The friendly shop Le Lapin Magique allowed us to test the Tenga Flip Hole Red masturbator.
The Japanese brand Tenga is first of all known for its disposable male masturbators, the “Eggs” (we will soon be testing the “Spider” version) and the “Cups”. But the Flip Hole, by contrast, is not disposable.
When it comes to sex toys, men have (at least for now, but hopefully the balance will be restored very quickly) fewer choices than women.
Apart from “mixed” sex toys, many objects intended for male pleasure remain very kitsch and unappealing. Penis boudins in the style of a mini beach armband, mutant pussys-tits-arses-vulvas 4 in 1, creepy dolls, etc.
Tenga moves away from this cliché, by playing on a “high tech” image for the product, with smooth, non-evocative geometric shapes. As a bonus, a manga-style clip featuring futuristic monsters and chicks who look like Tenga cups.
Four Flip Hole models currently exist: the Black, the White, the Silver and the Red. These models, whose external shape is identical, differ in their internal texture.
So let’s look at the Tenga Flip Hole Red more closely…
Packaging and accessories
The Flip Hole Red is packaged in a transparent cylindrical box, which serves as its base.
This box is nice, but not very useful for storage (transparent, and not very protective). To protect the sex toy when not in use, it is therefore better to buy a storage case, although storing it as is – without the box – does not, for once, pose too many problems.
Three tubes of lubricant (“hole lotion”), resembling test tubes, are included: a very runny one (“wild”, the black tube), a normal one (“real”, the red tube), and a mentholated one (“mild”, the white tube).
According to Tenga’s website, these lubricants contain parabens.
A healthier composition would have been welcome, but there is no need to make a huge fuss about it. Given the size of the tubes, they mainly serve to look nice, and to ensure that the lucky owner of a Tenga Flip Hole does not run out of lubricant when testing their purchase.
I must admit that, already having a small stock of lubricant, we had not yet tried them when writing this review, but after all, we will buy the Flip Hole for the object itself, not for its three little bottles!
The sex toy
Exterior
The Flip Hole is a cylindrical box 17.5 cm long and 8.5 cm in diameter.
That is a bit smaller than the diameter of a box of Pringles – I don’t quite see why this comparison crossed my mind.
Almost cylindrical: to be precise, its base is rather an ellipse.
The red part is made of hard plastic, while the white part is made of very soft silicone elastomer.
The three “pressure points” that can be seen are a bit firmer, and you can press on them with your fingers in order to vary the pressure exerted on the penis when it is inside.
To open it, you first remove the closure clip by sliding it.
You then discover a “entrance” that is all squishy, also in silicone, with a (stretchable) hole about 2 centimetres in diameter.
Good point: visually, it resembles neither a badly made toy, nor a pussy, … just a comfortable hole in the silicone. As for texture, it is of course not “realistic skin” (that is not really the point of this sex toy), but after frequent comparison, the outside of a pussy is a bit soft too, in the end.
Interior
The interior of the Flip Hole is much softer than female silicone sex toys. The contact with the material is pleasant. The texture is… complex, and varies along the length.
The penetrable length is 15 cm. This does not mean that you are necessarily deprived of a Tenga if your equipment does not have exactly this standard length. To use the Flip Hole, you do not have to push your entire penis into it, nor systematically touch the bottom with your glans. But I would rather let you continue reading for the impressions about its size.
Instructions for use of the Tenga Flip Hole Red
Before using the Flip Hole, you first have to open it (by sliding the closure clip) in order to smear it with water-based lubricant. Above all, no silicone-based lubricant, or oily substance, otherwise you will damage the object. (Of course, the supplied lubricant does the job.)
Then you close it, this time placing the closure clip on the opposite side to the hole.
The Flip Hole is then ready to use.
You would have guessed it without explanation, it is used by pushing the penis inside and performing back-and-forth movements.
No constraints as to the position to adopt, as long as you aim well at the hole. You can, if you choose, settle comfortably and move the Flip Hole with your hand, or perform pelvic movements in order to penetrate the device with a bit more action.
Once you have finished, you need to remember to clean it. To do this, you open it and simply wash the inside with water and soap, then you leave it open for it to air dry. Before storing it, you close it, taking care not to pinch the silicone with the plastic clip.
Using the Tenga Flip Hole Red
Before trying it, I was afraid the tube would be too short (not out of vanity, but because bumping your penis against a wall can be unpleasant). But no, the length is in fact sufficient, despite a penis of about 17 cm. Honestly, I had not noticed before writing the review that the penetrable length was 15 cm. Apparently, it is not a problem at all, the length having suited me perfectly.
On the penis side, the physical sensations surprised me, because they are close to those felt during vaginal penetration (nothing to do with a blowjob). In the end (at least, when the device is well lubricated), it is not too tight. Even almost not enough in fact. At least for this Red version, and without skimping on the quantity of lubricant. But I believe I read -after the fact- somewhere on the internet, that someone was advising not to put a lot of lubricant in these Tengas precisely.
At the tactile level – or rather “penis-tactile” – the resemblance to a vagina is quite surprising. It resembles (pardon my lack of class), a real pussy a bit “large” (and to boot, generously lubricated)!
On the other hand, a small flaw, the Flip Hole makes plenty of pussy-suction-pudding noises during use. You need to know that. That is rather a pity (except for fartophiles). It is only a sound problem and it will not bother everyone, I think, but I did not find it very pleasant to hear.
In addition, the plastic tends to creak a tiny bit. It is in no way annoying, it is very light, but it gives an impression of fragility.
The possibility of modulating the pressure that one exerts on the walls (one of the specificities of the Flip Hole range) is nice, and even useful, but no more. It sometimes ends up serving to dampen the constant audio flow of lubricated suction noises…!
Conclusion on the Tenga Flip Hole Red
To sum up, I generally liked the Flip Hole. It is not without small flaws, but I found it well designed, with very pleasant sensations. Besides, it is not ugly, it is easy to store, … in short, it is practical!
In the good points, I will mainly note that it is…
- Very simple to clean properly!
- Very simple to use (to open, the pressure points, etc.)
- And above all, the main point, that the sensation recalls that of vaginal penetration, and is therefore very pleasant. I have not yet tested other masturbators, I therefore do not know whether others are more realistic, perhaps, but this one already is largely (that’s saying something…) enough for me, and it does not have a bad back-end shape to which the person around it is missing.
The small flaws I found in it are not on the side of sensations or use, but simply that, between one thing and another, the impression of manufacturing quality is not totally present. The outer plastic seems a bit “cheap”, the noises it makes are not very classy, etc… It is not at the level of LELOs, for example (but LELO does not make masturbators… And then, we are not in the same price range either!).
That said, I think it is sufficiently solid and will hold up well over time nonetheless. It probably is not a matter of throwing it against the walls!
I will conclude by answering these two questions:
- Will I continue to use it to masturbate? Probably. Not systematically, but yes, I think so.
- If I had to buy a new masturbator today? I think I would stick with, despite the small flaws, the Tenga brand.
Review score
Pros
- Pleasant sensations
- Easy to use
- Easy to clean
Cons
- Unpleasant noises
Edit: Do not hesitate to read (or write!) the comments below, and in particular that of Tinu who kindly shares their opinion on the Black and White models.
