What better way to kick off February than with a review for an all new Tantus toy, kindly provided to me courtesy of the wonderful folks at SexToys.co.uk. Of all the things in my now-vast toy collection anal beads aren’t something that I’ve had a lot of experimentation with, so I was rather pleased when I got the news that I’d be testing out this particular piece. Check out the review after the jump!
There are two main varieties of anal beads available on the market today, those that feature individual beads connected together by a thin cord, and those moulded out of one single continuous piece of material, of which these are the latter. Each has its own pros and cons, but from a personal standpoint these are the type which I favour.
The Tantus anal beads are made entirely from 100% platinum silicone and are available in the singular colour choice of black. As with all Tantus products the beads are manufactured to an exceptionally high standard, free from any mould lines or defects, and are intended to last indefinitely. The surface of the beads incorporates a smooth shiny finish which reduces drag, but which does have the propensity to attract dust, so you many wish to rinse them prior to use. Silicone is a great material for a toy such as this, and indeed any toy, because it’s completely body-safe, odourless, and non-porous. It’s by far one of the most superior materials you can buy.
The beads are 9″ in total length, with around 8 3/4″ being physically insertable. The design features a straight shaft with six equally-spaced bulges located along it, followed by a smooth 1 1/2″ long neck section similar to that which you might find on a butt plug, and topped off by a very thin base. The base is flared and measures 2 3/8″ wide, making it perfectly safe for anal play. The top-most bulge is the smallest with a circumference of only 2 7/8″, while the others are all slightly larger at 3 3/8″, and the spaces in between are significantly narrower at only 2 1/4″.
One of the first things you’ll notice when it comes to using the beads is just how floppy they are, but this is simply down to the long and thin nature of the design, and the silicone is identical to that used in other Tantus products. This property plays a factor when it comes to inserting the beads as you’ll want to guide them in from the tip, rather than trying to push from the base. The surface of the beads holds lube very nicely and that first bulge will enter the body ever so easily, accompanied by a small ‘pop.’ Because the beads aren’t too wide, and the material has a nice amount of give in the surface, insertion feels very gentle on the sphincter and even the most inexperienced beginner shouldn’t feel any discomfort. The rest of the bulges are much the same story as the first, and despite the slight increase in size it doesn’t feel noticeable on the way in, just provided that you stay relaxed. What may come as a surprise is just how easily the whole 8 3/4″ can be inserted into the body; typically after 5″ or so of a toy you’ll feel the tip poking somewhere inside, but the wonderful flexibility of the material and the relatively narrow tip helps the beads to snake all the way up through the rectum and into the sigmoid colon. Usually trying to get anything that deep inside the body requires a degree of experience, but these beads are very adept at finding their own way and avoiding any resistance, so you might even not notice how far you’ve gone until you suddenly realise that you’re sitting right down on the base. The advantage that these solid-form beads have is in achieving that depth, whereas the beads on a string are liable to just bunch up in a coil inside the rectum, never going much further. Once the beads are fully inserted the sphincter comes to a rest along the smooth neck portion of the toy, and this helps to hold it inside the body. If you wanted to you could leave the beads there as though they were a butt plug and walk around like that without them coming out.Anal beads are designed primarily as an active toy rather than a stationary toy, and its with a mind to removing them more than it is inserting them. The beads come out just as easily as they went in, and this time the base can be used as a handle to pull on in the process. As the beads come out you get a series of little pops as the sphincter passes over each bulge, but they’re not a major event. The downside to the solid-form beads is that the sphincter doesn’t close completely between each bulge like it would if there was a string there, so instead of going from closed to open as the beads are withdrawn, it goes from slightly open to slightly more open, which lessens the impact. For the more novice anal user the sensation that it delivers will probably be enough to feel quite satisfying, but a more experienced user would likely desire a larger ‘pop’ that can only come with a thicker toy.
One of the slight downsides to the toy is that once you’ve removed it you can’t stand it upright anywhere on its base. The floppiness of the material causes it to immediately droop to one side, shifting the centre of gravity, and causing it to topple. Either you re-insert it again as soon as you’ve removed it, you take it to the bathroom to wash it, or you clear an area where it’s safe to lay down a lube-covered toy.
Overall I’d definitely recommend the Tantus Silicone Anal beads, especially to the more novice end of the market. It may seem exceptionally long, but it’s really not a size queen toy and shouldn’t feel intimidating. If you are someone who likes it big then you can probably tell by the measurements that it’s not going to be thick enough to feel filling, but it’s still useful for experimenting with depth when those larger toys just wont go that far.You can buy the Tantus Silicone Anal Beads from SexToys.co.uk.
For those outside the UK they’re also available directly from Tantus.