{"id":494,"date":"2018-03-22T22:39:46","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T22:39:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bettybutch.com\/?p=494"},"modified":"2021-03-09T02:02:40","modified_gmt":"2021-03-09T02:02:40","slug":"review-aria-vibra-by-blush-novelties-vs-the-noje-wand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bettybutch.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/22\/review-aria-vibra-by-blush-novelties-vs-the-noje-wand\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Aria Vibra by Blush Novelties (vs the Noje Wand)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m 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\u2019t go according to plan, things don\u2019t go at all<\/em>.<\/p>\n

If I forget to charge the toy I intend to use for masturbation or partnered sex, I will almost always<\/em> 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<\/em> before bed, it\u2019s 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\u2019m too disorganized to give them.<\/p>\n

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Two mini wand vibrators on a pink heart-patterned background. One is green and curved; the other is purple and fat-handled.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So far, I\u2019ve been more attentive with my Noje Mini Wand than my other toys. It is, after all, my favorite<\/a>. 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\u2019t have the kick.<\/p>\n

I was discussing my desire to horde all the Noje models with Laurieann (of Backwoods Bedroom<\/a>) on Twitter<\/a> when Blush Novelties<\/a> reached out about sending me a little care package. (I am still<\/em> 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\u2019s stunt double.<\/p>\n

So, let\u2019s compare.<\/p>\n

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<\/em>. The Noje\u2019s colors are soft and wouldn\u2019t be out of place in an Easter Basket (assuming the basket was for an adult, obvi), and the Vibra\u2019s colors \u2013 like the rest of the Aria line<\/a> \u2013 are like a fever dream of the 80\u2019s<\/a>. The vibrancy of them is made all the more glaring by the..\u00a0interesting<\/em> 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\u2019m just a hater of all things calamitously multicolored. Bright neons? I\u2019m on board. Bright neons with a stripe of a different color? You\u2019ve gone too far this time, Science<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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The Avant D2 (a purple striped dildo with a suction cup), Aria Vibra (a purple-handled mini wand) and two Noje attachments against a pink backdrop.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s some care package coordination that\u2019ll melt any color snob\u2019s cold little heart.<\/p>\n

Like the Noje, the Vibra is palm-sized. Seriously, it is so small<\/em>. It\u2019s all ABS plastic except for the head, which has a soft, silky-finish silicone cap that can be removed for quick cleaning.<\/p>\n

After getting\u00a0a closer look, I noticed the head is actually a bit longer than the Noje\u2019s. It can luckily still fit the attachments<\/a> designed for\u00a0Noje (which I love), assuming you don\u2019t mind a bit of a gap at the bottom. This variation is both beneficial and<\/em> detracting: I feel like the vibrations are better distributed through the Noje\u2019s smaller head, but the Vibra\u2019s lengthier one allows me to properly grind my clit against it \u2013 something I enjoy doing when my headspace veers more masculine. Vibra\u2019s longer head also gives the illusion of a firmer press depending on how you position it, since it covers more surface area.<\/p>\n

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A close-up of the base of the Aria Vibra. Along the seem between the cap and the rest of the handle, there are several raised notches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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<\/a>, directions are for people who are not me. I fumble a lot<\/em>. 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<\/em>, too.<\/p>\n

It takes just two triple-A\u2019s (yeah, the little ones!), which is wild, because this thing is fairly strong.<\/p>\n

Like the Noje, the Vibra has five steady strength settings. The first two are soft and rumbly in a mild, purry sort of way \u2013 you can feel the potential for penetrating sensation but it doesn\u2019t 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<\/em> noise. It\u2019s noticeably louder than the Noje, and its unending rattle-hum is actually a liiiittle<\/em> bit annoying. (It still doesn\u2019t get through my trusty sound-disguising duo of a comforter and small fan though.) It\u2019s also easier to feel the motor in the Vibra, though I\u2019m not sure if it\u2019s because the motor is actually clunkier or because the handle shape of the Noje model I have (W3) is so different from the Vibra\u2019s (which is just like the W2.) The vibrations in the handle are actually less apparent to me than they are in the Noje\u2019s, in part because it\u2019s a weaker toy.<\/p>\n

And, yeah, sadly it\u2019s weaker. Because the juice behind the Vibra\u2019s vibrations is just a pair of batteries, it doesn\u2019t deliver the same deep juttery rumbles as its rechargeable cousin. The fourth and fifth settings definitely rumble, but they just don\u2019t have the same punch, especially with the Vibra\u2019s longer head diffusing some of its potential. It\u2019s amazing how much of a difference the minute size difference actually makes! Even so, it\u2019s still the strongest, rumbliest battery-powered vibrator I own \u2013 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\u2019t call the larger head a negative, as it provides more stimulation possibilities than the Noje\u2019s. 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.<\/p>\n

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The Noje and the Vibra laying side by side on a pink, heart-printed background.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Vibra also has a number of patterns if you\u2019re into that. I\u2019m not, and that makes the Vibra\u2019s single button a tiny torture device \u2013 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\u2019s button lights up like the Noje\u2019s, it\u2019s not as glaringly bright, and it doesn\u2019t blink\/warble with as much intensity so I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a seizure hazard. It\u2019s also more responsive than the Noje\u2019s and clicks to the next setting even if you only press the very edge of it.<\/p>\n

Cleaning the Vibra is a little tricky, because though it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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A close-up of the Vibra’s oblong head.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019ve 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\u2019m 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\u2019s reassuring that if I exhaust my go-to toy, I\u2019ll have a backup in the drawer.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not sure I\u2019d call the Vibra the Noje\u2019s double (stunt or otherwise), because I wouldn\u2019t recommend it as truly comparable to the Noje. The Vibra can sub in for Noje if I\u2019ve fucked up my plans, but I definitely notice the difference in pony power. If I\u2019d tried it before<\/em> the Noje, I might have a stronger affection for it \u2013 but I\u2019ve already found my magic carpet to a whole new world, and the Vibra ain\u2019t quite it. For just ten bucks more, you can get a toy with more get-up-an\u2019-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\u2019t make you remember how mean the girls were in third grade. (Oh, it\u2019s just me? Okay. That\u2019s fair.) Unless, of course, you\u2019re specifically looking for a battery-operated toy \u2013 if crackly wall juice just won\u2019t do and you haven\u2019t already been spoiled by the Noje (or you prefer milder rumbles anyway), then the Vibra might be just fine.<\/p>\n

You can find the Aria Vibra at SheVibe<\/a> ($25)<\/p>\n

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.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":505,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[12,14,721,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-external-toys","category-vibrators-external-toys","category-sex-toys","category-reviews"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t