My Two Cents (From A Soraya Owner of 1yr)

Contributor: Galaxei Galaxei
Related to: 
(Sorry in advance for how lengthy this post is.)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents for those of you that are still contemplating purchasing the Insignia Soraya.

To date, the Soraya is the most expensive toy that I own. I don't generally splurge on toys. But, the Soraya definitely checked off all the requirements I was looking for in a dual-action vibrator -- rechargeable, waterproof, ergonomic shape, strong vibration strength, quietness. So, I figured it was well worth the investment. A year later, the Soraya is still arguably my favorite toy that I own. I want to emphasize that. However, there are certain flaws that have appeared over the course of a year that I wanted to share with you.

(The following are listed in sequential order in which they occurred.)


Gapping between metallic inlay and silicone.
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From the pictures, this gap is really hard to notice. However, it became more apparent even after the toy was used once. The toy's materials (ABS plastic and silicone) are very hygienic and easy as ever to clean. Yet, the tiny crevice created where these materials join together is an entirely different story. It is nearly impossible to clean this crevice. The only thing I've found that works slightly is a thin, folded piece of paper to force out some of the debris. But, don't expect any amount of soap and water to clean this crevice. This can be especially problematic if you intend on sharing your toy. I, personally, do not share my toys. But, even still, this became a little disgusting after a while.

Flaking of the metallic coating on the plastic.
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After about 6 months, I noticed a small area where the metallic coating began to flake off of the plastic, revealing a not-so-shiny white plastic beneath. The area was very tiny and perhaps not so noticeable. But, given how much the toy costs, occasional use and a cleaning of warm water and soap should not be able to flake the coating off, in my opinion. It also concerned me that the toy could possibly continue to flake off when I was using the toy.

Hole formed over charging port.
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Perhaps one of the most innovative things about the Soraya is that the toy is rechargeable and waterproof. There is a tiny pinhole in the silicone that you puncture the cable through in order to charge the toy. Yet, the pinhole is so tiny that water will not get inside the toy. Unfortunately, after about 12-15 charges, that pinhole was no longer a pinhole. Over time, tiny pieces of silicone began to fragment off where the cable had punctured. The hole, while arguably still very small, became large enough for water to get inside of the toy. It was from that point on that I didn't trust the toy as being waterproof anymore. I also had to be a lot more cautious washing the toy to make sure water didn't get inside.

Motor malfunction.
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This happened about 8 months into owning the toy and I still have no explanation as to what happened. The toy reached a point where, as long as it had some charge to its battery, there was no way to turn the toy off. Even on its lowest setting, it was operating on some sort of sub-setting that was below anything the keypad could control. There was no way to turn the toy off. No minus of the arrow would turn it off. The keypad didn't even recognize the toy as being on at all. I could turn it up. But, I could never turn it off. My only option was to wait for the battery to die completely. Then, it would finally stop vibrating. As soon as I'd go to charge the toy, within a millisecond of connecting it, the motor was locked on again with no way to turn it off. It was an endless, annoying cycle. I eventually got fed up with this and took advantage of LELO's 1-year warranty.


From the minute I purchased the Soraya, it was like an investment for me. And once I received the toy, I always took excellent care of it. I always monitored the toy when it was charging to make sure it didn't overcharge and fry the battery. The toy was always thoroughly cleaned with soap and warm water. When not in use, it was stored in its original boxed packaging. All in all, the issues were mostly cosmetic. Yet, these issues led to problems with the overall function of the toy. Luckily, these issues happened sooner than later and I could take advantage of the warranty for the motor issue. I think I would have been a little more than irritated if I was only left to the 10-year warranty (which only gives you 50% off a new LELO toy).

Regardless of all of these issues, the Soraya was still the best toy I had ever purchased (when it was still functioning properly at least). All of my expectations were met and it was exactly what I was looking for. My point of writing this review is not to deter you from purchasing the Soraya. Chances are, it will be your dream toy. However, I wanted to inform you on the potential flaws of the toy. (This is to say that not everyone will have the same issues I have had.) Given the price and investment of the toy, I know many of you are going through the same intense decision-making process that I did. So, I just wanted to give you my two cents after owning the toy for a little over a year now.

Hopefully, you all will find at least some of this helpful. If you would like my feedback on anything else about the toy, I'd be more than happy to help.

Happy shopping!
01/08/2012
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Contributor: Coralbell Coralbell
You should turn this into a review!
01/08/2012
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Coralbell
You should turn this into a review!
I definitely agree!
01/09/2012
Contributor: unfulfilled unfulfilled
I agree that you should turn this into a review.
01/09/2012
Contributor: MelSC MelSC
Agreed with all of the above. I think it would be a very helpful and informative review for people to read.
01/09/2012
Contributor: Galaxei Galaxei
Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback! I definitely wouldn't mind making it into a review. I'm sorta new to the whole review process (never written up one before on this site). So, I just wanted to write up something quickly since I did return my Soraya recently and it seems that the public interest in the toy is still there. I'll try and write one up as soon as I can.

Thanks!
01/09/2012
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
Quote:
Originally posted by Galaxei
Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback! I definitely wouldn't mind making it into a review. I'm sorta new to the whole review process (never written up one before on this site). So, I just wanted to write up something quickly since I did ... more
No problem! If you want any help with anything, I'm more than happy to give an opinion on how you're doing so far
01/10/2012
Contributor: calliope calliope
I think you should to thanks for the info
01/27/2012
Contributor: lunanoir lunanoir
Quote:
Originally posted by Galaxei
(Sorry in advance for how lengthy this post is.)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents for those of you that are still contemplating purchasing the Insignia Soraya.

To date, the Soraya is the most expensive toy that I own. I don't ... more
About the point that charger hole stretches which may cause Soraya to be no longer be waterproof:
according to Soraya manual by LELO, "without the silicone skin, the product is still waterproof up to 1 meter."

So no worries! Your Soraya will still be waterproof even if the hole doesn't close fully!
02/09/2012
Contributor: Lizzy Lizzy
Fair assessment. It's important to have this as a review. Do it!
02/09/2012
Contributor: Missmarc Missmarc
Quote:
Originally posted by Galaxei
Hey everyone, thanks for the feedback! I definitely wouldn't mind making it into a review. I'm sorta new to the whole review process (never written up one before on this site). So, I just wanted to write up something quickly since I did ... more
You had it for a year and was able to return it? Did you get a refund from Lelo? Or are you getting a new one because the motor malfunctioned?
02/09/2012
Contributor: LoveDove LoveDove
Thanks for telling us this! I always wondered how that "poke a hole in the silicone" thing worked out. Clearly...it doesn't.
02/10/2012
Contributor: ~LaUr3n~ ~LaUr3n~
This is amazing! I wish there was a template for follow up reviews that allowed us to fill in info like this!
02/10/2012
Contributor: bunniebunnie bunniebunnie
This is great. Was planning to invest for this one but thanks to you I'm going to look for another one.
02/15/2012
Contributor: charletnarouh charletnarouh
Great info. The gapping between the silicone and the peeling coating on the plastic are major turn offs for me with this line of products. But I continue to hear great things about the Soraya.
02/15/2012
Contributor: Various Various
Great info!
03/09/2012
Contributor: Galaxei Galaxei
Quote:
Originally posted by Missmarc
You had it for a year and was able to return it? Did you get a refund from Lelo? Or are you getting a new one because the motor malfunctioned?
Up until the point that the motor issue happened, I had owned my Soraya for about 8 months. I was able to take advantage of the 1-year warranty because of the motor malfunction. The 1-year doesn't cover anything cosmetic. So, had the motor issue not happened, I would not have been able to use the warranty.

One thing that I found interesting is the charger. When I originally purchased my Soraya, the outlet end of the charger was a thicker, rectangular piece of black plastic with a green light on the top that indicates when the toy is charging. When they mailed my replacement, they gave me a completely different charger. It was a lot smaller and thinner (appeared to be more flimsy/cheap, in my opinion) and no longer had a light on the top. It was still two-prong like the original one though.

I don't know if LELO changed their charger since I originally purchased mine or if they accidentally mailed me the wrong charger (they shipped my replacement from China). I'd be curious to know what the charger looks like for those that purchased the Soraya recently. But, so far, I've had no issues with my replacement Soraya.
03/10/2012
Contributor: Galaxei Galaxei
Also, thank you all for such the positive feedback! I'm glad that many of you found my points useful. I've been really busy with life in general lately and have not had time to write up a formal review. But, I promise it's on my agenda.
03/10/2012
Contributor: jprince jprince
Quote:
Originally posted by Galaxei
(Sorry in advance for how lengthy this post is.)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents for those of you that are still contemplating purchasing the Insignia Soraya.

To date, the Soraya is the most expensive toy that I own. I don't ... more
turn this into a review
03/10/2012
Contributor: Girly Juice Girly Juice
Honest reviews from experienced users are incredibly useful. Thank you!
04/26/2012
Contributor: Woman China Woman China
I have the Isla, and it is one of the worst toys I own because of all the problems the original poster had (excluding the motor). I actually encourage friends to pick up a Jopen product because of all the lovely features.
04/26/2012
Contributor: bh253 bh253
Quote:
Originally posted by unfulfilled
I agree that you should turn this into a review.
Yes!
04/26/2012
Contributor: GRIND GRIND
Thanks for the info.
I was deciding between this and the jopen vr12, I think I'll go with vr12.
05/08/2012
Contributor: Ropey Ropey
Thank you so much!! This should definitely be a review!!! This toy is on my luxe wish list, now I'll definitely have to reconsider!!! Thank you again!!!
05/08/2012
Contributor: junnebug97 junnebug97
Thanks for the info!
05/08/2012
Contributor: roskat roskat
Great post. There's some serious issues for people to consider before buying the Soraya.
05/08/2012
Contributor: msdeadhead129 msdeadhead129
Quote:
Originally posted by Galaxei
(Sorry in advance for how lengthy this post is.)

Just wanted to throw in my two cents for those of you that are still contemplating purchasing the Insignia Soraya.

To date, the Soraya is the most expensive toy that I own. I don't ... more
wow thank u for the infooo=]
05/20/2012
Contributor: amazon amazon
Indeed. The comments are great!
06/03/2012
Contributor: alittlebit alittlebit
Thank you so much for this. You should really make this into a review. One of the downsides to the review program is that a lot of people write their reviews immediately after receiving the toy, and even the follow up commentary is usually short and only a few months later. I think information on long time owners of toys is really important and awesome!
06/03/2012
Contributor: sexykiss sexykiss
thank you for sharing
06/11/2012