Tool Shed Review #1 - Cobra Libre & Pulse Solo
As a recipient of a nerve sparing prostatectomy, and believing the Urologist’s waiting room brochures that my body will heal and be back to normal within a 2 year time frame, I realised that my “New Normal” was not going to happen naturally. Like any other post surgery trauma, rehabilitation of my body was required, and if I was to recover whatever erection capabilities were possible, I needed assistance.
When it comes to rehabbing my loss of erection following the prostatectomy or even dealing with naturally occurring erectile dysfunction, I can only do so much rehab manually. So I went in search of a little bit of battery powered assistance, and it has been an interesting journey that needs to be shared.
There are many male sex toys on the market, and this review is to assist you in selecting a toy that assists you with enjoying the rehabilitation process, regardless if you are a solo rehabber or have a playspace partner to assist.
If you are looking for a toy, I recommend that you do your research as there are many blogs and posts on the web for you to read and watch. Unfortunately, most of these reviews are written by men who have a fully functioning penis and have not undergone prostate cancer surgery or treatment, or have erectile dysfunction issues.
This review attempts to give you an insight on selecting the right device that can assist or quicken the damaged nerve healing process and ultimately achieving an erection that you can be proud of.
Cobra Libre II by Fun Factory
The Cobra Libre is touted by its designers as a penis head stimulator, and true to their word, it does that job very well! It is an excellent designed device for delivering multiple vibrating modes to the frenulum and the glans.
The objective of my review of sex toys is to assist men, who like myself have had a prostatectomy or are experiencing erectile dysfunction, to find the various ways to apply external stimulation to a soft penis that will ultimately result in an erection, or an orgasm, or both.
If I had a Cobra before my surgery, I would have loved it as it provides the incredible feeling of my glans and frenulum being surrounded by vibrating slippery bliss. With a firm and erect penis, I would have been able to fill the Cobra’s orifice and penetrate deep into the toy to reach the vibrating sweet spot with my frenulum and glans.
Unfortunately I am no longer that man, and I am still in search of my “New Normal” with a penis that needs more than simple vibrations to arouse an erection, keep me erect and generate an orgasm.
Now the Cobra’s website does promote it as suitable for use on a flaccid penis, but I disagree that it is suitable for men with erectile dysfunction. Sporting a soft-on, which is mostly my “new normal”, and trying to insert my soft penis into the full length of the device, and over the vibrating pad, is near impossible. Imagine attempting to place a glove on a hand of someone who is asleep! It is not really going to work.
For me, the vibrations on the glans did feel fantastic but my floppy friend did not rise to full erection status to achieve the best outcome. I realise that men who have nerve damage arising from a prostatectomy or who have erectile dysfunction, may respond differently to the vibrations than myself. But as Pedro did not stand to attention immediately, the long duration application of this device only led to vibration numbness.
The Cobra centres its vibration design around the glans, and yes it feels
amaaaaaazing! But my masturbation rehab practice involves stroking my shaft and engaging in Jelqing, which this toy does not assist in undertaking that action. If you are not familiar with Jelqing, it does work and I refer you to the “A Touch Subject” video that describes the practice which can result in a stretched and engorged penis.
In my "new normal" I have found that I need to arouse, engorge and lengthen my penis, so as to achieve an orgasm. Simply focusing a vibrating stimulus to the frenulum and glans as the Cobra does, it is not enough for me. Similarly, the Cobra is only a penis head stimulator and it does not permit deep pelvic floor muscle vibrations which I have found, adds to my excitement.
Climacturia
Post surgery, I experience slight climacturia or urine leakage during rehab sessions. The Cobra has not been designed for this issue and thus for me, the greatest drawback of this toy. This is not a fault of the toy, as no toy is going to meet the needs of every man and their penis status.
This toy is designed as a penetrating device and a water based lube is recommended. Initial insertion with a half hard-on provides sensational vibrations that are slippery and delicious. But in my case with a leaky bladder, before I reach that point of achieving my "new normal" orgasm, I do experience uncontrollable releases of urine. When using the Cobra, this release of urine dissolves the water based lube, making the sensation feel more slippery. Sounds great so far, doesn’t it? But….
This extra slipperiness seals the Cobra’s tube causing my glans to be suctioned into the device as no air can enter the orifice. As I discharge more urine, and add some stroking strength to break the suction seal, the water based lube has now fully dissolved, resulting in unlubricated rubber vibrating on my now, very aroused and sensitive frenulum and glans. This becomes very irritating and uncomfortable, and it is at this point I curse my prostate cancer surgery and give up.
Verdict
So even though it is a well designed device and possibly provides amazing stimulation to a pre-prostatectomy or a fully responding penis, it did not work on my very stubborn Pedro. To spare you the frustration of being reminded of what you used to have and what you now have, I would not recommend this device if you have erectile dysfunction or climacturia.
Pulse Pulse Solo Essential by Octopuss
So this little gem is ideal for stimulating a flaccid, non complying penis.
Unlike other toys that require you to insert a semi or fully erect penis into the sleeve or rubber orifice, the soft rubberised wings of the Pulse Solo can open to take my spongy penis and wrap it in a world of slippery vibrations.
Whether this was intentional or not, the Pulse Solo is well designed for men with erectile dysfunction and the toy’s many settings, delivers every form of vibration from a mild tingle to an earth shattering shake.
These are the reasons that I enjoyed using the Pulse Solo.
By opening up the wings of the toy, I can easily place rather than insert, my soft lubricated penis onto the vibrating pad. This pad is designed for maximum pleasure on the frenulum of my penis.
For me the applied enveloping vibrations did stimulate blood flow and engorgement, and another good feature of the Pulse Solo is that I can grasp the rubberised wings of the toy to apply hand-gripped pressure to my shaft and glans. Now, if you have been watching the “A Touchy Subject” video on Jelqing, you will know that you can assist in the engorgement and stretching of the penis by applying circular pressure to the base of the shaft and pulling the pressure forward. Watch the video above, it explains it better than I can, but Jelqing does work and the Pulse Solo permits this action but with the added pleasure of providing vibrations along the length of my shaft.
Another feature of the Pulse Solo that I enjoyed, is that I do not always want to focus the vibrations of the toy onto the frenulum and glans. Since commencing my post surgery rehab, I have been experimenting with my body to determine whether other parts of my groin can give me toe-curling pleasure. I have found that if I apply deep firm vibrations to the base of my penis, hard up against the pelvic bone, those vibrations penetrate into my pelvic floor muscles and the internal sensory receivers. Because of these vibrations, I can achieve a completely different orgasm to the one achieved by my puberty-learnt hand job.
I have spoken to women about this, and it is similar to the deep ache orgasm that a female can achieve, complete with the rolling sensations of multiple after-shock spasms. If you have not tried stimulating your pelvic floor muscles, give it a go with any vibrating toy, but the Pulse Solo’s strong vibrations enhances that aching delicious feeling.
So once my penis has achieved semi or fully erect status, the hand-gripped Pulse Solo can then be used to masturbate in a traditional manner with the vibrating pressure pad massaging the entire underside of my penis. This is an extremely pleasurable feeling and no other toy that I have researched or tried, has the same outcome.
Climacturia
For me, climacturia is a “thing” and some leakage does occur during partnerplay and rehab exercises. With the Pulse Solo, the open design of the toy allows the urine to drip away and not wash away the applied lubricant. This issue of lubricant being dissolved by urine is annoying as it can result in sensitive parts of Pedro being rubbed against bare silicon.
Partner Play
Partner play with the Pulse Solo is another exciting feature as most partners know how to give stroking pleasure to a penis and the addition of the Pulse Solo in the playspace adds to the team effort to get Pedro off the bench and into the game. Similarly in partner play, by pressing the toy firmly to the base of the penis to give the deep groin vibrations, the glans protrudes from the toy allowing oral sex to be recieved or for the glans to provide vibrating clitoral stimulation. Your partner play is only limited by your’s and your partner’s imagination.
The Pulse Solo is like most modern, well designed devices. Fully rechargeable, easy to wash, many user preference vibration settings, waterproof, and made of medical grade silicon.
Verdict:
For men with erectile dysfunction, the Pulse Solo offers excellent assistance in establishing and maintaining an erection, and provides fantastic orgasmic results even if your Pedro does not achieve its full penetrative powers.
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