Salsa - discreet massager discontinued by We-vibe - review by 1001 Pleasures

The Salsa by We-Vibe is categorized by EdenFantasys as a “discreet vibrator.” Because of its shape and small size, you could even call it a bullet vibrator, as it easily replaces the bullets in many toys that have them. Some people consider vibrators sex toys geared toward women. Indeed, the Salsa will do just about anything most vibrators of this type will. But as a man, I purchased this toy to use on myself. Like many men, I enjoy stimulating the frenulum, the very sensitive spot located just under the head of the penis. While lube and a well-placed finger will do the trick, I’ve found that adding vibrations - like those provided by a vibe such as the Salsa - will offer a more intense experience, and will sometimes even result in a much more powerful climax. So while the Salsa will work well for women or men, I am going to highlight my own experience with this delightful little toy.

The We-Vibe Salsa is constructed primarily of plastic, a material that EdenFantasys rates eight out of ten on the safety scale. The plastic housing of this toy doesn’t feel at all cheaply made or poorly constructed. The vibe is totally smooth, without any mold lines or other imperfections. With its smooth surface, the Salsa doesn’t offer anything in the way of texture, so if smooth is what you’re going for, you’ll be happy with this one. The Salsa has three color choices: black, white and bright red. I selected the red model, as the bold color was the one that most appealed to me, but any of the three colors would be nice for someone who is looking for a toy that isn’t a pastel shade, as so many vibrators of this type are.

The flat base is comprised of a softer, flexible material, and houses the control button as well as two metal contacts that connect magnetically with the included charger. No part of the Salsa has any smell or taste. While the plastic is smooth to the touch, the toy itself is solid, and has no flexible parts to it.

The Salsa is definitely a bite-sized toy. Of the three and a half inch length, nearly all of it is insertable. With a two inch circumference and a mere five-eighths of an inch diameter, the Salsa doesn’t offer much in the way of girth, but this isn’t the sort of toy you buy if you’re looking for length or thickness. To compare, it’s about the size of an average finger. Since I purchased it for external use (except for occasional use as a bullet “upgrade” for anal toys/masturbators that come equipped with bullets), I wasn’t too concerned about its diminutive size.

Since the housing comes to a point at the tip, I found that this design worked wonders for intense stimulation on a specific spot on the body, in my case, the frenulum. While the entire vibe hums with power, even on the lowest settings, I found that using the tip to pinpoint a specific spot felt very stimulating.

Because of its small size, the Salsa will take up very little room, and can be stashed just about anyplace without anyone finding it. Even with its two-piece charger, the entire toy can fit just about anywhere. You could easily tuck the vibe and its components into a bag and take it with you on your travels.

The Salsa’s greatest asset is its vibrator. I’ve owned several toys that vibrate or have vibrating components, but I’ve never experienced anything this powerful in such a small toy, especially those which are powered by batteries.

The vibrations are more intense in the tip, but even holding the side of the Salsa against my erogenous zones produced some fairly powerful sensations. Controlled by a push button embedded under the rubber seal in the base, the Salsa offers eight different vibration settings. The first four are steady vibrations, each one a little more intense than the one before it. The latter four are pulsing patterns: a mix of quick and longer pulses, a roller coaster pattern, a rapid-fire pulsing, and a two long/three short pattern. You can’t power the toy off instantly; instead you hold down on the control button for a couple of seconds to silence it.

With a sole button on the base to turn the toy on and cycle through the patterns, the Salsa was pretty easy to control. Make sure you have a good grip on the vibe before you turn it on. The first time I started it up, it nearly leapt out of my grasp. With more experience, I was able to find ways to hold it securely, but even on lower settings it easily rotated in my fingers when I was holding it more loosely. Because of the powerful vibrator, the toy does have a little buzz to it, but it’s relatively quiet given how intense it can get. I’d say you can hear it if you’re in the room, but it’s quiet enough behind closed doors to use it without arousing too much suspicion.

While the design makes the toy waterproof, I did not test it in water. I find that using any toy in water diminishes the sensations it provides, so I personally didn’t have any interest in the waterproof aspect of the Salsa. That said, if you’re looking for a toy of this type that you can use in water, I think it would be one of the better choices.

Lastly, there is a small ring of internal lights that pulse and spin during use, depending on the pattern you’re running. This added a touch of whimsy to an already slick little toy.

If you wish to use lubricant with this toy, all types are safe with it. It can also be easily cleaned with soap and water, or sex toy wipes.

Before your first use of the Salsa, you’ll need to charge it for ninety minutes. Simply plug the connector at the end of the power cord into the small round coupler, which in turn attaches magnetically to a set of metal nubs on the base of the toy. Ensure you have a good connection (a charging light should appear if everything is affixed properly), and find a safe place to set the Salsa during the hour and a half you’ll be charging it. As it has to lay on its side during this time, periodically check to make sure the charge light is still illuminated. Some users have reported that the magnetic connection breaks, leaving their toy undercharged. The light should go off once the toy is ready for use.

We-Vibe ships the Salsa in one of the nicest packages I’ve seen for any sex toy. The box is cardboard, with stylish images of the Salsa, identifying the toy as a "personal massager." The box flips open to reveal the vibe, the charging coupler, and a small instruction manual with basic operating instructions in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, German, Russian, Chinese and Japanese. The charger is nestled in a separate box next to the other components. Though it also contains a large silken pouch suitable for storage, the pieces fit so nicely in the box, I use my package to store the toy, and use the pouch to keep a silicone buttplug safe from lint and dust.

A little over a year ago, I obtained the Cobre Libre, a luxury vibrator designed for men. The Cobra Libre was billed as the sports car of men’s sex toys, but like some sports cars, it was not designed to accommodate guys of all sizes. It was difficult to work my cock into the opening, and - even after putting some effort into it - the toy’s vibrator just wouldn’t hit my sweet spot. On the rare occasion that I was able to join the vibrations with my frenulum and hit a pleasurable stride, the goofy controls on the damn thing would either rev up, or down, or come to a complete halt. Talk about frustrating. Like most sports cars that never get used, this one was relegated to storage, parked under a plastic cover. I tried the much-cheaper Hand Solo, a textured silicone gadget that’s folded up like a taco shell you can wrap around your cock, allowing you to control where the vibrations are concentrated. It was nice, but the included bullet just didn’t rock my world. The Hand Solo was downgraded from masturbation toy, to foreplay device.

I was reluctant to invest in yet another toy to try and capture the elusive “sweet spot orgasm.” Unlike traditional hand-to-cock masturbating, or even the use of masturbation sleeves, stimulating the frenulum to climax normally involves applying some concentrated stimulation on a specific spot. I think for every guy, it might be in a slightly different spot, but once you find it, you know it; much pleasure ensues. I’d heard good things about the Salsa vibe from reviews and posts from other men, and most of them seemed to really like it. The more I heard, the more I wanted to try it out. I had it on my “maybe” list, until I started hearing reports that We-Vibe was discontinuing production of the Salsa. I knew if I wanted to get my hands on one, I couldn’t wait.

When the package arrived, I quickly set about getting it charged so it would be ready for a test drive. I waited until I had suitable time for a (hopefully) nice protracted session with the Salsa. I enjoyed the sensations almost from the get go. This is truly one of the most intense toys I’ve ever tried. Other than the His Miracle Massager, which is a plug-in/corded wand-type vibrator (that vibrates like a jack hammer), I can’t think of any other vibe that works with such intensity.

The instruction manual advises not to leave the Salsa on one spot for more than fifteen minutes at a time, so I tried to maneuver it during use, placing it on several different erogenous zones: balls, shaft, glans, nipples, perineum. Every place I experimented felt very stimulating, but I kept bringing the vibe back to my frenulum, easing the tip of the toy along my sweet spot. I’d like to say that orgasm was reached after bringing myself close, repeatedly. But, alas, time got away from me, and I ran the charge down after a hour or so of accumulated use. Thankfully, a few minutes back on the charger and I was able to give it enough juice to finish myself off. Powerful. Intense. Hands free. Now this was the experience I wanted to have from that sports car, the Cobra Libre. Instead, it arrived in a bright red subcompact: the We-Vibe Salsa.

Just a follow up to my initial experience: I also replaced the bullet that came with the Hand Solo with the Salsa, and found the vibrations much stronger. I wouldn’t say I liked it as much as direct, pinpointed stimulation from the Salsa alone, but the We-Vibe toy definitely improved the Hand Solo’s performance. I can’t wait to try the Salsa inside of a butt plug.