UPDATE MAY 2020: God, remember when those iTunes commercials were THE THING? That’s when this was to be had. The iRide vibrator is no longer in production. (Though we actually enjoyed it and used it often). This iRide vibrator review remains as a reference for anyone seeking information about this grinding vibrator.
The iRide is a Doc Johnson revolutionary sex toy that basically functions as a hands-free sex toy experience. This toy is made from TPR (on the body of it) and plastic on the bottom, and it runs on four AA batteries. It is not waterproof. It’s definitely a large sex toy, and it’s about thirteen inches in length and about six inches across. It also sits about four inches tall, so it’s not a tiny toy. The little insertable portion is about an inch and a half in diameter and is about three and a half inches tall. The clitoral bump is about an inch off the base of the vibrating platform as well. The two uses two separate motors in both the insertable piece and in the clitoral bump.
This sex toy comes in a large box. The large box requires an even larger box to ship, so don’t be surprised if the box you receive in the mail is a bit larger than you had imagined. It does ship free, however. There’s no reason to keep the packaging since the iRide doesn’t go back into the original packaging all that well. The original packaging also doesn’t do much of a job of keeping the iRide safe, so it’s probably just best to keep the iRide out on its own.
Sometimes, when you live with a boyfriend like mine who enjoys anal and doesn’t mind being emasculated (and in fact, likes it), I end up buying him female-centric toys to use. I swear, he uses my Hitachi Magic Wand more than I do. So when it came to the iRide, he was pretty darned excited to use it. For that reason, this entire review focuses on a male’s experience with the iRide. I *could* actually it as well, but since it doesn’t sterilize and I’m not fond of condoms, I’m not about to risk something not having been cleaned correctly, so it’s a male-only toy in this household. I’m considering purchasing my own since he seems to love it so much though.
The boyfriend is a smaller guy who wears a women’s medium which is important to know when knowing that he says that the iRide is amazingly comfortable and fits between his legs amazingly. He says that, when the shaft is inserted anally, he doesn’t even notice the clitoral bump at all. This means that the clitoral bump was definitely soft enough to not cause any sort of issue when using the shaft portion anally. He was facing the clitoral portion everytime we used it, so it wasn’t like he was using it backwards either.
He had no issues with the iRide feeling too stiff or awkward for comfortable usage. He makes mention that using it in a rocking motion felt a little awkward, but he was a lot more fond of using it in a thrusting-type of motion while sitting on top of it. He also says that the shaft is a pretty big insertable toy for anal use, and it should probably only be used by those who are at least familiar with having anal sex in the past. This is probably one of the bigger toys that he has used anally. It is slightly plushy to sit on, but he says it still is firm enough to provide good, deep coverage.
He didn’t like the clitoral bump’s vibrations much – understandably. He says they felt a lot more awkward than pleasurable. However, he absolutely loved the shaft for anal vibrations. He says it’s probably one of the fastest orgasms that he’s ever had. The vibrations could have been a bit stronger, but they were pleasurably amazing as it was, so he says that while it would be a nice addition, he enjoys how the toy was currently made as well.
The vibrations are controlled by four AA batteries. There’s a small little pop-out area on the bottom where the batteries are inserted. There is a little battery tray that slides out and allows you to slip in your batteries. The batteries go back in really nicely, and they’re easy to take out as well. The battery door, like previously stated, is not waterproof, though, so water will leak in if you get this near water.
There are two separate vibration motors in this toy. One obviously focuses in the clitoral bump while the other focuses in the shaft. The toy can definitely be heard through a closed door depending on what you’re using it for. The clitoral motor is the strong one because it seems to hit up against the plastic somewhere. With that one even on medium, you can easily hear it through a closed door. However, the shaft motor isn’t nearly as loud since it’s based in the tip of the shaft. It could maybe be heard through a closed door on high, but it’s not nearly as loud. When both motors are used, though, you are better off not using this when being discreet is a priority.
Each one of the clitoral bump and shaft have three steady vibration power levels. There’s a low, medium, and high. They do differ in strength, but low isn’t that different from high. Low is probably a 3 Vrooms while high is a 4 Vrooms. The vibrations are controlled on the front of the toy with the “On/Off” buttons. You press once to turn it on, again to change to medium, and again to change to high. You have to cycle through all three vibration levels to turn it back off again.
In terms of strength, the clitoral bump’s vibrations are stronger than the shaft’s vibrations. It’s not by much, but it’s definitely a noticable difference. Both the shaft and clitoral piece have pretty buzzy vibrations. (My definition of buzzy is when the vibrations decrease in strength when pressure is applied.) Both parts tend to produce more noise than what the actual vibration level puts out, but it’s not that big of a deal since we don’t need to be discreet. He obviously didn’t use the clitoral bump all that much, but he did enjoy the shaft’s vibrations. He does go straight up to the highest speed whenever using the shaft’s vibrations though, so it’s easily possible for the motor to contain more power without causing any problems. However, from what I can tell, most women would probably be able to orgasm from the vibrations as long as buzzy vibrations aren’t an issue.
The interesting thing about the iRide is that it’s just like a Liberator Wing or Liberator BonBon – except it has the sex toy part built in. While the Liberator shapes allow you to choose your sex toy, the iRide has the shaft and clitoral bump already built in. However, while the BonBon and Wing are made of foam, the iRide is made from plastic which means it doesn’t give under weight and can tolerate much deeper thrusting. The iRide is amazing as long as the shaft and clitoral bump line up for you (like it did for him), but if you still want a hands-free experience, it might be better to check out some Liberator furniture.
Storing this sex toy will be a lot more difficult than your average vibrator. Because this one is so big, it can’t be shoved in a sock drawer. It can probably be placed under the bed, and it could be placed in a regular drawer, but it’d take up a lot of clothes room. It can easily be kept in a closet as well. Doc Johnson doesn’t include any storage bag or anything to make it look more discreet, but it doesn’t “scream” sex toy either. I’m sure someone, after examining it, would figure it out though. It’s compatible with all types of lubricants. For cleaning, use a washcloth and antibacterial soap to clean off all of the TPR material. Be careful around the plastic material since this is not waterproof. This can not be sterilized.
His final opinion? The iRide is an amazing anal toy for guys (or girls) who wouldn’t mind using a hands-free option that is also pink and has buzzy vibrations. The vibrations are strong and have some adjustability, but at the same time, they can definitely get pretty loud if you want to use the clitoral portion. It’s definitely a great toy though, and the boyfriend won’t shut up about it, so I guess it does deserve the five stars despite the apparent flaws.
