The Ryder is made by Tantus, the same people who made my first silicone dildo. These toys are quality and so I trust them enough to go condomless. For me, that's the ideal of a toy: I can do anything to it besides silicone lube, including dishwasher and shower. It feels off-puttingly sticky when you first get it, but don't be alarmed. All silicone has a tackiness to it unless it's lubed, and you will never use it UN-lubed.

I suppose you could use it vaginally, too, but since I wanted a dedicated anal toy, I didn't try. While it can technically be sterilized, I would still be hesitant to share a toy between orifices without protection.

This is a good all-purpose toy, not too big and not too small. It's an amazing pearly purple color. It has a deliciously round, fat tip (kind of like a cock, my other favorite thing in the universe) for that initial stretch, and is smooth thereafter. There's no sharp pointy tip or bumps to distract from the perfect amount of fullness. I got up, walked around, used a vibrator, got spanked, had some vigorous sex -- it didn't budge or poke me, not even during orgasm.

For intercourse, I did find this butt plug|Ryder Butt plug a little too rigid. Inserting a cock vaginally was like hitting a roadblock. I felt like I'd grown a new pelvic bone on the back wall of my vagina. With careful positioning, this works great: my partner felt a lot more pressure (in the good way) and I felt like the penis was being pushed up into my G-spot. But be careful of angles and the flange during doggy-style.

Ah yes, the flange. Between the sides, one is oh-so-slightly shorter than the other. Be sure that's the one that sits upward, toward your cunt. We got it backwards at first (it was dark) and maybe my anatomy is just strange and my vagina is freakishly close to my ass, but that shit HURT. The edge of the flange caught where my labia begin, making sex downright painful. The shorter side was better (i.e. intercourse was not painful) but the edge of the plug still kept catching the edge of my partner's condom. The flange is plenty big enough on both sides to keep from slipping in, so why Tantus chose to create a wrong way for their toy to be used is beyond me. If other people lack my anatomical difficulties, why make side shorter than the other? A mystery, no doubt, for the ages.

When we finally got it turned right-side up and using the right lube, it was great. Now that you know, you won't have these problems and it will be fabulous. My suggestions for use:

1) Mark the short side with a permanent marker.

2) Keep it with your non-silicone lubes, so you don't have to juggle an extra condom for the toy.

3) To prevent it from collecting fuzz, keep it in a ziploc bag.

4) Try touching it with your favorite vibrator. I tried both a Magic Wand|Hitachi magic wand and a Pocket Rocket|Pocket rocket vibrator, both of which nearly made me levitate. It doesn't have a hole to insert a bullet, but those are fiddly to insert and clean anyway.

All in all, I love it and it's found a permanent home in the bedside drawer.

I feel safe recommending this to beginners, since this was my first personal plug. I liked simply wearing it, rather than doing a lot of thrusting or removal/reinsertion. You, on the other hand, might also enjoy the stretching feeling of popping it in and out. It's smooth and fat enough to be suited for that, so feel free to get rough with it!

If your partner, like mine did, feels a little put-upon by having something occupy their favorite orifice, I suggest framing it as a pleasant prelude to anal or as an accompaniment to vaginal sex. I don't think anal sex was more comfortable after wearing it, but it sure was fun trying.