UPDATE FEBRUARY 2024: This penis stroker is no longer in production. Lovense has released an updated option in the Lovense Max 2. This review remains as a reference for comparing the two. While you’re here, why not check out some additional educational info – like online submissive tasks, beginner pegging positions, saran wrap bondage, and enema 101 info.
One of the few teledildonic male masturbation sleeve toys out there, the Lovense Max is a penis masturbation sleeve that features vibration and clenching that can be controlled remotely via a cell phone app. The sleeve itself can also be controlled manually with buttons on the toy – or just used as a regular sleeve. The Lovense Max is made with an outer, plastic case and skin-like TPE material for the sleeve. The Lovense Max is entirely rechargeable via the magnetic charging port on the toy. Castle Megastore carries the full Lovense sex toy line on their website – including the Domi 2, Gush, and Ferri.
The Lovense Max comes packaged in a nice, sturdy white box. The box clearly depicts what’s inside, and it also lists the features of the male masturbation sleeve on it as well. With how sturdy the box is (and how well-packaged), you might consider keeping the box around for long-term storage of this sleeve – along with its charging cable. The physical “case” of the Max is also a suitable storage option, though, too. The cardboard of the box is surprisingly sturdy, and it doesn’t break down easily for recycling.
As previously mentioned, the Lovense Max is rechargeable. The magnetic charging port is on the base of the toy, and the toy comes with the charging cable you’ll need to charge it. The cable can be connected two different ways – but only one of the ways will actively charge the toy, so make sure the light turns on when you connect the charger. The toy has a little over two hours of use time on a single charge – and it requires about two hours to get it fully charged to enjoy those two hours. I’d also like to point out that the charging connection is located on the base of a cylindrical toy. This is noticeably frustrating. Unless the toy is resting up against something (couch cushion, pillow, etc.), it tends to roll – and with the weak magnetic connection of the charger, it’ll instantly disconnect when it does this. Make sure you have your Bluetooth-controlled male sleeve in a very stable spot before assuming it’s “charging” – or you might come back to find out that it rolled and disconnected itself.
The Lovense Max is entirely operable manually by the two buttons on the shaft of the toy. For that matter, you don’t really even need to charge it – just using the sleeve is a way to enjoy the toy – without the vibrations or the internal clenching. So when the batteries die or you don’t want to connect it via Bluetooth to your cell phone, those are definitely options.
However, if you always use it that way, you’d definitely be missing out.
The Lovense Max online masturbation sleeve comes with two separate sensations: the toy vibrates and the internal chamber of the masturbation sleeve squeezes tighter rhythmically. You can adjust the intensity of the vibration (the strength of it), and you can adjust the regularity of the clenching (but not the strength of it).
So how does the sleeve feel? It doesn’t feel like a Fleshlight – that’s the first point. BUT with that in mind, he says it still feels pretty damn good. He says it’s above-sensation with most cheaper sleeves we’ve tried but not quite at the level of “Fleshlight“. He has no problem using it as a regular sleeve (without the long-distance connected), and he can orgasm with it just fine. It definitely is a tighter fit than Fleshlights or most of our other sleeves, though. We’ve found that it requires a decent chunk of lube and gentle, slow strokes to slowly insert into the toy. Otherwise, it doesn’t lubricate enough to slide in without pain.
What about the vibrations? The vibrations are “based” in the base of the sleeve (aka the side away from the penetration entrance). This means that they don’t travel particularly well to the penetration entrance. If you’re on the smaller side, length-wise, you may not be able to experience as much of the vibrations as if you were on the larger side – because the power of the vibrations isn’t strong enough to make it throughout the entirety of the toy.
That being said, the vibrations are definitely on the lighter, buzzier side. They’re a good addition – because they’re already there and why not? – but they aren’t orgasm-inducing in itself. He says he honestly thinks he might just be feeling more of the vibration on his hands holding the toy than he does in the actual sleeve around his dick. But he also likes to have them on, so y’know, they’re likely doing *something*.
And the clenching? He says it does feel pretty good, and it’s a very unique sensation. He’s aggravated that it’s connected to the grinding noise (mentioned next), but the sensation itself is pretty neat. He prefers the “stock” clenching that he can turn on with manual control over the sensations we’ve found via Bluetooth with the app. He says it isn’t entirely life-like – but it’s pleasurable in its own way in a way that other sleeves aren’t. He says he particularly enjoys it as it does increase the realism – even if it’s realism on a very set, patterned schedule.
The biggest annoyance I think most people are going to find is the *noise* of the clenching. My goodness, I’ve tested a lot of sex toys and this is easily one of the loudest hand-held toys I’ve owned. It’s by far louder than almost every other vagina-intended vibrator I own. It has this grinding, piercing noise to it – with every. single. clench. You can’t use this penis stroker with roommates in the house, and you might not be able to use it if anyone is in the hallway of your apartment complex. It’s that loud.
If you’re easily distracted by noise, you’re going to feel really frustrated with the Lovense Max. But if you aren’t? You might still be okay with it.
Personally, we’ve found a happy medium. When this sleeve is slipped into something fabric (like between couch cushions or into our Liberator Top Dog male masturbation sleeve mounts), it tends to reduce a lot of the “piercing-ness” of the noise. It does, however, reduce the accuracy of any Bluetooth commands, so you have to keep that in mind. It did bring the whining down to a tolerable level for our use, though – to the point where it was almost a soothing background noise (still very audible) that wasn’t as piercing.
It’s worth noting that, with nothing more than the clenching and the vibrating while sitting stand-still in the sleeve, he can orgasm pretty easily. In fact, with the way we play, he has to pull out semi-often to avoid cumming before he is given permission. That being said, he’s relatively sensitive to achieving orgasm, and your mileage may vary on this one.
Now that we’ve talked about the sleeve itself, let’s talk about what makes the Lovense Max masturbation sleeve so unique: the Bluetooth control and what that means for online control! Basically, the Lovense Max can be used in a myriad of ways. While you likely won’t use this often for solo use, once the Max is connected to your mobile device via Bluetooth, you can directly control and set patterns for use with your Max. Do you know what gets you off? Do you know that gentle pulsing every three seconds would do it? Then you make your own custom pattern, tell the toy to do it, and it will!
That’d be neat enough on its own, but for most users, likely an extra “bonus” feature. The heart and core of the Max’s awesome feature list for many users will be the ability for the Max to be controlled by another person. Once the device is attached to someone’s account, any “Contacts” on the app will be able to control the device (with both parties’ permission). This can be done when you’re sitting on the couch next to your lover – or if you’re in entirely different states. Since the control structure uses an internet connection via the app, it doesn’t require any sort of nearby proximity.
While I don’t have the toy to test this other feature, another of the neat features of the Lovense Max is its ability to “sync” to the rabbit vibrator of the same company: the Lovense Nora. According to the promotional copy, the devices will “sync up” when used at the same time and transmit the data to the other device for the partner to experience the sensation that the other partner is feeling. For example, for every thrust she gives the Nora, he’ll feel the sensation in the Max.
Judging by how the clenching seems to be a bit on the sensitive side (see below), I’m unsure how well this feature would work (especially in real-time), but for some people, just the knowledge of the toys occasionally working at the same time may be enough for satisfaction. It’s just a feature I wanted to let you know about.
So how simple was it to connect the toy to your phone? Honestly, it was pretty damn easy. Downloading the app took the most time, and every person who wants to use the toy or control the toy will need the app. Once you’re there, you create an account, and you can add “Contacts” on the app. Only one person needs to connect to the Max masturbation sleeve itself, and we had absolutely no issues with connecting on a Samsung Galaxy S9. Once that one person is connected, either party can send a “Please control this device” request, and once both parties agree to the control, the control is temporarily removed from the device owner’s account and given to the contact. Either party can terminate the control at any point during the session.
While I’m unsure about the security of the app, it’s also worth noting that the app also offers chat features right in the control screen – and when you’re done, there’s a quick “erase all messages” feature for any sexy chat you might be doing.
^^Options available for use via the App at Close Range
^^Manually control vibrations and contractions via the App
^^The Sleeve will also randomly vibrate and contract based upon ambient noise in another mode
^^In-app chat function – complete with the ability to send media!
^^Pre-build patterns (mostly designed for their vibrator line), but available to play with
We’ve given the Max Bluetooth masturbation sleeve a pretty good amount of testing. First off, we gave it a try when we were both in the same room. It performs, but it wasn’t perfect. I thought it was my cell phone at first, but we’ve given it a try with multiple phones and phone carriers. The Lovense Max will listen – but only sometimes and not very quickly. Even when sitting next to one another, there’s definitely a noticeable delay to when you want something to start – and when it actually starts. If you’re like me and wanted to plan something very specific like “we’ll increase the intensity at 10 minutes exactly”, this probably won’t work well for your plans. You’ll regularly be frustrated by the delay – or just the inability of the masturbation sleeve to listen.
That being said, it does listen – most of the time – even if there’s a delay. I’d say there’s like an 80% likelihood of it doing what you want. It doesn’t do so well with too many commands at once, so going sparingly seems to work best for it. As long as you aren’t expecting full and complete command at every second, you’ll likely be satisfied with the wireless capabilities of the Lovense Max sleeve. It allows you to feel a lot more “involved” with someone else using the toy. For example, when I’d see he was really enjoying it, I’d turn down the vibrations and the clenching. Because I’m a sadist like that. It takes a bit to kick in, but it does assert my control in a very physical manner.
After that test, it was time to see how well it worked when played with across (a good chunk) of the US. Multiple states away, Honestly, it plays about the same when it comes to control. I was surprised by that. Whether I’m sitting next to him or three states away on a Skype call, he says it responds about the same. So that’s definitely a relief. So the long-distance aspect doesn’t tend to make much of a difference.
Which is the neat thing about the Lovense Max. Yes, the responsiveness could use some help – but it DOES respond with decent reliability. And as one of the few male masturbation sleeves on the market that does offer this long-distance play option, that’s about all it honestly needs to do. It could be better. But it works, feels pleasurable, and allows some interaction between long-distance couples states away – and that’s something that maaaybe only three other male sleeve toys on the planet can do right now. Do I feel weird holding it to a standard of “Well, it works?” Yeah, I do. But it does work, and that’s honestly what I was concerned about.
During a couple of different play sessions, we did have one time where it fully disconnected and refused to continue taking commands. We’re not really sure why, but the troubleshooting was definitely a wet blanket on the previous sexual energy. We did get it working again, but definitely not the regular interruption I’d like. The other three play sessions, from multiple states away, we didn’t have any interruptions, though. Just the usual amount of control.
You’ll definitely, definitely want to be careful when cleaning the Max online control masturbation sleeve. The toy claims to be splashproof, but there are a lot of moving parts here. No point in cleaning your toy too roughly underwater and accidentally breaking it.
However, the sleeve is entirely removable. You slide out the sleeve and clean it separately. Much like Fleshlights, the instruction manual states NOT to use any type of soap on the sleeve. So try as hot of water as you can stand and give it a thorough clean-out.
As for the encasement itself, you’re going to want to be careful. The base of the toy – where the controls are at – is NOT waterproof. It appears pretty damn connected to the rest of the casing, though, so if you end up needing to clean the interior of the casing, you need to be really careful – and probably just use a damp washcloth instead of any direct water contact. Like any masturbation sleeve, make sure the sleeve is allowed to entirely dry out before storing it back in the casing. Otherwise you could deal with some gross mold problems, and nobody needs that with their sex toy.
Storage-wise, as mentioned above, the case itself is a stand-alone storage option. It’s pretty modern and sleek looking, and the thick plastic will protect the interior sleeve. Just to keep it close to its charging cable, though, you might prefer keeping it in the original box – even if that isn’t the most discreet.
Overall, you’ll probably have some high moments and some low moments with the Lovense Max, and it depends on what you’re trying to do with it and how precise you want it to be. If you want it to follow your every instruction at every second, you’re probably going to feel really annoyed. If you’re okay with a mildly interactive experience and won’t be bothered by the noise, the Lovense Max can be a good fit (and one of the few fits!) for long-distance control of a male masturbation sleeve. It has a bit to go until it’s “perfect”, but it is functional. Thanks to Castle Megastore for providing this internet-controlled male masturbation sleeve for my Lovense Max review.
Updated: February 2024, September 2023.
