I review sex toys for mypleasure.com. You can find this 16X Controller and other vibrators on their site. Disclaimer: Though I am not paid for these reviews (unless you purchase a toy via one of my affiliate links), I do receive free toys in return for my honest opinion.
I’ve written here before about my love of modular or ‘jack pin’ vibrators, which allow you to mix and match vibrator controllers with different compatible vibrators. With these toys, you find a favorite size and shape of vibe and use it with a favorite controller, even if the two did not ship together. Jack pin toys also take care of one of the most common flaws in egg style vibrators, which is that they break when the wires short out either where they meet the egg or where they connect to the controller. Now when this happens you can just replace the egg instead of the entire toy. They also offer obvious benefits for safer sex — just use a different egg with each lover.
That’s where TLC and Mypleasure.com come in with this fabulous new jack-pin toy, the 16X Controller. If you’ll pardon the cliché, it’s the ‘Rolls Royce’ of jack pin toy controllers. This toy operates a single vibrating toy on a whopping 6 AA batteries. As the name suggests, it has 16 different modes, each one varying between vibration and pulsation patterns or combinations of the two. The display is quite attractive, lighting up in red and green to show which pattern is in use and also to show the rate of pulsing or vibration.
The controls are pretty simple given how versatile this toy is. A simple switch turns the device on and off, though it did trigger by accident once during use. Another switch changes patterns — the device starts out at pattern 1 each time you turn it on. The final switch controls the speed of the pattern though it seems to have more of an effect on some settings than on others. The batteries are easily inserted via a cover on the back. Toys insert into the jack pin port at the top and the controller is curved to fit comfortably in the hand.
This controller is powerful! I compared it to another jack-pin controller I own which operates on half the batteries. There was a definite difference in strength between the two, although not enough to justify the purchase of this controller for that reason alone. However this toy is also loud; a lover I tried it with said it sounded like “the world’s angriest cell phone.” I compared another mode, which ramps up vibrations in a series of waves, to the loud humming sound of the old driving video game Pole Position ][. This is not a toy you could hide in the same room with anyone, and it’s probably audible through very thin walls as well.
MyPleasure sells this controller as a set with two vibrators and three jelly rubber sleeves. One vibrator is a standard egg such as one would expect to find included with almost any controller, but the other is a longer shaft style vibe that I haven’t seen in jack pin form before. Unfortunately, while the hard plastic vibes are safe and fun to use, the same cannot be said of the sleeves. Like nearly all vibrator sleeves on the market, these contain phthalates and therefore they are unsafe to use. If you buy this kit — and I think it’s a great deal on a great toy — you should probably throw them out. Happily, MyPleasure’s toy buyer, Garnet Joyce tells me that they hope to offer silicone based sleeves for toys in the not too distant future.
So last week I gave this toy it’s first test with a lover. I held her down to contain her ecstatic squirming and spent some time trying out different patterns with an egg on her clit. She really seemed to adore getting warmed up with the first few settings, which seem like they are designed for teasing and foreplay. As we progressed through our play session, we switched to the later settings which were more intensely stimulating. She really loved setting 6, which alternates between strong pulses and short strong vibrations. I lost track of how many orgasms she had by the time we finished.
Later on tried I this toy out myself. As it ships, this kit is not anal safe. But there are many anal toys which have holes in their base which are compatible with bullet vibrators. I put a little lube on one of mine (to make it easier to remove later) and slipped it into a favorite toy. While I still have mixed feelings about combining vibration with prostate stimulation, the pulsing modes felt amazing and got me off in no time.
This probably isn’t a toy for beginners, who might be better off with a simpler toy. However if you love bullet vibrators or jack pin toys in general, and you want to try out the fanciest, strongest controller money can buy — then you absolutely need the 16X Controller Kit.
