Icicles No. 24 - dildo discontinued by Pipedream - review by Pia Jouet

Pipedream's Icicles No. 24 is wondrous feat of design and function. It is a Borosilicate Glass dildo shaped like an octopus tentacle or a creature's nubby tongue with a curved handle for thrusting, yet it's so much more. It is art, pure and simple. Shaded a pretty blush pink, it comes packaged in a lovely gift box pretty enough to present as is. The toy itself is transparent and textured with enough swoops, nubs, and recesses to provide endless surprises. The glass is an excellent medium for temperature play, again adding to the variations of play.

Icicles No. 24 is made of non-porous Borosilicate Glass (generic Pyrex). It is designed to be hard and durable enough for insertion and thrusting without the worry of shattering. The toy might still shatter if dropped on a hard floor or rapped against a hard surface, so care should be taken when using. The glass is ideal for temperature play: the dildo can be heated in a warm bowl of water (or held under warm--not hot--running water for a few minutes) to heat it to near-room temperature or chilled in a bowl of ice water to enhance sensations during play.

This is one of the most textured toys I have ever seen or had the pleasure of trying. Virtually every surface has a bump a valley or a vein. There are endless surprises waiting around every swoop and dip. The toy has a curved end, which is ideal for grasping for angling and thrusting. Be careful, though, glass is notoriously rigid and unforgiving to soft tissue.

I love the design of this dildo. It is creative, beautiful, and functional. Mine is slightly under 6 1/4" long with a 4 1/2" insertable portion and 1 3/8" wide. There is a slight variation from toy to toy due to them being hand blown glass. I think this variability makes each one unique and even more desirable. Mine weighs 10 oz. according to my official postal scale.

Opinions vary as to the nature of the design: some see it as an octopus or squid tentacle, others say it is a tongue or an arm of some sort of sea creature (anemone?) I call mine a tentacle-tongue and imagine it is a little gift from the kraken to put the motion in the ocean and flood my seas of desire.

It is covered with a double row of bumps running the length all the way to the tail with a valley in between. The underside (tongue? head?) has veins radiating out from the center raphe. The curved tail is ideal for hooking a few fingers through to control the angle and depth of the thrust, and can also be used to stimulate the clitoris during insertion.

Fans of temperature play and/or texture will enjoy Icicles No. 24 immensely, but it is definitely not for beginners. The high amount of texture means lubricant or sufficient lubrication is a must and the valley in between the bumps tends to "juice." Glass is also very rigid and unyielding, so while it may feel good during play, you might feel sore afterwards as I did. The tail/hook performed well as a handle. The toy is not as long as some others, so I did not feel uncomfortable with it hitting my cervix, but it is wider and flatter (not perfectly cylindrical), so that required some accommodations.

Borosilicate glass can be heated and cooled without shattering. This toy can be wiped after use, though with so many bumps and ridges, it may not get clean enough from all the juicing, etc. It is best to soap it up under running water, then to either boil it or wash in the dishwasher, though this will eventually lead the glass to cloud up from micro scratches. I enjoy the look of mine so much, I rarely use it. I keep it more as a conversation piece and an addition to my art glass collection.

When I am not displaying it, I keep it tucked away in the original packaging, which has foam to cushion against any falls. I would not store this with other toys in order to reduce the possibility of chipping or scratches.

Icicles No. 24 comes in a very nice gift box adorned with various Hi-res close up photos of the toy. The packaging was thoughtfully designed and the photos are rather attractive with a nice description of the piece on the back. The front pulls open with a ribbon in order to reveal a "glass" window allowing you to view the dildo nestled in a styrofoam cutout. You have to open either the top or the bottom of the box in order to slide out the styrofoam with the dildo inside. This should be done very carefully so as not to drop the toy. When I am not displaying mine, I store it in the original packaging on a shelf.

I bought this because it is beautiful. I have other temperature play toys and generally turn to them for play time, but the times I have used this, the sensations have been quite powerful due to the high number of nubs, valleys, and veins -- hence the "vroom" rating. The dildo obviously doesn't make noise or have moving parts, but it provides a myriad of possibilities from temperature, to texture, to general depth of stimulation. It is great for clitoral and G-spot stimulation and I got quite a bit of pleasure in the labial area as well due to the ridges all along the shaft.

I initially tried this without lubricant since I generally produce copious lubrication alone. I found the highly textured nature coupled with prolonged thrusting made me a bit sore, so a few squirts of an organic lube put me right and kept the fun going. I needed time to adjust and accommodate this creature because of the width and texture. The temperature play was even more enjoyable because of the texture.