My latest box of toys contained three new playthings: Darius, Mr Pluggit, and a kit fox! I think I'll tackle each one separately for now in order to keep the length of the reviews down a little and to make finding reviews easier for other readers. I hope to add a video soon, I just haven't had the time to make one yet.
The shipping was a little slow this time, though I am going to blame the weather. All the snow and ice we have been seeing lately must have been a nightmare for the postman! It took a little over two weeks for the box to go from Bear's home to my own. As always, it was a plain white "postal service" box with a human name on the box. By now I'm pretty sure the mailwoman orders from Bear, too: as soon as she saw the box that mysterious smile returned.
The Packaging was very simple this time: each toy was bagged in ziplock bags that had been heat sealed along the top. I was supposed to have gotten four toys in this box, the fourth being a last minute additional premade Bear had on sale at the time, though I guess Bear forgot the last one (It's ok, I have already sent him a mail about it). There was a care package sent along with my toys as well containing the fabled Yiffy Safer Sex pamphlet (circa 1995!), a silicone care sheet, a condom, some lube, and a nice mint.
Darius Himself is not scary. I know what you're thinking, "But red, there's spikes and stuff!" Well, as it turns out, the spikes are not really spikes but a molded spike-type texture along the head of the toy. If anything, they more are raised triangular bumps with rounded tips along the toy's head. They do flip up a little, but it's not enough to be remotely dangerous.
The shaft is not scary, either! This toy is actually comparable in size to one of my human toys. The head is more slender than that of a human's and the gradual widening causes the base to be a bit wider than a human penis' head. There is some texturing along the shaft in the form of a molded "skin fold" carved along the top and some more pronounced dimple texture along the underside near the base. The base of the shaft flows fairly easily into the base of the toy with the final touches being some fur texture along the base of the toy.
Darius is also super easy to use! Although the head is not as tapered as the Gryphon, the narrow tip makes sliding it in a breeze. The very human in proportion shaft makes warmup time negligible for Darius as well. If anything, I would actually suggest this toy as a warm up for some of the larger models or for those who want something reasonable while still exotic. The texture feels great, too! It is smooth on the in-stroke, flowing lightly over the inner ridges, only to suddenly switch to a gentle rubbing, almost massaging feeling on the outstroke due to the "spines". I found that riding hard and fast on this toy was a ton of fun and did not leave me sore afterward.
However, Darius does have two major drawbacks: lube and cleaning. The very spines that add such a unique feel tend to scrub the lube right out of you! I found myself reapplying lube three times before I was done. The other drawback is that Darius is a pain to clean. The many spines mean there are tons of nooks and crannies for fluids to hide in. The carved in urethra in the tip only makes this worse, even if it looks nice. Your best bet is to find a very soft bristle toothbrush and scrub the toy down after each usage or else you may find dried on crackles later (yuck!).
Over-allDarius may look intimidating in the photos, but up close he is a harmless pussycat. The human-proportioned shaft makes riding a breeze and the suction cup works nicely, too. However, due to the spines, you are going to need to use extra lube and you must take care when cleaning this toy to make sure all the fluids are removed.
Overall Grade: C+ (A fun ride, but I'm deducting due to cleaning difficulties)
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My other reviews:
Gryphon