[review] Fun Factory Stronic Eins

Alrighty, it is time to talk about the not-so-new-now new toy from Fun Factory (renowned German makers of brightly coloured toys that are good for fucking with, even if some of them look like the sort of early learning toy you might give to a small child), the Stronic Eins.

For many years now, insertable vaginal toys have tended to vibrate and/or rotate. Occasionally there might be some ‘pearls’ in the shaft of the toy for extra texture fun, but that has been it. Fun Factory have come alone and blown this shit out of the water with this new toy, which is not a vibrator, but a pulsator. Yeah, you heard. A pulsator. Because it pulses. Another way to phrase this would be to say that it thrusts.

If you are into penetration, then you are probably a little beside yourself with this concept, if you don’t already own one of these bad boys. And you should be a little beside yourself, because the Stronic Eins is good. Real good. However, it doesn’t function in the same way as a fucking machine (or human), so don’t expect this toy to be able to go as hard as a real-life partner would, slamming into you with all that good weight and force. No, this is just a little pulsator, and it isn’t going to feel like you are actually fucking, so let’s go into this experience with realistic expectations, shall we?

Stronic Eins (in pink)

Stronic Eins (in pink)

The Stronic Eins comes in your choice of pink or dark violet, is about 24cm in length and 4.5-3.5cm in width, depending on which section you measure. It is completely waterproof and rechargeable with the Fun Factory Click ‘N’ Charge magnetic charger. The charger is sold separately, but works with all the rechargeable toys that Fun Factory puts out. So instead of needing to own multiple chargers, you just need the one. I know a lot of people whine about having to buy the charger separately, but really, just shut up. They are cheap; you only need one; just buy it already and then join me in feeling smug about doing your part for the environment by not getting a useless extra charger every time you buy another Fun Factory toy that will inevitably just sit in a drawer until you move house and lose it or throw it out or whatever.

You’ll get about three hours of pulsing before it needs to be charged again, but charging doesn’t take too long; roughly as long as it would take to charge up a smart phone. If you need to take the Stronic Eins with you when travelling, Fun Factory have taken a leaf from the Lelo tree of goodness and added in a lock function. This means you don’t risk your luggage trying to jerk its way down the check in line at the airport, and no embarrassing bomb squad encounters for you. Unlike Lelo’s clever locking function (hold down two buttons for a count of three to lock/unlock), Fun Factory just makes the on/off button more difficult to accidentally knock on; it needs to be depressed for a second before it will work. I’ve played around with mine, trying to accidentally turn it on, and haven’t yet managed to, but it still isn’t going to be as super-secure as Lelo toys are. Having said that, if this is a massive concern for you, just charge the toy down before you pack it in the suitcase. A toy with no charge can not accidentally be turned on, after all.

The medical-grade silicone is that lovely matte texture that Fun Factory are known for, but seems to want to make love to dust and cat fur more than my other Fun Factory toys. You’ll want to store it in a lint-free storage bag or box so that it doesn’t need de-linting before use. You’ll also want to be liberal with the water-based lubricant, because the matte texture can create a bit of drag and friction when in use.

Speaking of use, let’s get to the good stuff: how this toy performs. Inside the toy is a clever little motor that allows the toy to thrust forward and back, like this:

Stronic Eins

Stronic Eins pulsating

There are about 10 different pulsation patterns, some of which are pretty hot date and some of which feel like you are getting it on with a seizure victim, but there is enough variety that you will no doubt find something that works for you.

If the Stronic Eins is held on to tightly, it will not pulsate as hard as it can, so what you’ll need to learn how to do is hold it lightly, or just let your pelvic floor do the work for you and go hands free. You may also find that certain positions allow this toy to perform the way it wants to better than others. I’ve found it easier to use whilst lying down than standing or sitting. Standing up (the way you might use a vibrator in the shower) is particularly awkward and with the loose grip I was a little too concerned about dropping the damn thing on the tiles; at $200+ a pop, you don’t want to go dropping it.

Once you’ve found a comfortable position you can really get some good g-spot stimulation with this toy. The slight curve at the head means it is already heading in the right direction, and the repeat thrusts into the g-spot, combined if you like with another form of clitoral stimulation, can make for some very satisfying wanking. Yeah, it has a little nub for clit stimulation, but I’m the kind of girl who wants pressure, and I can’t manoeuvre this toy (or most others) in a way that gives me dual stimulation to my liking. Of course, your mileage with the clit nub may vary.

If you are having a partner use this toy on you, make sure you get them to keep a light grip, otherwise they may as well be using a vibrator or dildo on you. And really, were I with a partner, I would probably sooner hand them a vibrator or dildo to fuck me with than this toy. The Stronic Eins is best reserved for solo use when you don’t have someone else to do the thrusting for you and you want to concentrate on how awesome things are feeling and not the annoyance that is having to get a hand cramp from self-thrusting action. And what better way to celebrate Masturbation Month than with a hands-free wank?

All in all, I am in love with my Stronic Eins and have forced it into the hands of most visitors to my house, exclaiming ‘FEEL THIS! LOOK AT THIS! IT’S A REVELATION GOD DAMN IT!’. At $200+ a pop, it is definitely an investment piece, so make sure you hold on to your receipt and buy it from a trustworthy retailer with a good returns policy, just in case. Then start saving for the Stronic Zwei and Stronic Drei!

Please note: this is not a sponsored review and I have not been compensated in any way to provide my honest opinion. If however you would like to send me your product in exchange for my honest review, please contact me at harlotoverdrive@gmail.com

Songs My Parents Taught Me

I die.

Lisa-Skye in a Bee Costume. I die.

Right now, the 2013 Melbourne International Comedy Festival is happening. I’m usually pretty bad at seeing all the shows I want to see at the festival, but tonight I successfully dragged my butt along to Tuxedo Cat where Lisa-Skye was performing Songs My Parents Taught Me to a small but sold out room.

I’m super pleased I managed to get out and see this show because Lisa-Skye is utterly charming to watch. Witty, engaging and animated, she tells the stories of Bunny and Mad Dog in 1970s Melbourne, and muses on drugs, sex and counterculture as it was back then, and how it is today (hint: not all that different, really).

Oh, and there are slides and dancing, a metronome used to assist in imparting wisdom, the Ambien Walrus.. and glitter. Lots of fucking glitter.

If in Melbourne, you should make the time to see Songs My Parents Taught Me before the season ends. You’ll definitely get something out of it; laughs, a trip down memory lane or perhaps a desire to be fingerbanged in the loos after the show. Probably it will be all of those things.

Songs My Parents Taught Me runs from 11 April until 21 April, 2013.

[review] The Thrill by We-Vibe

Firstly, why is this ‘The Thrill by We-Vibe’? Can we not just call it the We-Vibe Thrill? or just, like, The Thrill? Whatever. Here is my review of this newish toy from We-Vibe.

The video is pretty, I suppose.. Doesn’t say a great deal though. Or inspire me to have a wank. And I’m confused about the porno-funk soundtrack given the target audience.. But enough about promotional videos, we are here to talk about The Thrill by We-Vibe and whether or not I think you should consider purchasing this toy.

The short version is: Just don’t.

The longer version is: Who let the design team at We-Vibe smoke this much crack? This is a company who brought us the We-Vibe (and We-Vibe II: The strongening and We-Vibe III: the We-Vibe of your dreams), the beautiful silicone Touch clitoral stimulator and the Salsa/Tango – the most amazing rechargeable bullet that will just vibrate and rotate its way out the door if you let it go, such is the strength of this toy. Seriously, this is a company that has done no wrong..

Until now. With this lacklustre offering. It *looks* cool, but that’s about it. Oh wait, it’s USB-chargeable. Which is a quick, painless and power-saving way to charge a toy, so points for that (and hopefully newer versions of their other products will follow suit in terms of charging options). And of course it is waterproof and made of medical-grade silicone. Thing is, in today’s market, these elements are becoming less of a selling point and more of the minimum standard for decent sex toys. So whilst good that The Thrill has those elements to it, it’s not going to be a selling point compared to other higher-end toys. Hell, they haven’t even given us the colour options that the other silicone We-Vibe branded toys get (I wanted teal, not ruby, damn it)!

The Thrill by We-Vibe

The Thrill by We-Vibe

So the poorly named toy has taken the design of the We-Vibe and solo-fied it, for her pleasure. In doing this, the internal section has been fattened up for extra g-spot stimulation, which would be fantastic if you could muster up any reasonable pressure on the g-spot with this toy, but there seems to be no way of getting pressure on the g-spot without pulling the odd handle/clitoral stim section away from my body. And, well, what is the point of this toy if it cannot stimulate both my clitoris and my g-spot? Speaking of the clit stim, the heavy plastic casing of this area dilutes the vibrations greatly. Like, what the hell, We-Vibe? This is not a toy that provides strong clitoral stimulation. Even when I ignore the g-spot and just go hard against my clitoris with the intended clit stim section of this toy.. nothing much happens. The fat silicone internal arm has far stronger vibrations (I know this, because due to frustration I gave up on the g-spot and just rammed that arm against my clit, and lo and behold, there were some reasonable-strength vibrations), and I wonder why, unlike the various incarnations of the We-Vibe, they didn’t encase the Thrill entirely in silicone, so that my clitoris might have stood a chance at some fun as well. This particular design flaw is such that I have to wonder what everyone in the We-Vibe offices was smoking the day this got approved and made it past testing.

So we have mediocre clitoral stimulation and ‘have-to-work-for-it’ g-spot stimulation. Neither of these ‘features’ make me want to spend the kind of money We-Vibe is asking for this toy. In fact, it would make more sense to me to invest in the remote-controlled We-Vibe 3 (which will cost you about the same, but be super useful and fun for all kinds of sexing) and team it up with your favourite g-spot leanin’ dildo or internal vibrator if you want pressure on the g-spot as well as some internal vibrations.

We-Vibe 3

We-Vibe 3: Better

If for some reason you still want to know more about this toy, you can head over to the We-Vibe website and check out all the specifications. If you own and love your The Thrill by We-Vibe, maybe drop a comment below and tell me why and how you have learned to love yours.


This is not a sponsored review. If you would like to provide me with an item in exchange for my honest review, please get in touch at harlotoverdrive at gmail dot com. xx

[repost] [review] Man Trap (JoyBear Pictures)

Reposting the review I wrote of Man Trap from Joybear Pictures. First published 23 September, 2011.

I finally had a chance to view Man Trap, a feature-length pornographic film from JoyBear Pictures. JoyBear are a UK-based company who are building a name for themselves by making erotic films for ‘him and her’.


The film plays out like a documentary; ‘Man Trap’ is a service set up to catch out cheating husbands (groan), by luring them into sexual encounters with stunning women. The proprietor of Man Trap speaks ‘candidly’ with a journalist, and from this, the sex scenes are woven into the film.

The actors are conventionally attractive without seeming completely unrealistic (no fake boobs here), which I can only assume is a conscious decision to make this film more appealing to its female audience. There is also a smattering of ink and steel adorning the cast, (which I will readily admit to being a sucker for), but not so much that you could slot it into your ‘alt-porn’ folder.

Man Trap has a total of six scenes which, quantity-wise, is certainly value for money. Quality-wise is a different story. Don’t get me wrong – the camera work is lovely and the sets are just fine. The actors all seem very happy to be there and these are all Good Things. But, for me at least, this film is just a little bit.. boring.

There is a big focus on mutual oral pleasure and standard hetero penetrative sex, and not a roughly pulled handful of hair or spat-on face to be seen, which will be a massively welcome respite for some from the usual offerings of mainstream porn. There is some light toy use, a little in the water action (always nice) and a slightly questionable girl/girl scene (if this is for HER, why does this scene stil feel like it’s still rocking that male gaze? Can we do away with performative girl/girl and just see ladies fucking please?)

The sex scenes follow the standard ‘from one position to the next; repeat until orgasm’ style of fucking, and sadly, what Man Trap seems to lack is passion. It’s very *nice*, but I just don’t find it very hot; it is a little too polished, if you know what I mean.

What this film does do well is provide a nice, non-threatening option for ‘him and her’ to watch together, and I am sure there are plenty of women out there who would happily pick Man Trap over, say, Can He Score 8. I’m pleased that companies like JoyBear exist, because there is undoubtedly a market for this softer hardcore (and because porn needs more British accents), but I’m just not that market.

Big thanks go to JoyBear Pictures for providing me with a copy of Man Trap, and allowing me the chance to view and review it.

Bright future in Bright Desire

Okay, that was a cheesy heading for this post, but do you know what isn’t cheesy? Bright Desire.

Bright Desire is the new porn website from Ms. Naughty, and it is ticking a lot of boxes for me. The layout is clean and super easy to navigate, without any auto-playing annoyances or confusing menus, and whilst I love Indie Porn Revolution‘s (formerly NoFauxxx) decision to not segregate the scenes by type, sometimes it is nice to think, “I want to watch a dude masturbating” or “I want to see a couple going at it” and be able to head straight to the area that is relevant to that interest. Bright Desire allows you to easily search for scenes of solo men, solo women or couples, as well as allowing you to search extended scenes, short films, extras or interviews and it does all of this without presuming your sexuality. No straight/gay distinctions are made on Bright Desire. Additionally, scenes can be found by searching the tags; which includes everything from ‘pegging’ to ‘shower’ to ‘laughter’. Incidentally, I especially love the laughter tag because seeing people laughing and joking around in scenes is joyful, and really leaves any pretension at the door. Aside from the unique content created for this site, hitting up the ‘under the bed’ section gives you a wealth of still and moving images collected by Ms Naughty over the past 12 years; hooray for bonus porn with your porn!

Kara & Devon

Kara & Devon

The unique content for this site is, so far, rather great and it shows a lot of promise. A good serving of real couples, real spaces and real pleasure. As much fun as high end fantasy porn can be, there is something really special about watching two people who care for each other (or two people who just met and are totally into exploring each other) just going for it on a bed, or in the shower, or, well, you get the idea. The playfulness of Aeryn (Naughty Nerdy) and her partner Theo is super endearing, and the post-scene shower scene with Kara and Devon has a superbly voyeuristic quality to it. However, where Bright Desire is really doing it for me is the solo masturbation scenes. Usually I’m not crazy into solo scenes, but I think I am being persuaded otherwise by the quality and eroticism of these spoken word fantasy-soundtracked masturbation sessions. Personal highlights include Adrianna Nicole’s ‘Phone Sex’ and Jes’s ‘Solo’.

Adrianna Nicole

Adrianna Nicole

You can also get some food for thought via the reviews and columns included on the site. Ms Naughty has been making feminist (hetero-leaning) pornography for a number of years, as well as blogging about sex and smut, and can be reguarly seen popping up in comments on mainstream media with insightful, intelligent things to say about pornography, censorship, art and sexuality. This is a lady who has some great stuff to say, and it has been enjoyable flicking through the collection of her writing included on Bright Desire. There is also a wealth of fiction writing, and whilst erotic fiction is not hugely my thing, I love that this site has both the written and visual components all in the one place.

Aeryn & Theo

Aeryn & Theo

I’m very enthusiastic about more ethical and feminist pornography pushing its way into the world, and totally recommend that you check out Brightdesire.com. There is a free tour you can take to help win you over, and once you sign up for a membership you get access to all the content in both standard and HD quality along with quick downloads for mobile. Perhaps you would also like to leave me a comment letting me know what you think?

xLauren

Edit: Please note that links in this post have been updated as I am now affiliated with Bright Desire. Please also note that this post was written and published prior to my affiliating with Bright Desire and remains an honest and objective review. Thanks to Ms Naughty for allowing me access to Bright Desire for the purposes of a review. If you have a film, website or product that you would like to see reviewed on Harlot Overdrive, please contact me at harlotoverdrive @ gmail.com

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