Loa - vaginal balls discontinued by Close2You - review by iLashe

First off, I love the Loa, and was so excited to use them as they are my first kegels exerciser AND they are musically themed. After a couple weeks use (with several days of using them for 8-10 hours while at work) however, they developed a bit of a split at the seems on the outermost egg. Since I received the Loa for review through Edenfantasys, the gracious administrators sent me another pair for review. The second pair have a slightly different make. The second pair have a different texure and are 0.5" larger. I thought I'd mention that upfront, and will refer to the two pairs of balls as 'first' and 'second', based on the order that I received them. Both sets of balls are very much alike, with only slight sizing and material variation. So much of the review is applicable to both sets, unless otherwise mentioned.

The pair of pairs. The set on the left is the first set of balls I received, and are smaller and more firmly textured than the second set next to them that I received later.

Another note; I have only used the second pair of Loa once, for comparison, then gifted them to a friend who might enjoy them more. I continue to use the first pair, cautiously, though with some excitement at the thought of scraping myself.
Okay, so I would recommend the Loa for vaginal exercisers and exciters to those who aren't afraid of some girth to their kegels exercisers. They are suggested for use as anal balls as well, but I am only a novice anal adventurer and have not tried the somewhat larger Loa as such. There is a nice pull cord with looped handle for easy retrieval, though the lack of flared base should be noted, as the cord is smaller than the balls, and if you don't have a tight grip on them, they might disappear.

I am female-bodied and do not play much with dildos nor a male partner, so I found the Loa to be fairly large, and needed lubricant and some amount of arousal for insertion just starting out. If I wasn't slightly aroused (when first trying out the Loa), the balls bumped my cervix and wouldn't sit comfortably. If I didn't use lube, the stretch of compensating for the balls lead to a bit of irritation around my labia lips for a few days. Please take care in getting familiar with the size and fit of the Loa.

I found the Loa to work best when worn throughout the day as a kegels exerciser (squeezing at times, and allowing them to subtly work on their own too) and also when used with a vibrator. The balls transmit moderate vibration very well, and are great when paired directly with a vibrator to bounce the balls or to enhance masturbation in their own right. They are waterproof and do not make a noticeable sound when inside you, so most occasions are potentially ideal for Loa use.

As an aside, I'm not sure as to the namesake of the Loa. I know Close2You has a musical motif with all their love toys being named for musical events. I am a huge music lover and have studied music some, but am unfamiliar with the term 'Loa'. Though 'Notte' means night in Italian. The only google hits I found for Loa were as voodoo spirits in African folklore and as an acronym for the Law of Attraction. Both of those I found intriguing when meditating on my kegel exercises.

The Loas are made from firm TPR. From the Close2you website, TPR is described as "thermoplastic rubber or thermoplastic elastomers are a novel material with silicone-like qualities. The main raw material for the manufacture of elastomers is natural or synthetic rubber, which is combined with the workability of a plastic material. This skin-like material gives a lifelike feel and thus provides for maximum fun. The benefits include: odorless, no plasticizers (phthalates), excellent elasticity and strength, UV resistant, biocompatible, body temperature adjustment, environmentally friendly".

The first set of balls I received seem less porous than the second set, though they are said to be of the same material. They are similar in feel, however, the second pair has more of a drag to it when touched to the skin and has more of a -slightly- bumpy/soft sandpaper texture. I think maybe the reason the first set started to come apart was because the material on that pair is so firm and dense that any flexibility it has is matched in tear potential since it has seams. The second pair seems to 'breath' more.

The balls on both sets of the Loa are firm, and while the porousness and size is different, there's little to no give on either of them. The cord portion of the balls (the looped tail and the bit between the balls) is bendable, with different flexibilities on the two different versions of Loa. The cord of the first pair doesn't move much, whereas the cord on the second pair moves freely both on the looped handle and between the balls. Again, the more rigid material and make of the first pair likely lead to it's coming apart at the seams, and I think it's good to notice which pair you received if purchasing the Loa. I didn't notice that my first pair of Loa were coming apart until I went to take pictures for the review. I'm not sure if just wear and tear from my strength training kegalias that made the Loa rip, or twisting them a bit for photos that did it, but silicone would have been a stronger material. Fortunately, Close2You seems to have noticed the potential weakness in their product between the first and second 'versions' of the product, as the second pair I received hold up better to wear without tearing. Though I've only worn the 2nd pair on one occasion, before gifting them to a friend. The old pair's size is more comfortable for me, though I have to take care when using them.

Once wearing the Loa (either pair), I could sometimes feel the sensation of the balls moving around, but couldn't feel the actual TPR other than the cord between my legs. I didn't experience any pain from the balls pinching while wearing, except for when I tried foolishly to use the balls while bike-riding. With just a thin bit of clothing between the tail and seat of my bike (commando duh), the cord sort of pushed the balls up towards my cervix and they bunched up. The cord portion has a 1.5 cm circumference and so is hard to miss when biking, and so I've forgone biking with either pair of the Loa so as to avoid the pinching effect.

The Loa comes with great accessories, including a purple velvet pouch -with two (seperate) satiny drawstrings. The pouch is just about 6" by 4", and bears the Close2You label on a 1" by .5" tab on the side.

When I first received the Loa, my first impressions were that they are much bigger than I'd anticipated, and beautifully designed. The second pair were even larger than the first pair by about .5" all around, though they were less intimidating, having had the first Loa for a month. I LOVE the bass clef motif, and think it's a fitting symbol for such a basic activity as kegels. The balls are very discreet in my opinion, and could be mistaken (to someone who isn't familiar with kegels exercisers) for an exotic massage device or something. The bass clef symbols also could be mistaken for African or Sanskrit markings too, further disguising the balls. I would never have guessed their function before learning about kegels exercisers a few months ago. I suppose someone more versed in pleasure instruments would know the Loa as some sort of bead or the potential therein.

The bass clef symbols on the Loa are raised (more so on the first pair), and add a bit of texture to the balls. The texture wasn't noticeable, other than as slight bumps when I first put them in. On the first pair, the bass clef symbols are about 3-4 millimeter raised smoothly above the rest of the ball. On the second pair, the bass clef is only about one millimeter higher in some portions of the symbol. As for the other general measurements:

the first pair -
4" circumference at the widest portion of the ball(s)
.75" cord circumference
6.5" length from tip of furthest ball to end of looped cord.
the second pair -
4.5" circumference at the wides portion of the ball(s)
1" cord circumference
7" length from tip of furthest ball to end of looped cord.
cord portion of second pair - 1" circumference

The 'vibrations' in the balls are more of a knocking about: weighted interior balls do roll around inside the blue TPR balls, but the two TPR balls don't usually hit one another. So, perhaps with the Emigi, where the two balls are in the same structure or ben wa gold balls, there might be more of a vibrational effect. The knocking around effect is interesting, however, and when seated and rocking in a recliner the balls did bump together and have more of a vibrational effect.

The first time I put them in, it took about 5 minutes to figure out the best position for them to fit. The balls are quite large, so since I was pretty tight before using them, I needed lube and to lie on my back with my legs up on the wall to find the best position. For reference, I'm average to small in stature, have not had any children, have not been with a male partner regularly in over a year, and don't play with dildos very often. That said, I felt the desire to use a clitoral vibrator to relax my cervix enough for the Loa to comfortably nestle the first time I used them and several times since. Once the Loa are in and comfortable, they remain comfortable, sometimes they just need a little arousal to feel welcome.

I used a condom with the first pair because TPR cannot be sanitized. The lubrication on condoms helped with inserting the balls, though the balls and cord had a tendency to get twisted up in the condom and sometimes pull pubic hairs and cause general discomfort. Once the first pair of Loa broke, I quit using a condom and sort of resigned myself to the notion that I would be keeping the Loa for personal use and have not used a condom with the second pair. This makes insertion and wear easier and more comfortable. However, lubricant is a must now to help get them in. Fortunately, the Loa came with a Close2You 1.7 oz lube tube, and just a half-dime drop of that and I'm good to go. The one time I didn't use lubricant with the second pair, I acquired a bit of a labial tear, so please take care when inserting the Loa and getting familiar with them.

The included instructions and Close2You website were a little vague, so I tried a few positions for both insertion and wear of the balls. I discovered that the bass clef symbols facing my right seems to be the most comfortable way to wear them. This also seems to be the manufacturers intended method of wearing them, as the looped cord protrudes forwardly and sits well in clothes. Inserting them in an opposite manner, with the base clef facing my left, seems to make the balls bump against one another more and lead to more of an arousing occasion. Wearing them this way makes the cord stick out more in a penile fashion, and thus can to push the balls in/up at an irritating angle when sitting down though. Regardless of the position, only the looped portion of the cord sticks out when I wear them, and the balls sit behind my pelvic bone. The only time they slipped out was while I was wearing a condom. So the added length of the condom and the twisted cord probably had more to do with that then the weight and design of the balls.

I was hoping for a bit more of a sensation from the Loa than I got, but I still have a lot of fun and have gotten a lot of help from the Loa with kegel strength. The balls stay in place, once you get them in comfortably. I only worried that they'd fall out a few times when wearing them with a condom. The slickness and lubrication the condom added made keeping the Loa in a bit challenging. On one occasion when the one of the Loa balls popped out, there was enough cording to keep the other ball in until I could get somewhere to reposition them. The balls were subtly stimulating while worn, sometimes more noticeably than other times. When walking up or down hill, and rocking back and forth I can feel them more. Also, when paired with a vibrator, the vibrations are obviously magnified and increased.

Because the toy is made of TPR and not silicone, I used condom with the first pair of Loa everytime. That made cleaning easier, as I just had to wash the condom lubricant off the Loa and know they were as clean as they had been when I received them - presumably completely clean. Though there is no way to sterilize the Loa as they are TPR, the Loa feels only slighly porous when I have washed it with mild soap and water, but doesn't noticiably retain any of the oils from the condoms. The Loa 'drys' pretty well, or rather don't remain at all 'greasy'/saturated feeling like a jelly toy I have.

The Loa did come with a packet containing one Close2You toy cleaner wipe that I have not used. The Loa is not hard to clean, except now I am sort of concerned about the split seam, and whether water and soap that get in the ball will erode the internal balls. I'll be really careful from now on washing it, though that will be sort of inconvenient as the particular portion of the ball that is torn goes the deepest inside me. I'll have to wear condoms continuously for safety reasons.

I have not used all the squeeze tube (7.5 ml) of Close2You 'Glissando' lube. I'm not sure the contents of the lube, but it has a slightly floral fragrant smell, with no noticeable taste. I have used the lube a few times to help with inserting the Loa, but using pre-lubricated condoms has not made lube necessary generally. The Loa comes with a faux purple velvet storage pouch that has a tie closure, though the tie easily comes unknotted. The pouch barely houses the Loa, with the tail of the Loa pushed in at an angle. I prefer to keep my Loa in it's original packaging for safe-keeping when traveling. The Loa also collects a bit of lint while drying, so after use or if I don't have a minute to wash the Loa, it seems to get less diry in it's orinial bubble tray and magnetic lid box.

The Loa comes in a nice pastel-purple hued box that opens with a magnetic flap to show the loa resting. When you pull the plastic tray out, the Loa and an appreciable amount of lube, a toy cleaner and velvet pouch, and instructions reprinted in 30 OWEO. The box is nice because of the flap. There's a couple, with a topless man, and a sultry look in their eyes. Though the toy box is not directly self-explanatory. Close2you's other products that have different shelves in the boxes seem a little more practical for storage, but I've been using the box nonetheless. The pouch included is nice too, unless you don't have a bit of water to wash the toy, then puting the toy in anything seems a bit icky.

I think the Loa has really helped me with kegel strength, and has helped me to remember kegels exercises throughout the day. I'm in my twenties, and have had no children, so I didn't feel like i needed the toy for incontinence help. I've noticed more improvement in my kegel strength than I'd anticipated though, and not to sound like an ab-machine infomercial, but after just 10 minutes of using the Loa I felt 'worked out' in a way I'd not felt before. After several hours while walking, I was able to locate more of a 'grasp' potential in my kegels. And after several days of Loa use (while standing and walking in excess of 7 hours), I have to urinate far less frequently. To be more specific, as I'd wished I'd seen a review be when I surveyed kegels exercisers - when I do need to pee now, I usually don't have as much of a pressing need to, even after caffeine intake (though in colder weather, needing to pee is more of a situation of course). When I wear the Loa I am more excited throughout the day and that's nice.

I have loved adding some basal delight during various everyday activities. As I've said, just wearing the Loa made me more aware of where all my kegel muscles are, by leaving me a little sore after the first 10 minutes of use. Since becoming aware of my full kegel landscape, I now try to squeeze my kegels while wearing the Loa (along with just having them in) and can now do kegel squeezes w/o the Loa better too. I've noticed a slight increase in clitoral orgasm intensity since using the Loa, though I'm guessing maybe g-spot orgasms would be noticeably stronger.

I have enjoyed the Loa most when sitting on a hay stack and sort of rocking (similar to a rocking chair for those not from places like I-wah). Walking is fun with the Loa, and hills are more exciting with the Loa... particularly walking down hills. I tried to bike with the Loa, but the cord was inconvenient as it's firm, looped, and just under 1/4 inch thick. Granted, I tried to go biking commando with the balls. The cord pinched and pulled my labia, and the Loa pinched inside too. I tried again with a pair of undies, 3 menstrual pads, and the Loa inserted sideways so the cord would lay flat on my seat. That was very much more comfortable, but not that much more exciting than walking with the Loa in. The potential for pinching has kept me from biking long distances with the Loa in, but if I figure out a better way to bike with the Loa, I'll post in the follow-up review.

I usually wear a condom with the Loa, as there is no way to sanitize TPR and I'd like to be able to share them.