There’s Not A Whole Lotta Buzzin’ Goin’ On

I like cute toys, but regardless of how they look, they’ve got to work. I have a few that are pretty ugly – they’d be the wallflowers at the dance – but they work wonderfully well and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  Some of the best looking ones I have also work as well as they look, and they’ve definitely been keepers. But we all know there are those toys that look great and…don’t work. I’ve had my share of them, and they’ve been failures for one reason or another. Which brings me to Picobong. The toys are all so cute, and I had high hopes that their form would match their function, so I chose the Picobong Kiki and Picobong Mahana for review from Babeland.com . Babeland isn’t carrying the Mahana anymore, so this review will focus on Kiki.

The Kiki comes in a cardboard box. It’s visible through the front, and product information is on the back of the box. The vibe is called a “c-vibe”, a cutesy way to say that this is a clitoral vibrator.  Inside the box is information on the 1 year warranty, as well as a small instruction booklet and a die that can be used to play the game of “which toy should I use tonight?” (Games are also available on the Picobong site).

It is a cute vibrator. My Kiki is a pretty turquoise color (it also comes in pink), and somewhat resembles, both in color and shape, the Lelo Gigi, albeit in miniature form.  No wonder, really, as the Picobong toys are made by Lelo, as a less expensive alternative to their signature toys. I’ve had mostly success with the Lelo’s I have, which made me even more excited to put Kiki to use.

This is a small vibe, at just 3 1/2″ long and about 1 3/8” wide. It’s made of silicone and ABS plastic and it’s smooth to the touch with the exception of the raised lettering on the side proclaiming “picobong” and the seam between the body and the battery cap.  The raised lettering hides the actual buttons that control Kiki – the “+” is in the “b”, and the “-“ is in the “p”. It definitely makes the buttons discreet, but it also makes it a bit tricky to find the buttons by feel.

Kiki is easy to clean with water and antibacterial soap, and after rinsing it can be patted dry. It should not be boiled, scrubbed with a brush, or wiped with any alcohol-based, petrol-based, or acetone solution. Only waterbased lubricant is safe to use.

This vibrator uses just 1 AAA battery, and the information included warns that decreased vibration intensity will occur if rechargeable batteries are used. I’m not sure if decreased intensity is actually possible, but more on that in a bit.  The battery fits easily into the toy with the direction clearly labeled.

Pressing and holding the + button  turns Kiki on. It will also “increase” the vibrations if it’s held down. Holding the – button will decrease the vibrations and turn Kiki off.  When Kiki is at its highest speed, pressing  + for 1-2 seconds will start Kiki cycling through its patterns, which include:

• Steady vibration
• Slow pulse pattern
• Medium pulse pattern
• Fast pulse pattern
• Low to high rev
• Faster low to high rev
• Roller coaster
• Faster roller coaster
• Rev up, pulse 3 times
• Rev up, 4 faster pulses
• Random sort of pulse pattern

To return to steady vibrations, press the – button.

The vibrations are concentrated in the tip, and they are very, very light and buzzy. So light, in fact, that you may think you’ve got it on low even when it’s on its highest speed.  They’re some of the weakest vibrations I’ve felt in a vibrator, even a vibrator that uses 1 AAA. Kiki is extremely quiet, but that’s because there isn’t a whole lotta buzzin’ goin’ on.

So, Did It Work? No. While I enjoy light vibration on occasion as a means of foreplay, the Kiki was so lacking in power it did nothing for me at all. I tried everything – new batteries, different brand of batteries – I even found my rechargeable ones and gave them a shot…nothing. I’m not sure why this toy is so weak, but its get up and go has got up and went, leaving Kiki with no kick and no stimulation power. It’s unfortunate, as the shape of the head would be ideal for clit stimulation, but for all the power this vibe has I might as well use a dildo on my clit.

Briefly, I’ll mention that I had the same problem with the Mahana. The buttons were poorly placed and neither vibrating side had any power whatsoever. It was also more inflexible than it appeared and seemed like it might break if the sides were pulled too hard. A better choice for the Mahana would be the We-Vibe 3, which has good vibrations and a remote to make changing settings easier.

Thank you to Babeland for sending this to me to review! While I don’t recommend the Kiki due to its absolute lack of power, you can find some stronger and better clitoral vibrators at Babeland.com by clicking the widget below.

This product was sent to me for free in exchange for an unbiased review. This review is in compliance with the FTC guidelines.