Love Me Tender is a hand-held “excite stroker” (i.e. “masturbation sleeve”) from NS Novelties. As an open-ended masturbator, the Love Me Tender is designed to stimulate your erect penis by sliding it up and down on the head and shaft. The interior of the sleeve is textured with dozens of raised nodules, which offer a lot of intense stimulation during use. While many masturbation toys are designed with deeper internal dimensions, the open end should allow men of any size to enjoy the toy, assuming you don’t need a masturbator with a closed end and/or one with a deep pocket to get yourself off.

The Love Me Tender is made entirely of one material: TPE, defined by EdenFantasys as “a rubber polymer blend or compound that exhibits a thermoplastic character.” Toys of this material typically have an odor to them, but I only noticed a slight one with this particular toy. It wasn’t strong enough to be unpleasant, especially compared to some I have used that had a really noticeable smell. The TPE is very stretchy, and has a super-soft feel to it. The Love Me Tender comes in a subtle charcoal/smoke color and is somewhat translucent. The external aspect of the toy has a light ribbed pattern, but I’m not sure I would try turning the toy inside-out, unless you prefer more of a “smooth ride,” as opposed to a stronger texture.

The internal texture is comprised of dozens of raised nodules, which will rub against your cock as you slide the masturbator up and down. I wish the product photos provided by NS Novelties gave a better representation of the internal texture, because that is one of the best features of a masturbation sleeve, if it’s done right. I will include a photo of my own with the review, showing the sleeve turned partly inside-out, so you can get a better idea of the texture.



While the Love Me Tender isn’t a firm toy at all, I did find the texture perfectly suitable. Once lubed, I thought it offered a sensual experience. Users who prefer a tighter cavity and/or a firmer internal texture may not enjoy it as much as I did.

Like many masturbation sleeves of this type, the Love Me Tender consists of a soft hollow tube lined with raised nubs for stimulation. The orifice end is designed like a small mouth, complete with miniature stick-out tongue. The opening is small (perhaps the size of an almond), but the material is so stretchy, it’s truly the easiest toy I’ve ever penetrated. With an internal depth of only four inches, this likely won’t cover your entire shaft at once, but the sleeve - with its open end - seems designed more for up and down stroking action. This is how I used it, and found the sensation really enjoyable.

The sleeve, while soft and stretchy, didn’t feel cheaply made. It opened up quite easily and stretched to accommodate my cock, but I never felt like I had to be extra gentle with it so it wouldn’t tear.

Once penetrated, the sleeve positioned itself entirely between my balls and the head of my cock. In fact, the top rim of the toy butted up against the underside of my glans, stimulating the head of my cock in a way I’ve never really experienced before. It was a weirdly pleasant sensation.

Size-wise, the Love Me Tender is perfectly proportioned to grasp in your fist as you masturbate. The material was easy to grip and - properly lubricated - glides up and down on your cock at any speed you choose.

In its unstretched state, the toy measures about five inches in length and is an ideal size if you don’t want a large, bulky masturbator, or if you need a light toy that will slip into a suitcase or travel bag without taking up much space.

Being open at both ends, the toy cleaned up easily after use. Some soap and hot water worked nicely, and because the toy is so stretchy, it was easy to open it up and scrub it clean without a lot of hassle.

Since it’s made of a soft squishy material, I’d definitely store it inside something, to keep it free of dust, lint and the like.

Being made of a TPE material, the Love Me Tender is compatible with both water-based and silicone lubricants. Lubing it up was a snap, due to its short length. Put a little lube in the orifice and use your finger to work it inside. I used quite a bit of water-based lube and thought the internal aspect of the sleeve held it nicely, without soaking it up. I didn’t need to re-lube at all during my trial run, which admittedly only lasted ten minutes.

The Love Me Tender comes packaged in a two-piece clear plastic case that’s nestled snugly inside a cardboard box. The box is illustrated with pictures of the product and gives general features as well as care instructions.

The packaging does identify the toy as an “excite stroker” and with the pictures and descriptions it’s pretty obvious it’s a sex toy, but I found the overall design to be pretty minimal and stylish (as opposed to “in your face gaudy,” as some of these products are often marketed).

The plastic insert seems ideal for storing the toy. It’s a deep recessed tray that holds the stroker, with a little plastic lid that fits over the top.

Interested in the Love Me Tender sleeve for partner sex? It would certainly add a little zing to an ordinary handjob you could give your male partner, and with the open end and snug design, you could even use it in conjunction with oral sex. Think of the extra thrill you could deliver, stroking his shaft with the textured sleeve, while orally stimulating the head of his cock.

In the last year or so, it seems I’ve tried every type of masturbator, from inexpensive sleeves, limited use strokers, and the more premium masturbators (Tenga, Fleshlight). I’ve discovered that many things factor in to how I rate a product overall: price, durability, the whole experience, and how did the toy meet my expectations.

Since Love Me Tender is offered on the low end of the price scale, and the description/photos didn’t really offer a whole lot about it, I honestly wasn’t expecting much. So when I ended up having a really great time with the toy, it really made the experience that much more enjoyable.

Once of the biggest benefits offered by this toy is ease of penetration. To me, there’s nothing more frustrating than trying to stuff your erect penis into a too-tight orifice, or into a toy that just has no wiggle room. With its super-stretchy material, the Love Me Tender glided right over my cock.

The texture, though not as intense as some of the rigid patterns offered by more premium masturbators, felt great, and was a good fit with the type of material this toy is made of. I recently gave the Ona Pit Pleats a test drive; that toy had similar nodules in the closed-end of the toy and those alone didn’t really do anything for me. But those found in the Love Me Tender were longer and more defined, and that made all the difference. Not only did the up and down motion feel great, but when I pulled the sleeve down so it was resting around my shaft (between my balls and the head of my cock), I was able to generate some interesting sensations by rotating the sleeve. Even squeezing the shaft while I was holding it in place was a good sensation, and the short size of the sleeve makes it much easier to control while it’s in your grasp. You can easily position the sleeve right where it drives you wild.

The tongue (which is not textured) was an interesting addition. It didn’t really offer enough stimulation to give me significant pleasure on its own, but - when lubed - it was somewhat enjoyable caressing the head of my penis before penetration, and - as the sleeve was pulled all the way down - gave my balls a little extra attention than they normally get (from a toy, at least).

Being opened ended, it was nice to “finish off” with the toy pulled down beyond the head of my cock. Personally, my glans become pretty sensitive during and after orgasm, so often times a deep or close-ended toy will feel not-so-great if it’s spinning or stroking the head of my cock during climax. Pulled down beyond the head, I didn’t have to worry about this, and - also - didn’t have to clean up a big mess from inside the toy.