X - 10 beads - beads discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by She & him

From her:
This was another 'introductory' anal toy purchased for my own use. I was familiar with the concept of anal beads and with their use when it came to sexual partners, but had never actually had a set inside of me, and could not imagine what sort of sensations they entailed when used. It took me quite awhile to get around to actually trying these out (for personal reasons of wanting to approach anal play at my own pace, not because of any inherent defect in the toy) and I tried them out on my partner first before. Months later, I gave them a try myself. Be sure to use a barrier if you're sharing this toy, as the hard jelly it's made from is not easy to clean.

As for my subjective experience with the beads themselves, they slid in pretty easily without the use of a dedicated lubricant (I did use spit, and because of the very hard nature of the jelly and where they're going, lubricant is definitely recommended) and felt fine while inserted. I was careful to keep my finger hooked in the O-ring, as it's made of the same flexible jelly as the rest of the toy, and could become lost; I also, for reasons of personal preference, did not insert the last bead. I can't say that I'm a huge fan of the sensation they provided, even while pulled out during orgasm. I suspect this is because of my own preferences regarding anal play and not any fault of the toy's, since I was unable to identify any particular shortcoming with regarding to length, girth, shape, etc. The hard texture was somewhat unpleasant - a softer set of beads might have felt more friendly.

From him:
I'm a bit more on the side of experienced anal user, as you'll see in our other toy reviews, and this tool was ultimately just disappointing for me. The beads were too small, and the connections between them were too inflexible for real use. You got a couple inside, and then they couldn't flex around without considerable discomfort, leaving the last couple beads unused outside. Of course, you *could* tough it out and push on, but the payoff is just sad. Barely anything actually felt, and because of the smallness, only the most puckered of anuses will be met with a challenge.

It's sad, we've had to put this toy in the "do not use" bin. We just never find ourselves interested in it, and there's much better products that we have right now.