Other Sex Toys We Like
We test a lot of sex toys and accessories here at WIRED, and there isn’t enough room in one list for all of our favorite picks. There’s barely enough room on this list for all the toys we’d consider phenomenal, let alone the ones we consider the absolute best. So here are some other products that are great in their own right and worth checking out.
Lovense Osci 3 Rabbit Vibrator for $99: Rabbit vibrators are often associated with vulvas because they simultaneously stimulate the G-spot and clitoris, but the flexibility of the Lovense Osci 3 (7/10, WIRED Review) makes it so anyone can use it. I have friends with phalluses who love rabbits because of the dual stimulation: the long arm can penetrate the anus while the shorter arm rests against the perineum delivering intense vibrations. A lot is going on with Osci 3, and it’s full of features worth exploring, so I highly recommend it to anyone who loves bells and whistles.
Crave Wink+ Bullet Vibrator for $79: For years, my favorite bullet vibe was Le Wand Deux, but with Crave Wink+, I’ve finally met a bullet that is currently rivaling my love for the Deux. Made of gorgeous body-safe, nickel-free stainless steel, the Wink+ offers four vibration intensities and one pattern mode, is 100 percent waterproof, and when fully charged and used at its highest speed, you can get up to a whopping five hours of playtime with this bad boy. It’s truly remarkable and I know it will be on my nightstand for a very, very long time.
Dame Hug Cock Ring for $75: If you thought cock rings needed to be a super-snug fit to deliver the benefits they offer, think again. With the Hug (9/10, WIRED Recommends), Dame’s first foray into toys for penis-havers, the fit isn’t just comfortable, but easily adjustable thanks to the pinchable arms. Its design not only stimulates the penis and scrotum when rolling solo, but when used with a partner, the Hug is perfectly shaped to stimulate the clitoris during penetration.
What’s Your Sex Toy Made Of?
Photograph: Getty Images
Throughout this guide, we reference the different materials these sex toys are made of, and there’s a good reason for that. It’s notoriously difficult to pin down exactly what materials some sex toy manufacturers use and how safe those are for contact with your most sensitive body parts. This is due to FDA regulations and how they classify sex toys: medical devices or novelty. The former category requires rigorous testing and standards, whereas the latter makes it easier to get products into the market. There are a few sure bets, though. You want your sex toys to be, first and foremost, nonporous. A porous material will be almost impossible to fully clean and will degrade the product and house more and more bacteria over time. Secondly, you want it made of materials that will not shed chemicals, plastics, or other materials during regular use. The materials that generally fit that bill are surgical steel (316 or 316L steel), borosilicate glass, and silicone.
Silicone is one of the trickier materials because there are so many ways it can be made, and so many different testing standards in parts of the world. Frankly, there aren’t enough studies that test which kinds of silicone are safest. There are a couple that have a solid body of research behind them, along with some common testing standards: Platinum-cured silicone and food-grade silicone. Food-grade is a label regulated by the FDA, and it means the silicone has been tested to make sure it doesn’t leach harmful chemicals into food. Crave cofounder Michael Topolovac says, “Once you go below food grade, a lot of things come into play that are hard to verify.” Platinum-cured silicone is safer than standard (peroxide-cured) silicone because the chemicals used to make the silicone are more completely consumed during the process, leaving nothing behind to leach into your body. Platinum-cured silicones are surprisingly odorless for this reason.
Medical grade is a label you’ll see pretty often, but if it’s not backed up with the specific regulatory body or testing standard used to determine that it’s medical grade, it leaves me wondering why that hasn’t been disclosed. If the manufacturer specifies which kind of silicone it uses, we will list it in the product description. If it’s unclear, we’ll list it as unspecified silicone. That doesn’t mean it’s bad! It just means the specific kind used in that toy isn’t listed or hasn’t been provided to us.
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