Smooth vibrating glass - glass vibrator discontinued by Don Wands - review by Luscious Lily

The Smooth Vibrating Glass is a streamlined phallic-shaped traditional vibrator made with an outer layer of glass covering the entire insertable portion. The hard materials from which it is made transmit vibrations very well, leaving the vibrations quite strong when they emerge from the glass shell. The power is strong enough for those who like strong vibrations and smooth textures externally. The range of gentle to strong vibrations will cater to all but the most sensitive clitoris and vagina. The head ridge is pronounced enough to stimulate the g-spot, if you can get the vibrator angled right.

One should note, however, that this is a girthy vibrator. The diameter of the shaft reaches a maximum of just under 1.5 inches, while the head ridge tops out at just over 1.5 inches. Because it is made of such a rigid material, it feels significantly larger than softer toys of the same diameter. This is not a toy for beginners; it would be most enjoyed by those who like thick, smooth, completely rigid toys.

The Smooth Vibrating Glass is a simple plastic vibrator covered in a 1/8" thick layer of glass. This changes the way the vibrator feels, transmits vibration, and responds to temperature. The glass layer is, like all glass, free of taste and scent. It is a smooth glass with no texture other than the ridge at the head and above the handle, and a contoured "V" at the "underside" of the head. The vibrator can be warmed or cooled in a bowl of water for temperature play, but it reaches body temperature much faster than solid glass pieces.

The glass shell transmits vibrations much better than I predicted it would. I expected it to dampen the vibrations, or at least make them very high-pitched and buzzy, but neither happened. The vibrations are transmitted quite well through the glass, retaining a great deal of power.

The Smooth Vibrating Glass is a simplified penis-shaped traditional vibrator with a stylized head and shaft. The whole thing is smooth glass, making this thick toy glide more easily. The most significantly felt part of the design is the ridge behind the head. It's big. It's abrupt. And it is going to make sure you know it's there every time you move it around inside. For those of us who enjoy pronounced heads on our insertables, this is a great feeling. For those who don't, this may be distinctly uncomfortable.

After that very pronounced head, the shaft tapers back out to about 1.5", then back in slightly to the ridge at the base. This is definitely a toy more geared towards intermediate to advanced users, between the girth and the thick ridge at the back of the head.

This is in no way a discrete toy. It looks like a glass and plastic penis. It's stored in a poofy pink padded bag. It all but screams "I'M A SEX TOY!" Especially while in the bag that comes with the vibrator, it's not a toy you can just shove under a pillow to hide. It would also probably not be the best toy for travel, as there are enough metal pieces to set off metal detectors, and I don't know how that glass-over-plastic design will fare in the pressure and temperature changes in the luggage compartment on a plane.

The vibrations that reach you through the glass are strong and deceptively deep: there's just enough high-pitched buzz to catch me off guard, and then WHAM! The orgasm comes roaring in out of nowhere. The vibrations are strongest in the head, and seem to be about equal across the surface from the ridge to the tip. The vibrations are slightly less strong across the rest of the shaft, but they suddenly reduce to almost nothing behind the base ridge. This helps prevent numbing of the hand, which is a definite plus!

The control is a single push button on the base of the vibrator. It doesn't look like your standard soft push button at all, more like an odd nub of plastic. I might never have realized it was the control if I hadn't noticed that it was labeled "VIBRATION" in little letters around the button. It presses easily, making changing settings with a single lube-covered hand a breeze, but the button is recessed into the base so that you aren't as likely to push it by accident. It clicks very firmly, so you know beyond a shadow of a doubt when you've pressed hard enough. The whole button set-up left me very impressed, except for the lack of a dedicated off button.

The vibrator is marketed as waterproof, and indeed it is. The one catch is that you must tighten the cap very firmly to compress the O ring enough to keep water out of the battery compartment. You sort of tighten it until it feels closed, and then you really push to tighten it a bit farther. It's not hard to do unless you have reduced strength or flexibility in your hands. The vibrations aren't damped (no pun intended) when under water, and even on the highest setting it's almost silent, even if you're standing next to it. I left it submerged in the sink for about 10 minutes, and no water got inside the battery compartment. I did notice that after using it in a hot bath and opening it in my cold room, there was a little condensation on the batteries. If you're going to be moving this between rooms with large temperature and humidity differences, it's best to open the battery compartment and remove the batteries first.

The function list on this is impressive. It has eight different functions, three steady settings and five long, varied patterns. The three steady settings are the first in the lineup, but they are arranged backwards from the way other vibrators have them: the strongest vibration is first, with the next being medium, then mild. It is a strong toy, so even the lowest setting has power to it. For the very sensitive, the mild setting may be as high as they want to go. As for the pattern settings, there are no simple Fast Pulse or Slow Pulse patterns. These are long patterns that go between different pulse powers and durations to steady vibrations on different levels.

Because of the glass sleeve, this is a very easy toy to clean. You can wash it with soap and water, use toy cleaners or wipes, or disinfect it with 10% bleach. It's compatible with any lube you care to use. Because its so slick, a little water based lubricant is all this one usually needs. In the shower, though, water-based and hybrid lubes rinse off in seconds, so silicone lube is a must. How thoughtful of Don Wands to have included a sample packet of Wet Platinum silicone lube! It works very well with the glass, and I found that I didn't need all of the packet to get things going.

While it is safe to leave this vibrator touching other toys, it could crack or chip while rolling around in your toy collection. Don Wands takes care of your storage worries for the glass by providing a thick, pillowy drawstring bag for the vibrator. Mine arrived with the stuffing smooshed all to one side, but it was easy to pull it around so that the vibrator would be protected on all sides.

The packaging was very simple, and much less wasteful than that of many companies. It is a tube of clear recyclable plastic, with a few paper inserts and some staples to hold it together. The only part of the packaging that wasn't recyclable were the two stickers on the plastic, one with the barcode, and one with the words "Vibrating Glass". While it's not an elegant gift box or a storage container, it uses as little plastic as possible to contain the vibrator and thick bag.

The Vibrating Glass toys by Don Wands are very similar to their Treeze line, with one notable exception: where the wooden sleeves twist off so that the vibrator can be replaced, the glass sleeves are glued in place. The idea of only having to replace the vibrating part when it died, instead of the whole toy, is one that I really like. Vibrators all die eventually, but who wants to have to replace the expensive sleeve when all that's broken is the vibrating part?

Hopefully, Don Wands will soon be upgrading the Vibrating Glass line to screw-in vibrators, so we can continue to love our vibrating glass friends even longer! For now, we are stuck with glued sleeves. Occasionally a faulty one slips through quality control, and the glass sleeve comes off. Don Wands would do well to replace their current adhesive with something like superglue, which worked well to reattach the sleeve of my first, faulty smooth vibrating glass.