While I was at Woodhull, I won a Twitter giveaway held by my pal Red Hot Suz. The prize? A Le Wand Petite Rechargeable Massager, plus lube and massage oil samples from SUTIL. I was excited to win this giveaway for a few reasons. First, I don't normally win things, so winning the giveaway in and of itself was a cool surprise--as much as winning a contest you entered can be a surprise.
Secondly, this is my first wand-type vibrator ever. When I was younger, I believed the myth that using wands can cause clitoral desensitization and make it harder to orgasm without them. This knowledge, plus the not-broke-college-kid-friendly $100+ price tag of most meant that wands were low on my self-pleasure bucket list. Before now, my only experience with a wand was hearing my college roommate's plug-in hitachi from across our house.
I'm a sucker for beautiful packaging, and this box endeared me to Le Wand IMMEDIATELY.
The Le Wand Petite is a smaller version of the Original Le Wand. It comes in two beautiful colors: the light violet I have, and rose gold. Within the ridiculously gorgeous box, you get: the wand, the USB charging cord, a travel pouch, instruction guide, and a bonus pleasure guide. The pleasure guide is an amazing addition to the packaging because it helps explain using a wand to beginners. Wands aren't self-explanatory, so the pleasure guide was helpful to me as a wand newbie and as someone interested in sex education.
The wand is rechargeable and waterproof, with 10 speeds and 6 patterns. It measures 10 inches x 1.8 inches and 0.47 lbs (7.52 oz). The head is made of silicone and the "neck" joint is flexible. It has three buttons: one to turn the intensity up (it looks like a plus and also functions as the on button), one to change the vibration pattern, and one to turn the intensity down (it looks like a minus and also functions as the off button). The buttons also act as a travel lock, which when coupled with the wand's light weight, small size, and storage pouch, make it incredibly travel friendly.
One of my favorite features is the (lack of) noise with this product. I knew it wouldn't have the lawnmower noise of my roommate's hitachi, but even on maximum power it's not much louder than so-called traditional vibrators. It's not whisper quiet, but not likely to wake, say, a partner sleeping deeply next to you.
I don't have an Original Le Wand for comparison, but my hands are fairly small and the Le Wand Petite fits very comfortably.
okay, but how did it feel?
I have to be honest, there was a learning curve the first time I used it. I attribute this to my lack of experience with wands in general though. The infamous numbing sensation associated with using wands is normally caused by holding it in one place for too long, since the vibrations, while rumbly, are stronger than a traditional vibrator. Because the sensation spreads across a bigger area since the vibrations are stronger, one might not think to move it around like with other kinds of vibrators. This is all explained in the pleasure guide I didn't think to read when I first opened the package.
Rookie mistake, but I took a break and tried again, adding lube to the head the second time around because why not? This time was much better, and I finally understood the buzz about wands in the community (pun not intended, but does it really matter?)
Do as I say, not as I do: if you're new to wands, read the pleasure guide BEFORE your first use.
Due to the small size, accessing the buttons during use wasn't an issue. However, the buttons themselves do present my biggest issue with the wand. Like I mentioned above, there are 10 speeds, and the minus button is the only way to turn it off. This means that if you're using a higher speed, once you're done you either have to click down a bunch of times or hold the button for as long as 10 seconds to get it to turn off. Maybe this is standard for wands, but I'm used to a 3-second hold on a dedicated power button to turn a toy off.
That being said, I really enjoyed this wand. It was a great first-time product, so I'd definitely recommend it to wand beginners or anyone who's in the market for a wand but doesn't need something as strong as the traditional models. Even for wand aficionados, the travel-friendliness of this particular model makes it a must-have.