Sweet, Sweet Tilda

A silicone quarter note? A squishy, black tilda? This gorgeous offering from Lover's Choice Inc. looks like anything but your standard phallic fare in the world of dildos; instead like some kind of kind of flourish or notation that you might carefully etch with a fountain pen. But make no mistake; this is a pleasure object. A VERY pleasurable pleasure object. Featuring a sturdy handle with a carved "one finger control" hole for easy handling and a beautiful, moderately girthy shaft sloping into a fool-proof G-spotting tool, this is perfect for beginners. Its voluptuous, whimsical design makes it ideal for those that have been turned off to dildos until now due to realism. Still, it's perfectly capable of meeting the expectations of picky and more experienced users that know exactly what they want out of a toy.

This product is best used for gentle thrusting or slight rocking once it is inserted into the vagina. The sharp curl at the tip of the toy and the large "ball" that forms there can be a little gut-wrenching to experience at a rapid pace. You could cause yourself a bit of bruising or day-after-ouchies with this one if you're not careful, so take your time adjusting to its size and shape. The hole at the handle makes it very easy to control, and the sharp curl acts at the base acts as a kind of demi-flange. For this reason it is possible to use anally; although, it is not 100%. There is a chance that this toy could be pulled up inside of your rectum if you lose control of it. However, I have used it anally without any difficulties.

The Ophoria Beyond 3 is made from 100% plushy, matte medical grade silicone. I was surprised (happily) when I actually got my hands on this toy, because something about the photos on Edenfantasys make this product seem so hard. It's actually quite flexible as you can see in the video, and I can easily bend it nearly in half. Of course, it's not a sloppy, floppy mess either; it retains its shape and its curves still do their job. I might have preferred just a little more density so that the G-spot stimulation could have been a little firmer, but for me this wasn't a deal-breaker. The size of the toy definitely made up for the firmness that was lacking in the material itself. However, if you absolutely need very firm G-spot stimulation, you may want to reconsider this one.

The head of this dildo has small, raised circular reliefs on either side, while I did not notice but I think look very elegant. There are also a series of very light ridges along the shaft as it transitions into the tip, which is very reminiscent of Njoy's Eleven. I didn't really much notice these, although I have read that some other reviewers found them wonderfully stimulating. For myself, all of these stylistic embellishments did not add or detract from my experience, but unfortunately, something else did. The Beyond 3 has a very sharp, pronounced seam that runs vertically up along the shaft. Like, if the tip of the Beyond is Harlem and the handle is the Financial District? This seam is 6th Avenue. It runs smack down the middle and was very, very noticeable to me. I have quite a few silicone toys with seams and have rarely been bothered by them, but this was very uncomfortable to me. Luckily, I don't thrust with this toy, but rather rock it back and forth. Insertion and removal always leave me with a weird, shiver-inducing scraping sensation, not pleasant.

Clocking in at a whopping 12+ inches long, this can be a slightly intimidating toy in terms of its dimensions. However, in order to hit your sweetest spots, you'll only need a few inches of that, and anything beyond 8" inches will likely be painful due to the hard, pointy clitoris-shaped accent around the mid-way point. I'm not sure what this thing is for, other than to seriously remind me of a fully aroused clitoris poking out from beneath its hood. It certainly doesn't stimulate anything for me. The head of this toy is roughly 1.75" in diameter, which is no trifling figure. The initial insertion of this dildo is a little unpleasant for me at times because there's no taper; it goes from 0 to 60 in one second flat. However, once the ball is inserted, the shaft drops back down to a reasonable inch in its girth. For me this is very comfortable. I find that I have lots of pressure and girth where I need it, which is directly right at my G-spot. My inner labia can relax around a much less husky diameter.

I don't think the Beyond 3's design is exactly revolutionary. In the year 2010, if you're a toy manufacturer and you don't understand “curve = joy to the world for your G-spot”, then you're in the wrong business. But I do think it's pretty remarkable how well this toy's design seems to intuit and understand the inner workings of the vagina. The G-spot is not located *in* the vagina, but behind the vaginal wall, meaning for many people it's going to take a significant amount of pressure to properly stimulate it. The Beyond 3 is packing where it matters, and I find that I don't have to thrust like a mad woman to climax like I do with many other curved toys. All I need to do is insert, point the head at my G-spot, and gently tug the toy toward the front of my vagina. By making a very slight back and forth motion I can provide a lot of stimulation, which is wonderful. The length of the toy also gives me a lot of area to grip and maneuver with; although, it does tend to hog my vulva and make it a little difficult to use other toys in conjunction with it. Small clitoral vibes like a bullet or a slimline are good, but hefty ones like the Hitachi are a little more difficult to cram into a vulva cluttered by the Ophoria Beyond.

Overall, I really loved this baby. It is ever so close to breaking into my top 5 dildos. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in the material/texture section, that seam is a real problem. Any time the toy slips and turns a bit to the left or right (as we all know dildos do sometimes) I get this AWFUL sensation of scraping inside of me. Even the gentle back and forth tugging that I described as my preferring technique for this still makes me cringe just a little until the G-spot stimulation overpowers the squicky feeling. If I could find a way to file this seam away just a little, this would be a five star, rave to the neighbors kind of dildos. But in spite of its masterful understanding of my insides, this thing seriously doesn't understand one very fundamental no-no.

With very few ridges or crevices for fluids to get trapped, this is a very low maintenance toy. For solo use this toy can be washed with some warm soap and water to keep it clean, or wiped with a baby wipe or some toy cleaner. If sharing this toy between partners the Beyond 3 should be sanitized thoroughly by boiling in water for 3-4 minutes or by wiping down with a 10% bleach solution. While silicone is not porous and cannot absorb bacteria, bacteria can linger on the surface even after a boiling or bleaching. For this reason you should always exercise caution and use a condom with a toy when sharing.

Silicone has a tendency to attract lint, dust and hair ,so you may want to store it in a plastic Ziploc bag between uses. Silicone should not be stored openly with toys made from rubber, jelly, TPR, TPE or other non-silicone soft toy materials. These less stable materials can be warped or even melted by the silicone, so the preserve the integrity of your other toys make sure they don't mingle. Only water or oil based lubricants should be used with the Ophoria Beyond 3 as well, as silicone lubricants can bond to your toy leaving behind a gummy and hard to remove mess.

The Beyond comes in a light beige cardboard box, with a peekaboo plastic window that offers a teasing glance at the body of the toy. It is very minimal: the company name, the words "100% pure silicone" and BEYOND No. 3 are all printed on the front. Below the product name, in very small letters, appear the following: G-SPOT DILDO | Flexible. Other than this, there is no indication on the front of the package that this is a sex toy. The back features a brief description of the toy's selling points in several languages. The box is not sturdy and probably wouldn't make a great storage place for your toy in the long term.

Included in the box with the toy is a little pamphlet that shows all of the toys in the Ophoria line, along with some rather bizarre advice. Correctly, the company notes that toys can transmit diseases and should not be shared without a condom. Incorrectly (and rather strangely) they also assert that this product "should not be used by pregnant or menstruating women, or persons who are ill without consulting a physician." It also notes that it should never be used "with force or without consent," which I found highly unnecessary and a little upsetting, even.