A beginners guide to sex toys

When I first got my hands on one shortly after Vesper hit the market, I was blown away by the concept. It was a symbol of sex positivity, a reminder that owning our sexual pleasure is an essential facet of being human—plus it’s a great conversation starter. It also made me feel like I belonged to a private club, especially if I ran into someone else rocking one around their neck.

It’s a good option for travel, too, since it’s smaller than a standard wand and it has a travel lock function. If you ever wish you could give up control of your sex toy to a long-distance partner—or even to a random person you meet online; we don’t judge! —you should consider a Bluetooth-compatible option like this stroker. While the F1S (above) might be the winner in terms of vibration strength and sheer luxury, its “teledildonic” capabilities aren’t quite as streamlined as those offered by Lovense, a brand that specializes in this type of toy.

The clitoris gets lots of attention—and for good reason—but there’s another area worthy of some serious stimulation. We’re talking about the G-spot, of course, which is most easily aroused via G-spot vibrators designed specifically to target this erogenous zone. We test a lot of sex toys and accessories here at WIRED, and there isn’t enough room in one list for all of our favorite picks. There’s barely enough room on this list for all the toys we’d consider phenomenal, let alone the ones we consider the absolute best.

In vintage modes, the Viberator really favors the deep, bottom-heavy intensity that some folks treasure in vintage Uni-Vibes. On the Viberator, this deep, bass-heavy throb and pulse is apparent even in the lowest reaches of the intensity setting. Switching to the modern voice , however, puts the buffer to work—attenuating the low end viberators, emphasizing the high end, and adding a more spacious, clean quality to the modulation. For players who switch between single-coils and humbuckers, or use darker amps, this mode can really open up the Viberator’s possibilities. Better still, the modern voice can be fine-tuned using the bright trimpot.

It has eight different vibration settings that you can cycle through via the controls on the handle. They’re somewhat small, so I found myself fumbling with them a bit in the beginning. But once I knew where the buttons were, this issue was easily corrected.