The Glide is one of a range of prostate massagers available from Nexus, who specialise in making male toys. It has a shape that's fairly traditional for this type of product, and that shares a number of design similarities with other brands such as Aneros. The Glide is one of Nexus's smaller and non-vibrating models, so I'd consider it to be aimed more at beginners. The body of the toy measures in at only 4" long, and with a circumference of 3 1/2" at the widest point, so it's unlikely intimidate anyone.

The Glide is manufactured from a very hard plastic and features a finely textured surface, which unfortunately is one of my least favourite combinations in sex toy construction. I don't mind hard materials in general, in fact my metal and glass toys are amongst my favourites, but the difference is that they balance their rigid inflexibility by having smooth shiny surfaces which aid insertion. The Glide has a matte finish, and this feels especially prominent on a hard toy, compared to softer toys where fine textures get somewhat lost when the material is compressed. What's unfortunate is that Nexus seem to have altered the design at some point, as older photos of the original purple version show the surface to be shiny, but in my colour and others it's very much textured to the touch. The plastic of the toy is all made in one piece, but it does have a slight mould line running the length of it. This isn't an area of concern though, as it's barely raised and can't be felt during use.

The end of the Glide isn't huge, but it is quite blunt, so if you're not used to anal play then I'd be careful as trying to insert something hard and blunt can cause discomfort in a sphincter that isn't relaxed enough. Provided you're prepared it should begin go in with relative ease, but inserting the Glide all the way isn't the most seamless action, as the texture of the surface does cause some noticeable friction. Once the Glide is inside it naturally doesn't feel that filling due to its small size, but the firm and inflexible nature of the plastic means that you can feel the tip of it nestling up against the prostate. Somewhat surprisingly the toy does seem to stay in place quite well, despite not really having a neck. Typically the anus will come to rest somewhere around the top of the ribbed portion of the shaft, and I was expecting it to gradually work it's way out, but this never occurred - perhaps in part because I was very sparing with my use of lube. The Glide is intended to create stimulation in the prostate simply by moving in response to the user clenching and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles, but I found this particularly disappointing, and noticed no greater stimulation than when the toy remained stationary. In my experience in order to get the most out of the Glide it needs to be moved, and that's where the base of the toy comes into play.

The base of the Glide incorporates two features: a perineum stimulator at the front, and a handle-like portion at the back. Initially the handle seems as though it's going to be problematic. I'm a person who generally likes to use my anal toys in a seated position, or lying on my back, but the shape of the handle makes that impossible and considerably limits your options. The only way to really use it is when lying on your side or kneeling, because if you attempt to sit on it then it's rather painful. While the toy tries to promote hands-free use, the thing is that you actually need access to that handle in order to make the most of the toy. By using the handle you're able to gently thrust the toy and angle it right into the prostate. My preferred technique is to place my thumb on the base of the shaft, and wrap my first two fingers around the handle in order to gain some leverage. Once you start using the toy in this manner, with short rhythmic prodding, a wave of pleasurable prostate sensations will come over you. I found that this can be a little hit and miss though, being enjoyable at times and having no effect on others. The best indicator that it's working is that you'll spontaneously and unavoidably develop an erection in the process. The big downside is that this can be quite tiring to keep up, especially if you don't have a partner to manipulate it for you, as prostate orgasms don't come easily if they come at all.

For those who really would prefer a hands-free experience then a better alternative might be the Nexus G-rider, which has a rounded base, allowing you to use it in a seated-position and rock back and forth on it to generate sensation.

The other aspect of the base is the perineum stimulator, which I found worked less well. It consists of a ball bearing mounted into a socket, and which is supposed to roll over the area to stimulate it. The problem I had with this was primarily down to its position; it's located only 5/8" away from the anus, so it's not applying pressure to an optimal point of the perineum. The other issue is that it's angled upwards too much, so you lose about 3/4" of insertable length in order to accommodate it, but this seemed to have less of an impact. By comparison the Nexus Neo seems much better designed in this regard.

Plastic wouldn't be my first choice of material for a toy like this, but it does have some benefits such as being odourless, and compatible with silicone lubes as well as water-based. Plastic is also quite easy to clean, and handily the Glide comes with a little attachment which allows you to pop the ball bearing out of its socket. To clean the Glide you can simply wash it with anti-bacterial soap and hot water, or as plastic is non-porous you can wipe it over with a 10% bleach solution to sterilise it. One thing it's not safe to do though is to boil the toy, as the rapid heating and cooling could cause the material to crack.

I have to say that the Glide is a bit of a mixed bag for me; it some ways it's exactly what I expected it to be, and in other ways it pleasantly surprised me. Once I found a technique for using it that suited me I got more pleasure out of it than I thought I would, but frankly the lack of consistency with which it delivers this, combined with some of the flaws I found in the design, discourage me from using it more. What it really comes down to is that I prefer something a bit bigger, a bit softer, and that vibrates so I have to do less of the work.

Unfortunately the Glide just doesn't do enough for me, and has been cast into the bottom of the box of toys I don't use, where it shall remain gathering dust for the foreseeable further.