A Fool in Love

FOU is called a "free vibe" (clitoral) vibrator from Fun Factory, made from 100% premium, plush silicone. It's not designed for penetration anywhere into your body and you won't even care about that after you use it. It's designed to focus just on the clitoral/hood/labial area and that little missing notch is the key to heaven.



Much like its friend the Fun Factory UFO, this one hit it out of the park for me. I'll try to compare the two throughout this review, since I own both.

Toy Store!
This is a great toy for those who like quirky, creatively shaped sex toys that are the polar opposite of obscene -- rather, both the UFO and FOU are super-playful and really emphasize the 'toy' part of their description. But, I'm happy to say, they both deliver on the 'sex' side of things.

You'll love FOU for its:
1. Adorable design
2. Good power
3. Pinpoint and broad shape
4. And most of all FOU can take the pressure.

As such, collectors and novelty-seekers alike should snap up FOU. It doesn't feel like your run of the mill clit vibe. Others who enjoy plush, squeeze-able, pressure-friendly toys will also love FOU! What else?

FOU is a dual-material toy, but still waterproof. The neon-red (almost pink) silicone composes the top half of the toy, and will be used against your body. The control panel and buttons are found on the second half, which is white, hard plastic. The buttons are totally recessed but click-able under the plastic and the seam between the two materials is very close and superb.

My experience with this kind of silicone has been awesome -- it cleans up great, retains no odors and is a fantastic color. The white plastic however, is white -- I noticed some discoloration on the UFO's buttons after using it for only a short period of time. This makes the buttons appear a little gray, which is a little bit of a downer.



The FOU features no texture on its entirely smooth surface. However, the notched tip on the silicone end can concentrate the vibrations. Also, the squishy silicone feels pretty friendly -- both for your fingers and the area of you're body you're using FOU on.




Not a big deal...
Just in case you were wondering, there's a slight color difference between UFO and FOU. It's only noticeable in certain light. (But I bought the two to match, so just in case someone else is wondering the same thing!)

I love the design of FOU, it's different, unique and yet still functional. The main feature of FOU is the notched tip at the silicone end. I thought maybe the FOU was flat, at first? Nope! It's completely round, fitting into your palm like an egg. It's rather small and very cute in design.



Charging and Behavior:
As I said before, the FOU is totally round all over -- the circumference and the bottom. However, Fun Factory likes their click n' charge magnetic technology, which is awesome for making a toy waterproof but trying to connect a flat surface to a surface that curves away is hard. The charger also has to be aligned such that both the word 'FUN' on the white control panel and the word 'FUN' on the charger are parallel. When your crazy-shaped toy rolls around and won't lay flat on a table, this can be hard.



About charging behavior and Magic Touch -- Fun Factory has created a very whimsical, friendly toy that responds to you by lighting up in certain ways that seem interactive. This is awesome and unique and gives you a sense of connection to your toy. However it's also pretty hard to know if your toy is acting strange if you don't know what normal behavior is -- so I'll try to give a description.

Magic Touch is the system by which the FOU responds to your touch. When you touch the control panel (but not necessarily any of the buttons), the lights will flash. I've also noticed that FOU sometimes lighting up on its own while it sits on the table. It's like it's keeping itself company.

While charging, while the FOU is connected to its magnetic plug, the word 'FUN' on the charging plug will glow red. The buttons on the control panel will glow one by one, in a circle. These lights should be smooth, fading in and out. While one light is going out, the next button's light should be coming on. When the FOU is done charging, the red light on the plug should turn off. The FOU's main lights, instead of that circular pattern, should just flash (all the buttons at once).

FOU has a great control panel: a (+) button both turns on the toy and increases power. The (-) button decreases power and turns the toy off. The (*) button cycles through patterns -- only click (*) to go through these patterns, so if you want to go back one, you'll have to click through them all. Clicking (+) while in pattern mode will directly switch back to steady vibration. The FOU has several functions and patterns:

Steady Vibrations:
1. Low (1 vroom, 2 bees)
2. Medium-low (2 vrooms, 2 bees)
3. Medium (3 vrooms, 3 bees)
4. High (4 vrooms, 3 bees)

Patterns:
1. Quick pulse
2. Slower pulse
3. Wave
4. Roller coaster

FOU has a gradient of power across its surface, which is largely due to the centralized location of the motor and the non-uniform shape of the tip. Check it out:



Again, comparing the FOU to the UFO (I rated both at 4 vrooms), the FOU feels stronger because the tip is more accessible to your clitoris. The UFO also has a gradient, but its strongest area is in the inner circle. This is a broad area that's more difficult to press against.

The UFO also has a broad silicone lip -- it's a fair statement to say that UFO has much more silicone material than the FOU overall. Because of this, UFO's vibrations can get lost, while FOU's vibrations are less buried.

More good news -- FOU doesn't really lose power with pressure. It's natural to me to use a toy to rub myself, which is hard to do if a toy loses power. Neither FOU nor UFO have this issue.

The Water Test:
I found a way to visualize the vibrations, so that I'm not just telling you how the FOU stacks against other toys. Hopefully, you can see it from these pictures.

The water test is based on seeing the frequency of the vibrations the toy creates in a shallow bowl of water. Buzzy toys will create small ripples due to the high frequency. Rumbly toys will create large ripples. Strong toys in general (related to amplitude rather than frequency) will move the water around a lot.




As you can see, FOU is definitely stronger than the UFO.



Here's a picture of the Mimi, which is, to me, a 5 vroom and rumbly toy. FOU compares fairly well, though I assure you the Mimi feels stronger in use.

The FOU is very easy to care for, mostly because it's waterproof, which I love. The notched tip hits a good balance between being nice texture for your clitoris while in use but doesn't impede cleaning since the groove is accessible to water, soap, or wipes.

Cleaning methods that are compatible with the FOU:
1. Warm water and soap
2. Cleaning wipes
3. 10% bleach solution (wipe-down, not immersion)

That's it. Please don't boil or microwave your motorized toys, as this will damage them.

As for lubes, the FOU is made of premium silicone. As a result, silicone lubes should be avoided unless it's of very high quality and you're willing to do a spot-check. Water-based lubes are always compatible. Oil-based lubes are an option, but don't plan on using condoms during the same encounter, as the condoms will be degraded very quickly.

Packaging:
I love Fun Factory packaging -- I very much recommend keeping the packaging, since it's a very presentable, regularly shaped box. Once the outer sleeve is removed, all that remains a nice, champagne-colored box that's fairly discreet to keep under the bed or in your closet.



Inside, the box's interior is a flashy red. Fun Factory provides a sexy satin pouch for the FOU, which is quite luxurious. Also included is a sample of Fun Factory's water-based lube, 'Toyfluid'. The charger comes in a separate box, which its own instructions.

I've seen the poor reviews of FOU -- and actually, I'm very surprised. I first shied away from the FOU because of them, then bought it on a whim after forgetting some of the points against FOU. I would respectfully disagree. Allow me to address the criticism:

1. FOU is loud.
It's fair to say that FOU isn't quiet, but FOU is actually quieter than the UFO and significantly quieter than any run-of-the-mill rabbit. It's a lower-pitched noise that doesn't annoy like some wands or buzzy toys. FOU is loudest when it's being held upright -- but you actually won't be using it like that. It quiets down when inverted, with the red silicone tip pointing down.

2. The shape is weird.
It took me a moment to figure it out, too. But aligning the longer lip to touch your clitoris is the way to go! This is where all the vrooms are. I hope my diagram helped.

3. FOU is weak.
I think FOU is 4 vroom toy. I generally require a fair amount of power to get off and FOU does the job quite well. Just like in number 2, I think it's really important to align FOU the way you need it -- that being said, FOU could also be a multi-flavor toy since the vrooms have a gradient all over the surface.

Closing Remarks:
FOU is the sort of toy that isn't obvious. That's unfortunately true and I could see it turning a few people off. Unlike a dildo or a regular bullet, FOU doesn't dictate what you do with it. With some creativity and an open mind, FOU can be amazing.