Iris by LELO

I bought the Iris vibe by LELO with the 30% discount offered by the "Sex Shop I Trust Promotion," and it is a very nice higher-end vibe that I think I'll have and use occasionally for years to come, but it's not all that I had hoped for.

I think that I am in the minority in saying that the Iris just doesn’t buzz enough for me. It buzzes somewhat more strongly than a typical, cheap, battery-operated plastic vibe, but I expected it to get even stronger. I wanted it to be "earth-shattering" on the highest setting. The low-level vibrations are a mild tickle, the mid-level intensity vibrations are great for a slow warm-up, and the maximum vibrations are enough to get me off, but not without wrist strain.

I just wish it packed more of a punch; if it could just take it up two more notches, it would begin to approach the Hitachi Magic Wand on low and take me to heaven. Alas, that’s not to be, and it’s quite hard on my hands because I have to apply so much pressure to really make the vibrations count. Also, I’ve found that if I push it hard against me from certain angles, the motor actually slows down—and I’m surprised to see that happen with such a high-quality vibe. I’m usually quite sensitive to vibrations; I think that my dissatisfaction with the vibrations on the Iris are primarily due to the fact that the shape of the shaft, whether inserted or held against my vulva, doesn’t fit me well enough to transmit the vibrations to the exact right spots. I imagine that it might vibrate better for the people it fits better.

The best thing about the Iris are the pulsating vibration settings. Two of the five vibration settings produce pulsations, which I love. And the final setting, with vibrations on at both ends, also has a subtle, pulsating feel to the vibrations. I find that simply resting the vibe on the outside of my pussy, inside of my underwear, with a pulsation setting while I watch or read erotic material almost effortlessly gets me revved up.

I do consider it a design flaw that instead of cycling endlessly through the five available vibration patterns, the “up” button will take you to the top of the list, and the “down” button will take you to the bottom, and no further. The “kill switch” is also a design mistake in my opinion. First of all, you can pretty much touch anywhere on the key pad, hold it for a few seconds, and turn it off. The four control buttons—“up” “down,"+" , and “-“—are indistinguishable from each other, and that can be a problem. Why is it a problem? Well, when you’re near orgasm and pressing down on the “+” button, you’re in danger of turning the device off completely. This has actually happened to me on several occasions. And, really, while a locking feature is brilliant, I wish it didn't activate by holding the buttons down for five seconds, often resulting in accidental and disasterously-timed shut-offs. Why can't the locking button be a separate, sliding button, like the one on the iPod? That way, you'd be much less likely to turn it off at an inopportune moment.

Also, am I the only one who thinks the “+” should be on the right side and not the left side? I keep making the mistake of assuming the “+” is on the right. Finally, I wish that the controls were placed elsewhere, perhaps on the rear of the handle, because they always seem to be in the way.

My vibe arrived in a beautiful black presentation box with a black satin storage pouch, thorough instructions, and a one-year warranty. (My box had been damaged somewhat, but I assume this was an abnormality.) It’s made of silicone (although the control base is hard plastic), so unless you’re willing to risk making the surface permanently sticky, use a water-based lube and not a silicone-based one (although some people have found that high-quality silicone supports silicone lube after testing patches, I’m perfectly happy to stick with water-based lube). You can sterilize the shaft with a 10% bleach solution. The fact that it’s rechargeable is a huge plus. Mine arrive semi-charged, and didn’t need the full three hours to be ready to go. The light signaled it was charged after about 30 minutes.

I was interested in the Iris because I thought it would feel divine inside, especially since it has two motors that make for both a vibrating tip and base of the stem. I had hoped it would approximate the sensations that a twisting Rabbit makes inside of you. But no such luck. First, it’s awkward shape and rather large size make it hard to insert; its shaft is oval-shaped and hard for me to insert unless it’s lubed up and I’m already quite turned turned on. Once I get it inserted, it can either feel too big and awkwardly curved, or, if I’m in the right mindset, I can appreciate how it fills me up and pushes against me in unusual places. But, mostly, I have ended up using it mostly for external stimulation as a result of the awkward shape and size, but size queens will probably like how the widest part of the oval stretches you when you insert it. Other toys in this line, like the Liv, have smoother and/or smaller heads that would probably be more pleasing to me. I debated between the two, and really regret not going for the Liv.

My lover, a Hitachi Wand fanatic, was not impressed, and found she could come more easily with a cheap egg/bullet vibe that made it easier to concentrate vibrations on her clit.