My Favourite Toys of the Last Decade
I have been working with sex toys for over 20 years now so the end of this decade doesn't really seem like that momentous an occasion. But when I look back at the last 10 years, I realize how much has changed in toys. A lot of really great toys have come and gone. A lot of really bad toys have come and some, thankfully, have gone.
Here are some of my favourite things that I've seen over the last 10 years, and the reasons why they are sooooo good. Note - I don't actually own all of these toys, some of these are things that I have loved personally and some of them are things that I have loved only professionally.
I have to start off with my personal favourite toy of all time. The 4 US was actually created a little longer than 10 years ago, but just barely. What's so awesome about this toy is that it took the idea of a vibrating cock ring, which had already been around for decades, and actually did something new with it. The design of the 4 US and the fact that it's made out of silicone instead of elastomer or some other type of rubber, means that it translates vibration directly into the person who's wearing it (it also works great on a silicone dildo). The shape of that vibrator part is important too, as it's vertical instead of horizontal - giving you more surface area of vibration to rub up against. I try pretty much every vibrating ring we get into the store and none has ever come close to this one.
I love this toy because it is something different. While all the other companies were trying to come up with new shapes for vibrators and new uses for them, Dirk Bauer at Fun Factory came up with a totally different toy. The Stronic (which means strong in German), moves back and forth instead of vibrating. Picture is the Stronic Eins (one in German), the very first Stronic toy. They have since created the Stronic Bi Fusion, which is a dual toy with a vibrator, and the new line of Stronics which are much smaller and lighter, but still just as powerful.
I normally stay away from toys that are simply copies of other toys, but the Satisfyer Pro 2 won me over. The first Womanizer, which the Satisfyer copied, was extremely expensive and extremely ugly and very cheap looking. The Satisfyer was sleek and less than half the price. I tried it, I loved it - you can read how much I loved it here - and this facilitated us bringing these pressure wave toys into the store. Womanizer has since stepped up their game - redesigning their toys to make them much nicer looking with better shapes, better materials, and better price points. So we also carry Womanizer products now. But it will always be the Satisfyer Pro 2 that first stole my heart.
I saw the original Swan Wand at ANME in Los Angeles about 6 years ago. I wanted it immediately. It was sleek, pretty, great material and SUPER strong vibration. When the Swan had a baby, the mini swan, I wasn't so sure. It was very powerful for such a small vibe but nothing like the original swan. My staff disagreed - they thought it was great and pushed me to bring it in. They were right. The mini swan is by far our best selling rechargeable toy. And why wouldn't it be? It's a great shape, it's very powerful, it's cute and small, and is outstanding quality. In the 4 years that we've had the mini swan we've sold hundreds of them and have received only two back for warranty claim.
New York Toy Collective Packers and STP
When the Tickle Trunk opened 10 years ago, it was impossible to find packers for wholesale. People had just begun to talk about the fact that STP's (stand to pee devices) existed - there was absolutely no one that was creating them for wholesale. Shortly after, Fleshlight started making the Mr. Limpy line. It was better than nothing, but Fleshlight material breaks down easily and is hard to keep clean. At long last, we became aware of New York Toy Collective, which was making a very small line of dual density, bendable dildos. To our great excitement and joy, they started making packers very shortly after that and then, they came out with a silicone STP. It's been wonderful to have good quality silicone packers that our customers can get in-store without having to mail order.
We have always loved the Magic Wand. Even when I opened the store 10 years ago, it was old school, a huge unit that has to be plugged into the wall! But still, it was one of our best sellers. Then, the greatest thing ever happened, Vibratex announced that there was going to be a rechargeable version of the Magic Wand. The best toy ever got even better! Not only was it rechargeable, it was actually stronger, and had pulsating settings, and had a silicone head. There are a LOT of different types of wands on the market but none of them compare to the rechargeable magic wand for power and for quality.
I have written a lot about the We Vibe before so I won't say much here. I will just say that the We Vibe was the most innovative toy to ever hit the sex toy market. For all kinds of reasons, We Vibe, the toy and the company revolutionized the sex toy industry. No matter which incarnation we are on (the new We Vibe Chorus is the 8th incarnation), the We Vibe is always great quality and always very popular.