Icicles No. 1 by Pipedream, herein called Icy, is a dual-ended dildo which can be used for vaginal penetration or very careful anal penetration. Both ends are delicious, and depend on what sort of stimulation you want for the evening. The bulbed end is fantastic for g-spot stimulation, while the tapered end is excellent for X-spot (cervical) stimulation, but do be careful with vigorous thrusting as you can bruise your cervix if you're rough. The tapered end can also be used anally. I think this is suitably long enough to keep a good hold on it, and I think that, unless your ass is a hungry, hungry hippo, the bulb will protect it from being sucked in.

I've also used Icy's ridges for some clitoral and labia stimulation, and Icy's bulbed end for some massage (at which it quite excels at because it's so long).

Edit: I see now that this is listed as an anal probe. I use it vaginally, not anally.

Icy is made of pyrex/borosilicate/tempered glass, a material sent from the gods. It's hard, slick, cold, but warms up quickly, and above all, nonporous.

There is a swirl wrapped around Icy's shaft, which is pronounced but not irritating or extreme. I'm not sure that it would be good for beginners (see below), but those who have already experienced a somewhat textured toy, sure. As an advanced user of extremely textured, rigid toys (such as the Allegro and Dai Do #4), I find this texture very stimulating. In comparison with the Rainbow Swirl, the swirls on Icy are much more pronounced, wider, and are more effective (to me).

Of course, if you know you dislike texture, skip on Icy.

Icy is quite long at 9 inches total length, which is totally straight. All of it is insertable, so that's dependent on your anatomy. Both ends can be used; the ball end is 1 1/2 inches in diameter, and the tapered end goes from 1/2 inch to 1 inch in diameter. This makes the shaft relatively slim. The swirls get more intense as you go down the shaft from the tapered end, starting at basically nothing and going all the way to almost 1/8 of an inch. It's an interesting effect. At the tapered tip, the swirl is very smooth and barely discernible. It gets more and more intense as you go down, ending with a very obvious, almost sharp-edged swirl.

It doesn't have a curve, but the bulb can definitely hit your g-spot. I found it to be almost too long, though. It's almost unwieldy. I'm not sure I'd ascribe this for beginners because of its length. There are better toys out there for newbies. I love that Icy is minimalistic, though, and modern-looking. It still looks like a dildo, though maybe less so than others.

I only have one complaint, and it's not really even a problem. Icy is a little too long. If it was a an inch or an inch and a half shorter, it would be just right. The reason why it's not a problem is because it's a double-ended dildo, in which its size is just fine. It's the same length as the golden Glass Wand.

Oh, let me count the ways that Icy can be cleaned.
1. Antibacterial soap and water. The tried-and-true method.
2. Commercial toy cleaner. The ol' standby.
3. Boiling for 5 minutes. For a really deep clean.
4. Top rack in the dishwasher. Include other toys to not waste water!
5. Bleach solution. Ten percent, to be exact.

Inspect your Icy for cracks and/or chips periodically. Storage is simple--a padded bag, thick sock, or some other protective means.

This is standard Icicles packaging: a thick cardstock box with gorgeous photos of the dildo, a peek-a-boo window hidden inside the flap (held closed by magnets). It has some generally helpful information, if you didn't already know how to care for glass. The dildo itself is housed in a really thick soft styrofoam block. This block alone would be good to house your Icy in a drawer or cabinet without worrying about clinking or it falling out of the block. I usually have to smack the block on my hand to get the dildo out.

When I take the styrofoam block out, it kind of makes a squeaking noise. A little nails-on-a-chalkboard sounding.

I've had this toy for awhile (I really don't know why I haven't reviewed it earlier!) and I still find myself using it pretty regularly, though not as much as some other toys. I do like it, but the length does cause a tiny bit of a problem.

Subjectively, I'd give it 4 stars, maybe 4 1/2 if I'm feeling lenient.
Objectively, it's 5 stars. If you know you like length, this one's for you!