I’m autistic. I do best with routines and plans that are made in advance and set in stone. But I also struggle to maintain consistency on my own (thanks, executive dysfunction!), and because of this I often need my partner Buster to monitor/manage things. Because if things don’t go according to plan, things don’t go at all.

If I forget to charge the toy I intend to use for masturbation or partnered sex, I will almost always choose to not have sex at all over using a different toy. And this is one area in which Buster is no help: his phone is just as likely to be dead at inopportune times as mine is, and if we remember to plug the Magic Wand Rechargeable in even fifteen minutes before bed, it’s only because the freaking planets have aligned. My drawer is crammed full of dead toys, desperate for some of that sweet crackly wall juice that I’m too disorganized to give them.

So far, I’ve been more attentive with my Noje Mini Wand than my other toys. It is, after all, my favorite. But with so few outlets in our RV (one of the downsides of our life on wheels), and my spoons being a daily variable, there will come a time when I want an orgasm and my sage-handled best bud won’t have the kick.

I was discussing my desire to horde all the Noje models with Laurieann (of Backwoods Bedroom) on Twitter when Blush Novelties reached out about sending me a little care package. (I am still wriggling with joy a month later.) When said package arrived, among the goodies was the Aria Vibra that Lauriann had brought up! As excited as I was to test the two other products, I knew the battery-operated counterpart to my precious Noje had to be first. I needed to know if the Vibra was strong enough to be the Noje’s stunt double.

So, let’s compare.

There are a two immediately obvious differences beyond the power source: the Vibra only comes in one handle shape (whereas the Noje has three) and the colors. The Noje’s colors are soft and wouldn’t be out of place in an Easter Basket (assuming the basket was for an adult, obvi), and the Vibra’s colors – like the rest of the Aria line – are like a fever dream of the 80’s. The vibrancy of them is made all the more glaring by the.. interesting choice of varying the cap colors. I hate it! But I also hated Lisa Frank for all those visually complicated school supplies I had as a kid. I’m just a hater of all things calamitously multicolored. Bright neons? I’m on board. Bright neons with a stripe of a different color? You’ve gone too far this time, Science.

Mine is the least hideous of the four color combinations: primarily a very nice purple, I believe to match the dildo Blush also sent (the Avant D2.) That’s some care package coordination that’ll melt any color snob’s cold little heart.

Like the Noje, the Vibra is palm-sized. Seriously, it is so small. It’s all ABS plastic except for the head, which has a soft, silky-finish silicone cap that can be removed for quick cleaning.

After getting a closer look, I noticed the head is actually a bit longer than the Noje’s. It can luckily still fit the attachments designed for Noje (which I love), assuming you don’t mind a bit of a gap at the bottom. This variation is both beneficial and detracting: I feel like the vibrations are better distributed through the Noje’s smaller head, but the Vibra’s lengthier one allows me to properly grind my clit against it – something I enjoy doing when my headspace veers more masculine. Vibra’s longer head also gives the illusion of a firmer press depending on how you position it, since it covers more surface area.

Getting batteries into the Vibra is easy as long as you situate the cap properly, something that the toy itself helps you with because there are a few raised lines to show where it should be positioned. Unfortunately, as I mentioned in my Tulip Vibe review, directions are for people who are not me. I fumble a lot. Once lined up, the cap must be pushed down firmly and given a partial turn, almost like a child-proof medicine lid. I fumble a lot at that, too.

It takes just two triple-A’s (yeah, the little ones!), which is wild, because this thing is fairly strong.

Like the Noje, the Vibra has five steady strength settings. The first two are soft and rumbly in a mild, purry sort of way – you can feel the potential for penetrating sensation but it doesn’t move past the surface much. Clicking to the third setting causes the toy to jump as it changes over and produces significantly stronger vibration and noise. It’s noticeably louder than the Noje, and its unending rattle-hum is actually a liiiittle bit annoying. (It still doesn’t get through my trusty sound-disguising duo of a comforter and small fan though.) It’s also easier to feel the motor in the Vibra, though I’m not sure if it’s because the motor is actually clunkier or because the handle shape of the Noje model I have (W3) is so different from the Vibra’s (which is just like the W2.) The vibrations in the handle are actually less apparent to me than they are in the Noje’s, in part because it’s a weaker toy.

And, yeah, sadly it’s weaker. Because the juice behind the Vibra’s vibrations is just a pair of batteries, it doesn’t deliver the same deep juttery rumbles as its rechargeable cousin. The fourth and fifth settings definitely rumble, but they just don’t have the same punch, especially with the Vibra’s longer head diffusing some of its potential. It’s amazing how much of a difference the minute size difference actually makes! Even so, it’s still the strongest, rumbliest battery-powered vibrator I own – though when the batteries start to deplete, it rapidly loses its muscle. (It also gets more rattly, and the vibrations in the handle become buzzy.) And I still can’t call the larger head a negative, as it provides more stimulation possibilities than the Noje’s. It feels closer to an actual wand that I can work against myself instead of just finding a good spot (for me, the right side of my clit) and staying there.

The Vibra also has a number of patterns if you’re into that. I’m not, and that makes the Vibra’s single button a tiny torture device – if you want to go back to a prior setting, your only option is to hold the button to turn the Vibra off and back on again, or press it a zillion times to cycle back through all the patterns and steady speeds. I was grateful to discover that though the Vibra’s button lights up like the Noje’s, it’s not as glaringly bright, and it doesn’t blink/warble with as much intensity so I don’t think it’s a seizure hazard. It’s also more responsive than the Noje’s and clicks to the next setting even if you only press the very edge of it.

Cleaning the Vibra is a little tricky, because though it’s waterproof and thus can be submerged, the neck is rigid and flapped like an accordion. Fingernails or a toothbrush are necessary to totally rid it of gunk if things get messy.

I’ve composed short jingles (because who has the time for love songs?) to the convenience and money-saving that rechargeable sex toys offer. But my sex life ran exclusively on batteries for over a decade. I’m not ready to write battery toys off as remnants of a distant past, and there are plenty of people who still prefer batteries for their discretion, convenience for travel, or ease of access. And it’s reassuring that if I exhaust my go-to toy, I’ll have a backup in the drawer.

But I’m not sure I’d call the Vibra the Noje’s double (stunt or otherwise), because I wouldn’t recommend it as truly comparable to the Noje. The Vibra can sub in for Noje if I’ve fucked up my plans, but I definitely notice the difference in pony power. If I’d tried it before the Noje, I might have a stronger affection for it – but I’ve already found my magic carpet to a whole new world, and the Vibra ain’t quite it. For just ten bucks more, you can get a toy with more get-up-an’-go that can be recharged for free (if you were able to pay your electric bill this month, anyway) with a color scheme that doesn’t make you remember how mean the girls were in third grade. (Oh, it’s just me? Okay. That’s fair.) Unless, of course, you’re specifically looking for a battery-operated toy – if crackly wall juice just won’t do and you haven’t already been spoiled by the Noje (or you prefer milder rumbles anyway), then the Vibra might be just fine.

You can find the Aria Vibra at SheVibe ($25)

The Aria Vibra was sent to me by Blush Novelties with no strings attached (but of course I was gonna review it!) Affiliate links were used in this post.