Tristan - butt plug by Vixen Creations, Inc - review by Brian

Tristan is designed to be used by both males and females for use during intercourse, oral sex, manual sex or masturbation. In addition, Tristan can also be used for long term wear. It may need to be worn with some sort of form fitting underwear (tighty-whities for us guys, a normal pair of panties may work for a girl and a g-string may be even better) to prevent it from slipping out though.

I think Tristan's best use is for stretching out for a larger toy or anal sex. The reason for this is that its large neck really stretches you out but because of the soft silicone is still pretty comfortable.

Due to its long neck, Tristan is also pretty fun to use as a kegel exerciser because as you squeeze and release it actually moves the plug inside of which can feel pretty good.

One thing I've noticed with the Tristan is that because the silicone is so soft, you can actually push on the center of the base even when it's already all the way in and push the silicone up a little bit more. I was hoping this would make it long enough to reach my prostate but unfortunately it's not

Tristan is made out of 100% pure silicone, which is great for a number of reasons mentioned in the care and maintenance section. This was my first chance to try out Vixen Creations silicone and I must say I was quite impressed by it. It's much squishier than Tantus' silicone, which is who most of my silicone toys are made by. It's very easy to bend. Here is a picture I took with only light pressure applied.


I did not smell any sort of scent when I first pulled it out of the packaging. After my first use with the Tristan I thought I smelled a little bit of a lingering smell from use but after subsequent washes I do not smell any lingering scents.

My Tristan is purple. The pictures of the Tristan make it look very dark almost black looking. This is not the case. A much better representation of its color can be seen in the photos of the Tristan 2. It's a little darker than that but has the same type of swirls and is fairly nice looking.

The texture of Tristan is very smooth with no texture or seams to cause any discomfort. It does, however, seem to attract lint even more so than my other silicone toys which is a bit of a pain. This is easily remedied with a quick wash under faucet before use though.

When I first got the Tristan I thought, "Wow that thing is a lot smaller than I thought". The width of it looks about right but the length is pretty short. The only photo on Eden that gives you any semblance of how little it is, is the one with it next to the apple so keep size in mind. Here are some measurements I took of its dimensions:
Base Length: 3"
Base Thickness: 7/16"
Base Widest Point: 2"
Base Narrowest Point: 1 and 9/16"
Neck Diameter: 1 and 1/16"
Neck Length: 1.5"
Head Diameter: 1.5"
Head Length: 1 and 5/8"

Overall I like the design of the Tristan. I do wish its neck was a little thinner or the head a little bigger though as this would help aid in retention but other than that it's a very good plug.

One thing I noticed is that one end of the base is actually thicker than the other. You can see this in Eden's pictures as well. I was also told that the black version's base is a little bit thicker than the purple one, which is part of the reason I chose the purple one so keep that in mind.

1st Performance:
My first time using this toy was in a bath tub, where I was able to relax from the warm water. Insertion was easy and painless with no pinch. I had a full feeling once inserted but it was pleasant.

2nd Performance:
This time I got a chance to use it while receiving oral sex on our bed. I wasn't as relaxed as the first, insertion but it still wasn't painful but not very pleasurable inserting it either. The main thing was once it was in, the stretching feeling was not very pleasant. This went away after a little while though. This was used the day after the previous and I may have still been stretched from before as it kept wanting to slip out. I pushed it back in 2-3 times and then finally put my legs together to hold it in via the base. I have a hard time orgasming from oral and this can cause my wife's jaw to get sore. The Tristan plug helps me reach orgasm faster and provides another source of stimulation that allows me to shift what I'm focusing on from one area to another which I enjoy doing and helps get me off quicker.

Silicone is a non-porous material which is defined as: "not permeable to water, air, or other fluids". This means a couple things. First a little bit of lubricant will go farther than on a porous toy because it's only having to cover the surface of it not the holes. It's also easier to clean because you don't have stuff getting stuck in tiny little holes like you do on a porous material. For regular cleaning, when the toy will only be used in one person's butt, soap and water are perfectly adequate and make for a quick cleanup. If you are sharing any toy, however, you should either cover it with a condom or sterilize it (if the material permits it).

Toys made from 100% silicone are sterilizable either by soaking in a 10% bleach solution or boiling in water. The packaging that came with the Tristan mentions boiling it for three minutes.

Toys made from silicone may react to silicone lubes and are thus not recommended for silicone toys. If you still want to use a silicone lube, it is recommended that you do a spot test on it (with butt plugs the bottom of the base is probably best for this) and see if it reacts. Even if it doesn't react, it's likely that it will be much harder to clean so keep this in mind.

Silicone toys can also react to other silicone toys, so it's best not to store them touching each other. I store all of my toys in individual plastic bags which helps keep things neater and avoid having to worry about this.

Tristan comes packaged in a cylinder shaped container with the toy loose inside capable of shifting around. Since it's not fragile like glass though, this isn't an issue. Inside there is a note from Tristan Taormino the designer of the toy. I did like that the packaging had some brief care instructions about boiling it with a specific amount of time given (3 minutes) as I've always wondered how long to boil it for.

So I had originally planned for this to be a three way review between the Tristan, the Ace Plug Royal and the Ace Plug Small. Unfortunately there is not currently a system in place for this type of review and so I am providing my comparison here. I recommend you check out my other two reviews here: Ace Plug Royal and here: Ace Plug Small vs Ace Plug Royal (Large) to fill in some of the content I had to take out because I'm limited to 7000 characters in this section.


Uses:
As far as uses goes, the Tristan plug has all the same uses as the Tantus Ace Plugs, however each plug has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Intercourse:
1st: Ace Plug Small - it is easy to get in but is still big enough to provide additional stimulation.
2nd: Tristan - it is still fairly easy to get in but has a habit of wanting to pop out making it more difficult to use
3rd: Ace Plug Royal - Due to its large head and pointy base this plug isn't as well designed for intercourse

Oral Sex:
1st: Tristan - While it does have a tendency to want to slip out, it also provides more stimulation than the Ace Plug Small and is still pretty easy to get in
2nd: Ace Plug Small - This is a tough one since the Ace Plug Royal feels better but I don't use it often during oral sex because it takes so long to relax to get it in.
3rd: Ace Plug Royal - I love this plug but it's a little too much work most of the time

Manual Sex / Masturbation: (My wife doesn't really do too much with her hands so I'm clumping these together.)
1st: Ace Plug Royal - The Royal is a great plug for those times when the focus is just on you and you have a lot of time to relax which, at least for me, means its great for masturbation. The pointy edges don't bother me either in my most common position (on my back).
2nd: Tristan - If it wasn't for the fact that this toy is too short to reach my prostate, it might be really close between this and the Royal. Overall, I would say this is still a pretty good plug for masturbation just not as good as the Royal
3rd: Ace Plug Small - Here its small size is a negative and leaves me wanting something more. It is a good warm up to larger toys during masturbation though.

I think both the Tristan and Ace Plug Small could be used as long term wear plugs. I still don't see the Ace Plug Royal working out as a long term wear plug due to its uncomfortable base.

If you are looking for a plug to stretch out for either a larger toy or anal sex all three of these will work for that purpose. I would rank them as follows.
1st - Tristan since it has the largest neck diameter this plug will stretch you more than the others. Its soft silicone makes it a comfortable stretch though
2nd - Not far behind the Tristan the Ace Plug Royal and it is also a pretty good choice for this
3rd - Due to its smaller neck diameter, the Ace Plug Small is not as well suited for those wanting to warm up for anal sex but may still be good for warming for a larger toy


Material:
Even though it’s thicker than the Ace Plug Small, the Tristan is actually squishier than it. The Ace Plug Small has some bend to it as well but not as much. The Ace Plug Royal has pretty much no bend or squishiness to it at all.

All three plugs seem to collect lint like crazy although the Tristan seems to do this just a little more. The Tristan did not have any smell or taste to it when I got it while the Ace Plug Small I reviewed had a slight scent when I first got it.

As far as texture goes, they are all smooth and have very little texture to them. They have no seams along the sides although the edges of the base on the Ace Plug Royal are too pointy for me.

Of the three I would say I like the Tristan's color best.


Design:
Comparing the measurements makes them seem pretty similar, but combined with the difference in the hardness of the materials it makes a big difference. Here are some photos of all three of them together to show you their differences visually:

Side view 1
Side view 2
Top Looking Down
Three plugs base comparison

You'll notice that the base on Tristan is actually close to if not bigger than the Ace Plug Royal. You don't have to worry about it being uncomfortable though as the silicone is a lot softer than the Ace Plug Royal and hasn't bothered me at all.

Performance:
3rd Performance:
For my third performance, I finally got the chance to try it with the Ace Plugs in the same session. I also used the Tantus Ryder as well to give a comparison as far as neck length.

As far as insertion goes, I would say that the Ace Plug Small and the Tristan are pretty similar with the Ace Plug Small being a little bit easier merely because of its smaller diameter. The Ace Plug Royal is more difficult because of the stiffer material and the bigger head (1.65" Ace Plug Royal vs. 1.5" Tristan).

If I'm very loose and relaxed all three of these plugs are comfortable inside me once inserted. In this case I would rate the Ace Plug Small most comfortable, the Tristan 2nd and the Ace Plug Royal last because of its pointy base. If I'm not relaxed however, only the Ace Plug Small is really comfortable at first. It usually takes 2-3 minutes for my muscles to relax to the stretching of the Ace Plug Large and the Tristan.

As I said, I also tried the Tantus Ryder to compare how the difference in length affects them. While the Ryder is actually longer than the Tristan and Ace Plug Small, it's neck is actually quite a bit shorter which causes it to have what I call the "locking effect" where once it's in it doesn't move at all. The Tristan has the second shortest neck but it actually has a pretty decent amount of room to move inside which I like. It's not as much as both Ace Plugs but due to its increased diameter (like the Royal) and shorter neck (like the Small) it creates a somewhat different sensation than the Ace Plugs. I still like the sensation of the Ace Plug Royal the best since it can rub my prostate but all three toys in this review feel pretty good.


Packaging:
Of these three toys, I like the packing on the Ace Plug Small the best (Here's the Ace Plug Small and Tristan packaging side by side). While it takes up a lot of space, its form fitting design lets you know it was built for it specifically and it just looks nicer to boot.


Care & Maintenance:
All three of these plugs are made from pure silicone which as far as care and maintenance goes make them identical.