Dr. Laura Berman's Thor - realistic vibrator discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by Jill Ingoff

I think this toy would make an excellent gift. While not discreet, it is gorgeous and includes all the things a girl (or guy) could want in a vibrator - a beautiful and fun color, great material (TPR), unique and stimulating bulged head, velvety texture, waterproof, suction cup base AND it vibrates! With not one, but a few different speeds. Thor certainly covered all the bases on my checklist and I just had to check it out for myself.

I don't think this toy is for beginners, it's got a bit too much going on and might be complicated to use for some who want a simple vibrator to start out with. Thor's head is bulged in a unique shape (with swirls!) and I was definitely drawn to that shape. The bulged and swirled head is great for clit stimulation and g-spotting. The velvety shaft, which I thought might be a bit too big at first, feels wonderful. Since it's waterproof, you can use it in the shower or bath without worry.

Thor is made of TPR. I have one other toy made of TPR and I LOVE this material. It's easy to clean, hardly any smell (this is important to me) and feels velvety soft. It doesn't attract lint or hair either, another plus! When I pulled Thor out of its clam-shell package, I immediately noticed a candy-like scent. I thought the toy was scented at first! It was a pleasant smell, not chemically at all. Kind of like Skittles or Smarties. The smell does fade with each wash and becomes completely unscented.

Upon use, the velvety material does drag slightly, even if lubed up. (I'm wary of velvety material because I need a ton of lube to get going but this was not a problem for me.) The material is firm, not very flexible and I love touching it. It's definitely firm enough to get the job done while thrusting or riding it. I think the texture would please everybody, except those looking for a totally smooth toy for hard and fast thrusting - like a hard glass or plastic toy. If you're looking for a floppy jelly toy that will bend and jiggle easily, Thor is not it.

I haven't tasted this toy, but I imagine it wouldn't have one. The bulged head and the swirls on it offer pleasing stimulation to the clitoris. The remote has the same velvety feel to it as the toy and is made of hard plastic.

Thor is free of Phthalates, Hypo-allergenic and Latex-free. TPR is less porous than Cyberskin but more porous than silicone, so condom use is recommend when sharing. TPR toys cannot be disinfected with boiling water. You can wash them with warm water and toy cleaner or mild soap. TPR is safe for use with silicone and water based lubricants, but on Thor's packaging it says to only use oil and water based lubes. I love my silicone lubes and abhor water-based so I was disappointed with this.

Nevertheless, I decided to play guinea pig and test out my silicone lube on the balls of this toy. There was no chemical reaction that I could see, but the lube just kind of absorbed into the material and there was no slip and slide action that I'm used to with silicone. Maybe the chemical reaction was happening inside me, but I, my vagina and the toy are perfectly fine so far - although I've resigned myself to using a water-based lube with Thor. My oil based lube also absorbed into the toy and did not lend itself to 'happy fun time' for me and my toy.

The Thor is such a fun toy to look at. If I got this as a present, I would *squeel* at how adorable it is and how many useful features it offers. I love that this toy is purple and kind of looks like frosted glass, so you can see the bullet working inside. It's definitely a toy I'd gift to a good girlfriend.

Unfortunately for me, what I didn't realize when I picked it out was that the shaft curves down, as in, not up and down straight. It reminded me of my first boyfriend who had a curved shaft and we were forever trying to find the right angle for thrusting so he didn't cause me any pain. I'm sorry to say that Thor definitely did cause me pain while trying to use it. I was sorely (pun intended) disappointed, since the maker (Dr. Laura Berman) is supposed to be some sort of expert on female sexual health, intimacy, what women want in sex toys and whatever else her PR team claims - I figured she would have some knowledge about what would feel awesome in a sex toy, since she designed this one.

There was a bit of a learning curve (ha, no pun intended!) in using Thor. I tried to fit it in (once I got past the bulging head - which I will discuss next) and I had to angle it up so it went in smoothly. I tried turning it around and that didn't work for me either. The firm material doesn't allow for much movement in the toy, so it was just uncomfortable.

I definitely had problems with the head, ugh. It's bulged, sure, but not in a round way that mimics a penis, like other bulged toys. It has a uniquely shaped head which again, I'm sorry to say, I did not like. I have a lot of bulged toys but this was too painful for me to use the first few times I tried. The head feels an entire half an inch bigger in circumference than the shaft and while some might really enjoy the initial stretch going in, I didn't. Because the shaft curves down and the head has more of a bulge swirling back (and not forward, towards your g-spot) it just felt like uncomfortable pressure was in the wrong place. I figured turning it around and having more of the swirling 'bulge' hitting my g-spot would be better, but I couldn't fit it in that way due to the inflexible curve in the shaft.

Regarding its size, I'd say it's an excellent size for everybody. The girth (minus the head) was the perfect size - not too thin, not too thick. Some might enjoy a longer length (6 and a half insertable inches) but I thought it was perfect too. It has swirls on the head and one round, slightly raised swirl going around the circumference of the toy, just under the head. I definitely enjoyed that extra stimulation and think others will too.

The toy is easy to hide in a drawer and it's smaller than some of my other toys, but I don't think it's discreet or suitable for travel. It's screaming purple with a remote attached - not something I'd want to leave out on my nightstand or carry around with me during travel.

The cord placement of this toy is genius. It's unique in that the wire connects to the bullet by the side instead of the base. Someone should win an award for it. It's supposed to be arousing to look at (according to Dr. Berman) since you can see the bullet working inside through the frosted-glass like material but I didn't really pay much attention to it. I'd say I find it interesting instead of arousing.

The remote control was annoying. The buttons can get stuck. I had to push on them half a dozen times to get them to work. The screw bottom base of the remote is annoying too. It took me a second to find the teeny tiny battery instructions when inserting the batteries (they both go in different directions). I screwed the cap on tightly, like the instructions said but it didn't work. So I unscrewed it a quarter of a turn and it worked fine. The next time I used it, I screwed the cap on the remote all the way again and it worked. Each time I use the toy I have to waste time with the batteries and buttons. It's annoying but not enough to merit taking a star off Thor's rating.

The vibrations and pulses are lovely but it could always have more. I only use two of them (the quick pulsing and continuous vibration.) The others are variations on pulses and I'd like to see more variety in continuous vibrations. I love to use fresh batteries with Thor to ensure maximum vibrations. I did try out not so fresh ones and the strength in vibrations was too weak (in my opinion). With fresh batteries, this toy gives off 'medium' vibrations.

The toy does sound noisy. It's not one of those toys marketed as 'discreet' that give off strong vibrations without any noise. Even with a heavy blanket over me I could still hear it and if it was resting on my thighs (like when I'd just leave it in and use my hands elsewhere) it sounded louder. Using it with the (useless) suction cup and standing upright, the noise was about the same. I left it on in my room and went outside and listened through my door and heard nothing, so I'd say it's quiet enough to use in a dorm room or with roommates around. Also, I couldn't feel the vibrations while it was all the way inside, standing upright. That was a serious disappointment.

The suction cup was near useless. It does stand upright when suctioned to the floor but with 5 minutes of use, it pops up. I had to take a star off the rating for that. I tried to suction cup it to the wall for some action from behind but it fell off instantly. I was looking forward to some hands-free action with Thor so this was really disappointing for me.

Thor is waterproof, which is another perk, but the suction cup was useless so I didn't use it in the shower. I did immerse it in water for a good cleaning and it passed the test.

Store this away from your other toys! I didn't bother (and read the instructions too late) and now there's a soft, dime sized spot on my toy. I think it was touching a silicone toy in my drawer and started to melt in that one spot.

This toy was very easy to clean and the instructions said you could use alcohol on it but I just used soap and water. I even used an abrasive dish soap (just to see if it would disturb the material) and it was totally fine. It washed up easily, but I've found that some bits of fluid can get stuck and dry in the swirly head of the toy so make sure to scrub it well.

The instructions say to tightly secure battery case to operate (it's mentioned twice) and to remove batteries when not in use. The package also comes with a small leaflet all folded up and encased in plastic. It's actually a vibrator instruction manual in French, Italian, English, German, Spanish and Dutch. The print is very tiny and if you use reading glasses, you'd need them.

An interesting note from the instructions re: the battery compartment:
"Make sure to pull the contact points out gently." - I didn't do this as I didn't read the manual until now, but that might help with the finicky control panel business.

It also says not to mix up new batteries with old ones.

Thor comes in a clamshell plastic case without any cheesy picture on the front. It's just a plain purple package that says Dr. Laura Berman (with a tiny picture of her) Intimate Basics Thor 4-function Dong.
It also has a waterproof logo on it, a phthalate-free logo and one that says i4-levels of stimulation which refers to the vibrations and pulsations.

This toy would make an excellent gift and has a lot of instructions included in the package.

Overall, I was disappointed with this toy. I mean, I'm still going to use it but it definitely needs some improvement! The curve and bulged head just didn't work with my anatomy at all. I did get some orgasms out of it, so it's not unusable. I couldn't take a star off the design of the toy because I truly think it's my anatomy working against it - the second time I used this toy, it made me bleed. BLEED. It hurt that much, even totally lubed up. (Am I an alien? What's up with my vagina and this toy?) I originally wanted to title this review "I Want to Punch Dr. Laura Berman in the Face" but felt that was perhaps a violent and inappropriate reaction.

I wanted to give this 3.5 stars but since there are no half-stars, I rated Thor a 4 out of 5.

[edited after review was published, to add another experience]

Okay, so after dumping approximately an ounce of lube on the toy and trying it out again, the suction cup kept failing on me. So while the damn swirl at the top was no longer such a painful issue, fiddling with the slipping suction cup made the toy too much of a hassle to use upright. I'll keep my rating at 4/5 stars.