The Pleasure Periscope from California Exotics is a truly unique product. I'd never seen anything like it, and when browsing items my husband thought this one was so different that we should try it out. He likes to try new things and thought that this would be a fun experience, so we went for it. The idea behind the Pleasure Periscope is that you can use it to view your inner anatomy while using the vibrations to pleasure yourself. You can use this vaginally, or anally, but I chose to only use this vaginally.

The Pleasure Periscope is made out of plastic. It takes only 2 AA batteries, and according to the packaging only rubber safe lubricants should be used with this product. The periscope is discreet in the sense that if anyone came across this they probably would not know what the heck it was! It looks kind of like a lab instrument or perhaps a strange looking toy gun. It does however say “Swedish erotica” on it though, so that might give someone a clue about its actual use. For those of us who do know what the Pleasure Periscope is for I have to say that it doesn't look very pleasurable and it doesn't look very well made either. There are obvious and somewhat uncomfortable seams down the shaft and also around where the lens is. There are hard angles which are not comfortable when using and the control buttons are strange and small and look like they could break easily. Now, if you're into medical play I can see how the look of this would be pretty awesome, because it does look like something very medical or scientific.

So, you're probably wondering how the heck this thing works. Well since it's a periscope it allows you to see from a viewing window at the base of the toy what is being seen at the tip of the toy. There is a light to help you view and one speed of vibrations. Each function has its own button, right next to each other at the base of the toy. When actually using the toy I found a few issues. Lubrication will fog up the lens, and also the viewing window is hard to see if you're not very flexible. I was able to bend enough to see the viewing window but it wasn't entirely comfortable. I felt like I was at a doctor's office actually. Everything just looked pink and it was hard to really see what was what. I believe at one point I did see my cervix, but honestly I'm not even sure. I can't tell you what it would look like if I had an orgasm since this thing was not going to get me there as long as I was bent into a pretzel. It's possible that if I laid back and used a clitoral vibe I would be able to orgasm but I wouldn't be able to see without being in that awkward and uncomfortable pretzel position. A partner would have a better view, but my husband said he couldn't really see anything. I think his favorite part was saying “Up Periscope!” whenever he saw it. Strangely as interested as he was before we ordered it he really wasn't that into it once it arrived. I think seeing it in person and seeing that it was cheaply made kind of turned him off to the whole idea.

This product kind of fails in the actual pleasure department because the vibrations are only so-so, and the hard angles at the base are uncomfortable. The vibrations are loud and the sound kind of varies as the pressure on the toy changes. Finally, the last reason I am not really a fan of this product is my concerns over being able to effectively clean this toy. As I said above there are many seams and seams can trap bacteria and make it hard to get the toy really clean. The Pleasure Periscope is not waterproof, so you cannot immerse it in water in an attempt to get it clean. Using a condom would not really work as you wouldn't be able to see anything with a condom over the lens. While this toy can be used anally I wouldn't recommend it because of the seams and not being able to sterilize it.

I would probably recommend this for someone who was into medical type role playing or was flexible enough to actually use this as self examiner. I think that in theory it would be awesome for that, but for me it's just at a very strange angle. I think there's very little pleasure to be had from this unless it is fulfilling a kink.

I wanted to just expand slightly on the actual viewing portion of this toy. The only way to have this feel good for me was to angle it towards my g-spot. However, that means that the viewing window is pointed away from me and I would need to bend myself up and then try to view it. Since the shape of the shaft has the toy so far away from you this is really difficult. If I tried to move the toy to angle it more towards me I would lose the stimulation which actually did feel good internally. A partner could easily view from the window, but it's a small window and not entirely clear. Everything kind of all blends together, which is somewhat expected I suppose, but I guess I had hoped it'd be slightly clearer. I also was afraid to really thrust this toy not only because of the hard angles at the base but also because of the seams along the toy. The last thing I need is a scrape or a cut internally.

I actually ended up tossing this one, I just knew we were never going to use it again. Most times if I don't like a toy I just put it in a box because I realize that my preferences might change over time. But, with the Pleasure Periscope I had a feeling that was not ever going to be the case. The thing is that it just feels cheap, and it has such obvious seams that I'm afraid I'll end up cutting myself internally, and I don't want to risk that. While I can see how it would be fun for medical play I think I'd definitely have to recommend a condom over it to protect yourself, and that would take away from the viewing. Because of that it seems like a lose/lose situation and I think the Pleasure Periscope is just an absolute bust.