Basic essentials softee - traditional vibrator discontinued by Cal Exotics - review by Sundae

The Softee is made up of a removable, textured TPR sleeve over a hard plastic vibrator and thus is quite a versatile vibe if you separate the pieces and get a little creative. With the sleeve on, the Softee offers a unique experience as the nubs provide very intense stimulation when inserted and also a great sensation with a bit of lube being used to rub and tease externally. Yet when you take the sleeve off you're left with what looks like your basic or traditional insertable vibe. This is long and sleek, coming to a rounded point at the top, and is made of rigid plastic. This is also great for internal use, providing vastly different sensations to the sleeve, as well as external teasing with the focused vibrations in the tip. However, the Softee definitely isn't an anal friendly toy as it lacks a flared base and with the sleeve on the texture really would not be conducive to that sort of play.

When I took this vibe out of the packaging for the first time there was a definite chemical smell, but not one as strong as you get from a jelly toy and it did diminish after washing. It's the sleeve that has this scent, so if you're using the vibrator separately a wash will get rid of any lingering smells and make it pretty much tasteless and odorless.

The sleeve is made from squishy TPR and has hundreds of tiny nubs on it to provide maximum stimulation. These are somewhat malleable, meaning it's not quite as frightening in reality as the pictures here on EF make it look. However, I found this texture to be far too intense for me personally as all the nubs almost hurt, even with plenty of lube. I even found slow and gentle thrusting uncomfortable as it's just too textured for the bumps not to grab and rub in sensitive places I don't really want them to mess with! Therefore, I wouldn't recommend this part of the Softee to those who are sensitive, or new to toys, as it can obviously be overwhelming.

So I then removed the sleeve to test out the vibe underneath. It was a bit of a chore to get the sleeve off the first time and I had to roll and twist and push to get the TPR to come off, in the process damaging the sleeve a little at the bottom. However, once I'd taken it off that first time it seemed to have stretched a bit and was much easier to put on and take off in subsequent attempts. The inner vibe is made of a rigid, semi-transparent plastic and you can see all of its innards working whilst you play. I found this to be much more pleasurable on its own than with the sleeve because of its smooth texture, which made it easier to thrust with and apply pressure with. This part of the Softee would be much more beginner friendly!

With the sleeve on the Softee has a circumference of 4 3/4" and an insertable length of about 5 1/2 to 6". By my measurements without the sleeve on it has a circumference of around 3 1/2" and the insertable length is roughly 5". The slightly shorter length means that once it's inside there isn't a whole lot of toy to grip on to, apart from bottom screw on section and speed controls, which does make it hard to thrust and manoeuvre. Something you might also want to consider is that I found it felt quite a lot thicker once inserted than I would have expected, due to the texture of the sleeve. Additionally, you'll want plenty of lube even just for insertion, to ensure you don't rub yourself raw on all of the bumps.

Whilst the design of the sleeve does leave something to be desired, when it's removed you really do have a decent, though very basic, vibrator. It's the typical design, rigid, straight and smooth tapering off to a rounded point at the end, which is nice for teasing, but does risk giving you a jab if you don't thrust carefully. Therefore, the Softee might be a good choice for someone who wants to try out something a bit new and bizarre, as even if the sleeve doesn't work out you're still left with something usable at the end of the day.

The speed on the Softee is controlled via a little twist dial at the base, which is relatively easy to turn unless you get a bit of lube down there, in which case it becomes rather slippery and difficult. The vibrations aren't jet-engine strong, but they're definitely sufficient and impressive for a single AA battery. The bulk of the vibrations can be felt in the top third of the toy, with almost none right at the base. This is a bit of a shame because when inserted you don't get a whole lot of stimulation around the entrance to the vagina. Naturally, the sleeve does dampen the vibrations slightly, but the soft TPR material carries them well. The Softee isn't a super noisy toy, but it can be heard faintly through a closed door on the highest setting, unless you pop it under the covers. Taking the sleeve off also makes it a little louder, but not unpleasantly so. I gave it a bath in my sink (sadly without any rubber duckies or bubbles to liven things up) and found that it was indeed waterproof, with no droplets of water in the battery compartment or any damage at all even after being submerged on high for quite a while. The battery lid screws on tightly and there is a small washer/ring to make sure it seals well.

The TPR sleeve and the inner vibrator can be used with water-based or silicone lubes without any problems, which gives you a bit of variety. Similarly, both parts of the toy are fairly easy to clean with some soap and water or toy cleaner. I'd recommend actually going to the sink and giving the sleeve a thorough going over instead of a 'spray and wipe' type of clean because of all the little nubs which can possibly trap gunk and an almost sticky texture which can attract lint. However, the actual vibrator is just smooth plastic, so clean-up is really simple for that.

Personally, as you probably have guessed by now, I preferred the vibe without the nubbly sleeve as its texture was definitely not to my liking. In fact, it kind of reminds me of a neon corn cob (hence the title!)and is not really an aesthetically pleasing toy, which does matter to me. The vibe inside is much better without the sleeve and is a good basic item, but it isn't something that really thrills me, as the shape isn't one I favour and the vibrations aren't earth-shattering. I think you'd probably just be better off buying a different basic vibe unless you were definitely keen to try the bumpy ride the Softee sleeve provides!