Review: iGino One

Posted by Insane Hussein on May 6, 2013 in Sex Toy Review | 0 comments

iGino® is a new brand of sex toy on the market, with a crowd source funding campaign on indiegogo.com, which is pretty nifty, I will admit. As a matter of course, the iGino® One is branded and marketed to women with the emphasis on a new, more discreet shaped and packaged vibrator. iGino® is more something you’d see as a battery charger or a cigarette case, than as a blatant sex toy.

iGino® comes with some innovative new features, such as their patented vibraMoove™, skinTouch™, hyGienic cover™. It also is almost the size of the iPhone, which makes it a bit unwieldy in my hands, because I am a klutz with my iPhone and that’s why I put a protective shell case on it. I kinda want a protective case for the iGino® because I feel that I might drop it.

The specific dimensions of the iGino® are:
Length: 2 1/8 inches / 54mm
Height: 3 13/16 inches / 97mm (w/o cap), 3 15/16 inches / 100mm (w/ cap)
Width: 43/64 inches / 17mm
Weight: 3.35oz / 95gr

The packaging is not inconspicuous. It is blatant and marketed along the same lines as the toy itself; that is to say, it is a white and pink box, with some general information about the toy. When you open the box, the iGino® One sits on a white plastic-y holster, not unlike Apple products, and it’s pretty cool. It also comes with three EVA washers and the removable skinTouch™ head, a travel kit, which consists of a USB charger 100-240v, a 2 pin EU plug and a US adapter, USB extension cable, and a velvet pouch.

The vibraMoove™ vibrations, which combines the vibrations with movement: the addition of side-to-side movement to the vibration would imitate as closely as possible the finger movements of a woman as she fingers herself.

The skinTouch™ sleeve, which has a flesh-like finish to the surface of the tip to add more stimulation to the masturbation sessions with this vibrator. The tip is made of ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), which is found in various medical products.

iGino’s® hyGienic cover™ is the cap on the toy, which covers the vibrating tip. It snaps on to keep the vibrating tip and its base clean and dry and unavailable to possible damage. According to the iGino® indiegogo.com campaign, it was “specifically designed to protect it from dust and dirt.”

According to the inventors of iGino® One, the vibrator lasts up to 40 minutes on a 12-hour charge and less, on an 8 hour charge. I conducted my own experiment on this toy on a 12+-hour charge, and it lasted 44 minutes. It didn’t slow down as the battery power lessened; it just stopped. Like stopped dead. Like 60 to 0 in 1 second. Strange and rather abrupt, like it’s telling you that your masturbation session is over, too bad so sad.

The iGino® One is white on the front and back, with the iGino® logo on the front, vivid pink wraparound siding and the tip and its base are also the same pink. It also turns on with the flip of a switch on the side of the toy. This thing is kinda like my blog theme, except it is even pinker. Also, the pink closely matches the pink on my site, doesn’t it?

I can’t help but think the iGino® looks like my Mophie Reserve Juice Pack quick charger, with the same idea in mind. This is super handy and I adore that a lot.

Another thing it shares with the Mophie Reserve Juice Pack is the USB charger location. It is on the base of the toy, and it retracts in to the toy, when not charging. When charging, the USB section lights up to a nice vivid blue, which is a departure from the pink. I expected the charging light to be pink, to go with the theme of the toy. However, it is pretty and reminds me that I have this toy in a USB port on my Mac.

These are the notes I wrote about the iGino® One, as I was gathering my thoughts and observations of this vibrator:

1. Foamy washer on the base of the head, looks weird. Is it porous? Does it absorb?
2. What are the washers for?
3. Nice packaging.
4. Several different chargers, including international wall charger with a USA adapter.
5. Plastic film covering all sides of the iGino®. Annoying. Hard to see and cut so it fits the sides, exactly. Toy is shiny anyway and the plastic film doesn’t help much when figuring out if I need to check this toy like I would check any other technical products, like Apple products. #WOW
6. REALLY loud buzz when on.
7. Only one vibrating setting.
8. The flower foam thing (skinTouch™ head) makes me thing “A FLOWER FOR YOUR FLOWER,” like it is trying to be all Hello Kitty meets Georgia O’Keefe or some dumb shit like that. #WHAT
9. Why the fuck does the G in iGino® look like an and percent? Is it necessary?
10. Use only water or silicone based lubes with this toy.
11. The USB charge light refracts the pink from the toy and blue, from the charge light. Kinda like Christmas lights on the front porch, if I had a front porch.

The iGino’s® intended uses are as a clitoral vibrator in solo or partner use. Therefore, I have endeavored to use it as such. However, it is hellishly hard to use it when I am at home. It is super loud, even louder than my Hitachi and super annoying to keep using it for its intended use. I can only speak to the solo use as I did not use this with a partner.

As I live with other people, I cannot use this when others are at home, or else they will think either I have broken some piece of equipment, one of my gadgets has failed and is protesting, or I am masturbating. Therefore, I have to wait for everyone to be out of the house for a few hours, so I can properly use this toy. It sucks monkey balls.

When I used the iGino®, it does nothing much for me. It’s a nice warm up, but I invariably turn to my eroscillator, which gives me the same thing—clitoral vibration—without the noise and longer staying power (ok, it’s a corded vibrator, but so what).

The iGino® One is also a fucking slippery fucker when I use it. As I get extremely wet, and this toy is smooth plastic, it is inevitable that it will get slippery and hard to grasp and hold on to when I continue to use it. I also found it hard to turn it off after about 15 minutes due to my fingers being slippery. As I mentioned above, the power switch is on the side of the toy, and you have to slide it to turn on and off. I also have a problem because I have puffy labia, so I have to open my labia to expose my clitoris to this thing. However, I can keep it in place with my labia, so I guess that’s a plus? Heh.

It is also a fucking bitch to clean. I have to be wary of the washer thingy and the skinTouch™ head as they are porous and soak up my come. It’s also difficult as I have to use a freaking Q-tip and have to be super careful that I do not get any liquid on the USB charger thing. Sucks.

I love what iGino® has done, manufacturing and marketing a toy like this, but I feel that this toy can be improved upon and the coloring can change. After all, since it can be used in play with partner(s), wouldn’t it be better to use less conspicuous colors, like maybe black/grey or white/red color combos?

I believe the iGino® can go far, and I know this is the first step they can take, especially as this is the first generation of the toy. After all, doesn’t the first generation of any product generally have several flaws that can be, and usually are, improved upon in successive generations.

The iGino® One isn’t what this woman wanted, but I can see the potential. Well done, guys.

*iGino® is a registered trademark
*skinTouch™, vibraMoove™, hyGienic cover™ are all trademarks of iGino®. Patents pending.

Here is the video from the iGino® indiegogo campaign website

iGino for Indiegogo – What Women Want from iGino on Vimeo.

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Catalyst Con 2013: A Recap

Posted by Insane Hussein on May 1, 2013 in Catalyst Con | 0 comments

Y’all, I went to Catalyst Con, which was even more amazing this year than the last two (Momentum) because it was my first weekend as a college graduate. This means I wasn’t inundated with homework, quizzes, projects, or the dreaded final! (Finally! Can you tell I am super happy?) I was able to actually focus my energies and concentration on the con and not on any kind of “oh-shitI-didn’t-do-my-homework” scenarios. Woot!

This year, the lovely Sex Toy Geek (aka Lucid Obsession) stayed at my house, met my family (yes, she did) and also got to meet the Demon Bunneh! He loves you, STG! Thursday night, we came down to the Crystal City Marriott and hung out at the bar with a bunch of cool people, including Metis Black and Jenna of Tantus, Tom Stewart of Sportsheets, and Dee Dennis and we had a great time.

Seriously, STG one of my faves AND she came with me to work on Friday and I set her loose on DC after we got on to the military installation. She totally walked those three miles to the closest metro station.

Speaking of, I got to meet a bunch of cool peeps, especially my darling K/Cristas, Krista Arendson and Crista Pink Sex Geek and Crista’s manly man and studly baby boy, also known as The Rawr. I also got to meet Epiphora and we sampled each other’s drinks, cuz we cool like that. But I was entranced by the oranginess of her drink, too. I also got to meet Cooper Beckett of the Swingset and he is so adorable in his geekiness. Keep geeking, my friend!

I also had a ton of fun at the pajama party aka blanket fort creation extravaganza in Reid Mihalko’s room. Too fun! We all met up in his room, where Reid called down to the front desk and asked for eight sets of bed linens and then joked with the staff about his request. We pulled that room apart and constructed a giant room-sized fort made of bedsheets. Remember when we made them as kids, across our bedrooms and various other rooms in our homes? Yeah, that. Also, jessica drake took a ton of self photos.

Perhaps one of the most fun things about this year is that I was able to attend the entire event. I had a really great time, meeting a ton of new people and meeting up with the people I’ve met at previous Catalysts (aka Momentum back in the day). I got to meet a few porn stars, who were pretty awesome, and holy shit, but am I the only one who noticed that jessica drake was teeny tiny? I expected her to be at least 5’10″, but I think she is my height or a bit shorter. Her personality precedes her, entirely. I also got to meet Dylan Ryan (who has the most amazing pair of legs I’ve ever seen on a woman) and Sinnamon Love, who is really cool. Sinnamon and I had a really good conversation about Mr. Marcus and his STD issue and how it got totally blown up by the media. I’m really grateful for her insight.

One thing I noticed and I am SO glad for, aside from meeting them, is that these ladies totally dispel the “porn starlets are empty-headed bimbos” stereotype. They are erudite and very clear in their messages. They aren’t porn bimbos in the slightest, dispelling any asshats who think porn stars are bimbos with nothing but sex on their poor little minds. Can I put jessica drake in my pocket now, please? I enjoyed the panels on which they spoke, including the feminist porn, slut shaming, and the opening keynote. I was pretty well blown away by what they had to say in regards to being slut shamed, how feminist porn is about building ethical working conditions, and how sexuality can define us and our actions. They were pretty awesome.

Speaking of panels, I got to attend the 50 Shades panel and I had fun divvying up some answers and listening to perspectives of the panelists in regards to 50 Shades and how it has impacted, positively and negatively, the kink/BDSM communities. And how Dr. Drew is a flaming idiot. Seriously, you think he’d have learned something about the complexities of sexuality from hosting the Loveline for umpteen years. I miss Adam Carolla.

I am super sad that I missed most of the Toxic Sex Toys panel because I slept in. I did. I’m sorry. I had too much fun and stayed way late at the blanket fort party But I did catch the last twenty minutes of the panel and I was awed by the amazing things said about how to recognize toxic materials, the high standards that some companies, like Tantus, employ, to ensure the materials used pass their standards, and a few other things. My mind is still blurry on the upload of awesome to my brain.

One of the main attractions this year was the Carol and Robert Show at the closing keynote, which was super magnificent. Oh my goodness, just watching them take a tangent and roll with it is something on which I could probably write an enormous essay. Their messages about sexuality, being the best darn lesbian out there (except the “I watch porn” bit), and just watching them go on about how they’ve gotten to where they are and what they’ve learned along the way was way too much fun. So was the way Robert shouted his phone number at someone, telling them to “call him”, with a wink wink nudge nudge.

At the end of it all, I came away with some awesome prizes at the end of the closing keynote, most notably, the four Tantus paddles (Pelt, Thwack, Wham Bam, and Snap Strap) as well as the Sportsheets Neck and Wrist Restraints! Tom is pretty cool.

My mind is absolutely blown from all of the amazing that happened at Catalyst Con and I can’t wait for the next one on the East Coast!

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