The matador - cock ring discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by Jul!a

If you're in the mood for a little bull fighting, this cock ring might just be right up your alley.

It comes in a box that's pretty darn obvious, although not overly tacky. It does have pictures of the ring and controller on it, and some cheesy text, but overall it's not horrible. You can use the box for storage if you so chose to, but a better option would be a plastic bag.

The ring is made of TPR which isn't bad for safety, but it can't be sterilized. It isn't really sticky at all but it does have quite a bit of drag to it and is fairly proficient at picking up lint, dust, and dirt. The good news is that once it picks up enough to make the surface less tacky, it's less likely to keep attracting fuzzies. The material does have some nice squish and stretch to it. It does have a bit of a slightly chemical smell but only if you get up close to it. Scented or flavored cleaners or lubes can deposit their scent on the ring as well. If you don't like the way it's smelling, just wash it really well and leave it out to air out for a few days.

The bullet is made of plastic with a metallic coating on it. It's about 2 1/4" long and 3" around and fits well in the bullet hole of the cock ring. It is a corded bullet, so it's attached to a control pack with a 30" cord. Where the cord meets the bullet isn't sealed very well and looks like it would let in fluids if they get near there, so when washing the bullet be careful of this. The plastic controller pack looks like a big tear, and at about 4 1/2" long is pretty easy to hold in your hand if you want. It's controlled by a dial at the top and both sides are marked which direction turns the vibrations up and which turns it down.

On their own the vibrations are a decent strength. They're definitely more high pitched, whiny, and buzzy so some of the strength may be lost for some based on this. They are strong enough to transmit easily through the bull's head to stimulate the clit. On the highest setting it's actually fairly quiet. Noticeable through a closed door in a quiet room, but won't take much background noise to drown out.

The ring itself is pretty bulky overall. The ring is half an inch thick with an unstretched diameter of about 1 1/4" and stretches to about 3". On smaller guys wearing it just around the penis it won't do much but sit there and look pretty, but on larger guys you might actually end up with it functioning for both partners. It is stretchy enough to allow for both the penis and the balls to pop through. The bull comes up from the ring a full in and a half, and then up the penis an additional inch and a quarter, effectively taking about an inch off the penis during sex. This isn't so bad if the woman is on top and wants to grind, but it's absolutely horrible for thrusting. At least on a penis that's about average or lower. For us he ended up popping out of me repeatedly. If you'd like to try some different stimulation, you could turn it over so that the bull is underneath the penis to vibrate the balls and stimulate the perineum of whoever's on top.

Cleaning isn't too hard; just use some warm soapy water for the ring. You could also use a spray cleaner or a wipe, but make sure to pay attention to all the crevices on the bull's face. The bullet isn't too bad to clean so long as you make sure not to get any fluids or anything inside the little hole that the cord attaches into; that and don't get the controller pack wet. Wipe them both down with a damp cloth or a toy wipe. You can safely use either water or silicone based lube with this set as well. If you also want to use a condom, just make sure that this isn't holding the condom in place as the extra friction could cause the condom to tear.

I don't hate this ring. I won't go around singing its praises, but I'm not going to warn you against it either. While being on top and grinding my husband this ring was very effective. The bull sticking out that far is a great thing as far as clit stimulation goes. However if we were to change positions thrusting became virtually impossible for us since the ring just seemed to take up so much of my husband's penis. He found it pretty comfortable to wear though, and it didn't pull at his pubic hair either. I did get a few pretty good orgasms from it, but the size and bulk of the bull just makes me not want to deal with it on a regular basis.

I've gone back and forth for a while about what to rate this. It loses points for how bulky it is and how difficult it can make doing anything other than grinding, but it also gains some for being excellent at stimulating the clit. I want to give it 3 1/2 stars, because it's a solid 3 1/2 star item. But since the vibrations should be good for a lot of people and it functions pretty well as a cock ring, I'll bump it up to 4.