself, which was fine but unremarkable.

Reviewer 2: Yep, completely. I had to hold it. I also had a ton of trouble getting the remote to sync.

Reviewer 1: YES. I am very glad that wasn’t just me.

Reviewer 2: I thought I was just dumb.

Reviewer 1: Me too!

Reviewer 2: I had to like hold the remote right next to it and hold the power button at the same time and think happy thoughts.

Reviewer 1: And even then I bumped it a few times during sex and had to do the whole thing over again, which was not orgasm-conducive.

Reviewer 2: RIGHT? Super frustrating. Also, the remote did not work through clothing or legs.

Reviewer 1: Or from more than about a foot away.

Reviewer 2: Yep.

Reviewer 1: I ended up using the interface on the toy instead, and even that was less than ideal, in the way that having to fiddle with buttons with a thing vibrating against your clit is always less than ideal.

Reviewer 2: Exactly! Talk about a mood killer. I generally find remotes annoying and fussy though. And I always get lube all over them and then can’t operate them anyway.

Reviewer 1: That was a definite problem. I like remotes because I can, as a glasses-wearing person who doesn’t usually wear glasses for sex, usually see them better, but in this case that did not offset the user hostility.

Reviewer 2: Ohhhh that makes sense.

Reviewer 1: Was there anything else you noticed we should talk about?

Reviewer 2: The noise was super loud. We do not live alone, so we can’t use it if our roommates are home. I really like the feel of the silicone, honestly. It has a nice hardy feel, like it’s not going to break in the middle of sex. And the charging dock looks futuristic as hell.

Reviewer 1: I really liked the charging dock! It was probably my favourite part. But we tried the toy in a hotel room and it echoed.

Reviewer 2: Hahaha, that’s super funny. Way to be low key, We-Vibe.

Reviewer 1: Oh! Did you have any concerns about a silicone toy used in conjunction with a silicone dildo? (Obviously water-based lube is important.)

Reviewer 2: Oh fuck, I didn’t even think of that. Will they mess with each other?!

Reviewer 1: I assumed they would not, and according to a sex educator friend and one sex shop I just called, silicone toys are okay to use with other silicone toys. No matter what, water-based lube is essential.

Reviewer 2: I think my final thought is that this toy is great in concept and I’d like to see a We-Vibe 5 that takes these kinds of concerns into mind with its design.

Reviewer 1: I agree. Reading reviews of previous models, it seems like they’ve come a long way, but I’d want to see it be a lot better before trying another one, especially given how expensive it is.

Reviewer 2: Especially when it comes to queer couples. Like it could be a great toy for queers, you know?

Reviewer 1: I know! I mean, queers are all about hacking the sexual experience to improve it and make it even more awesome.

Reviewer 2: I love me some hacking of the sexual experience.

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