Compact vibe mini - discreet vibrator by Cal Exotics - review by Saraid

The Cal Exotics Compact Vibe Mini is a small vibrator designed to stimulate the clitoris and also the vaginal opening. It does it's job well, but if you want a truly insertable vibe, this may not be your best bet. At only 5 inches long, it's a very small toy. This toy would probably be best for someone who is new to sex toys or someone who is on a tight budget. Also, my boyfriend has attested to the fact that it can barely be heard through heavy blankets and cannot be heard at all through a closed door on its highest setting.

If you require medium to strong stimulation, this vibe would work very well for you. However, if you are a person who likes more diffuse vibration, this may be overly powerful for your liking. You could definitely use this toy with a partner during sex if you like clitoral stimulation during partner sex. It's small and could easily fit between two bodies without causing any hindrance.

The Compact Vibe Mini is made out of hard plastic with a velvet coating. This makes it body safe as well as totally scent-free. If you aren't familiar with "velvet cote" vibrators, it makes the plastic smooth and silky rather than just normal hard plastic.

There some texture in the middle of the toy as you can see, but I didn't find it stimulated me much when inserted shallowly into my vagina. However, I tend to like intense amounts of texture (think Tantus Echo) so this may not be the same for you. So if you are afraid of texture, this would be a good toy to start out with.

The design is what you might think of in a "typical" low cost vibrator. It's a sleek torpedo shape with frills, bells of whistles. However, this torpedo shape makes it ideal for very direct clitoral stimulation as well as insertion into the first couple of inches of the vagina.

Since it's small it can be carried easily in your backpack or purse and would be ideal for travel. However, if traveling with this toy, you would want to take out the batteries as there is no way to lock the push button that controls the toy.

The toy is controlled by a single, black, push button that cycles through 5 different functions: 3 levels of increasing vibration, 1 constant pulsation mode (zz zz zz zz), and one escalating pulsation mode (zz zZ ZZ zz zZ ZZ). After reaching the fifth mode, the toy can be easily turned off by pressing the button one more time. Since it only has that one button, it's incredibly easy to use.

The toy is quiet as mentioned above, and is also waterproof. I tested the toy both submerged in my sink and under running water and it passed both tests. Upon opening the battery pack there was no water inside and therefore I would definitely say this is truly waterproof! Have fun in the tub!

The vibrations are pretty diffuse throughout, but very, very strong. So no matter what part of the toy you chose to use, it will have the same powerful vibrations.

Being hard plastic, the Compact Vibe Mini is very easy to clean. You can either use toy cleaner or just a mild soap and warm water. Also, because it is waterproof, you don't have to worry about getting water all over it while cleaning.

Cal Exotics mentions not to use anything other than water-based lubricant because of the velvet cote, so I would second their recommendation and stay away from silicone and oil-based lubes.

You can take the batteries out when you're not using it if you want it to last a long time, but I personally never can get screw-style caps on straight so I may leave mine in. If you're not so challenged (think soda bottle caps) then you can take the batteries out after each use.

The packaging is probably my main complaint with this toy. There are no instructions included with the toy on how the battery pack works or even what type of batteries the toy takes. Thankfully Eden provided that information on the product page.

Battery instructions: When you open up the screw cap of the toy, turn the toy over and the battery compartment will slide out. This may require a little tap or two. Then on the sides of the battery pack it shows which way the AAA batteries slide in. After putting them in you slide the pack back in the toy making sure that the metal contacts on the side of the pack and the side of the toy line up.

The package itself is a plastic shell that comes with a paper insert telling the toy's name and that fact that it has 5 functions. There is also a generic looking heterosexual couple on the front. I personally believe the packaging would be better if it included more instructions about the toy rather than just pictures and description words.