AUTOSTRADDLE ANONYMOUS SEX TOY REVIEW:

Over the last few years, sex toy companies and stores have asked us to review their toys in exchange for, you know, their toys. This week, one of our anonymous reviewers tried out the Gazelle vibrator from Imtoy, sent to us by Imtoy.

• Size: 7.5″ long
• Materials: silicone, plus a pastic bit at the base
• Color: pale pink
• Price: $89

Animal-themed sex toys aren’t exactly novel — there’s I Rub My Duckie, the leopard-print Womanizer, any rabbit-style vibrator, and vibrators that look like dressy rabbits to name a few. But they all have one thing in common: looking kind of silly.

The Zoo line from Imtoy takes animal-themed vibrators in a different direction, combining classic sex toy shapes with lines vaguely evocative of animal traits in a way that’s smooth and sleek. For instance, the Giraffe is a longer dildo with a graceful bend; the Rhino is a rabbit-style vibrator with a horn-like nub; and the Gazelle is a small wand-style vibrator that looks like it has gazelle horns if you squint. They all work with the Imtoy-Zoo app, which allegedly lets you customize vibrations to your own patterns; to match a voice, song or video; or to change when your phone moves. (My app store is not American, so I couldn’t try it.) Their silicone, sexless pale rose-quartz-esque color aside, is soft without feeling sticky or squishy. The best that can be said about a lot of silicone is that it doesn’t get in the way, but this stuff feels touchable, and doesn’t attract a ton of dust or eat lube. Finally, they’re all waterproof, rechargeable and have a ton of vibration patterns because sex toy companies still haven’t realized that no one really cares about those.

The Gazelle stands out as a small wand with two options for heads: an easy-to-remove one with two flexible nubs for targeted sensation, and beneath that a smooth sphere. Overall, the toy is a little rumblier on lower settings and a little buzzier on higher ones; regardless of the setting, the nubs are a little buzzier and the sphere is a little rumblier. I like the option to easily switch between sensations during play, but it has a drawback: in the shower, I found the horns moved around as the toy vibrated – while it’s nice that the detachable head is loose enough to easily take on and off dry, that means that once water (and lube) got between the toy and the attachment it doesn’t stay in place.

The taxonomy and classification of different (animal) gazelles is muddled, and so is the Gazelle. Wand? Dildo? Both and neither, maybe at the same time? It almost seems like penetration was considered and not totally rejected, but also not thought through. The head without the attachment is a good size for it and shaped in a way that my g-spot could appreciate, the neck is flexible, the toy is (just) long enough and the whole thing vibrates; at the same time, the control button is close to the head, the shaft narrows out in a way that just isn’t fun to clench around and the shiny plastic end is super slippery when covered in lube. I would have liked either a more functional penetrative toy — with better shape and button placement — or a stronger embrace of the wand — with a more powerful head and a shaft that doesn’t vibrate.

And, the app. Honestly, even if I’d been able to use the app, I probably would have only for science. I don’t want to look at or touch my phone during sex or masturbation unless I’m sexting or watching porn (in which case leaving the conversation or video to make my vibrator work would be really annoying), and I also don’t like when companies try to establish a hold over my other devices as a requirement to use their products. I’m happy controlling my air conditioner remotely from my phone, but I still want to be able to go over to it and set the temperature, you know? The app does theoretically give users more control over their toys, but it should be extra instead of essential. Having a single-button interface gives the Gazelle a sleek, minimal look, sure, but a second button and the ability to physically click back a setting instead of cycling all the way through twelve of them (instead of the advertised sixteen — maybe the rest are in the app, too?) at a key moment or ever is necessary.

Not using the app has a secret upside: though the toy’s estimated battery life is 45 minutes, mine has lasted two hours on a charge, though it gets less powerful as it got closer to death.

Fully charged, the Gazelle feels mid-range powerful: definitely better than a solid bullet, but nowhere near a Magic Wand. I’m a Magic Wand kind of girl, and the Gazelle starts as “this is going to make me come” and, towards the end of its battery life, ends up as “where is a different sex toy.” My orgasms with it are satisfying (totally unlike with some toys I could mention), but not especially remarkable. On the other hand: the Magic Wand is far too powerful for a lot of people. If you’re one of them, like playing with apps, like a lot of vibration settings, or are into Millennial pink, the Gazelle could be the right toy for you.

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