In my mind, the major drawback to being a pain slut is that you need a ready and willing partner to practice your craft. I don't know about the rest of you, but my partner isn't always available and I'm often left to my own devices. Since I've never really seen the appeal of self-flagellation or other such activities, most of my solo play is pretty vanilla and involves inserting item A into slot B, thrusting the prescribed number of times, and waiting for the inevitable orgasm. Mechanically satisfying, yes, but not mentally stimulating and by no means a suitable substitute for any kind of enjoyable sex play.

When I ordered the Pikilo I had no idea this toy was going to change my life; I just thought it was pretty. The Pikilo I ordered is a beautiful dusty lavender color and the femininity of the color juxtaposed with the masculinity of the hard shaft and raised bumps is kind of erotic in and of itself. The Pikilo is about 8" long by about 1 3/4" in diameter. The shaft is covered with 72 raised bumps of varying sizes; the biggest of the bumps are a little under 1/4" diameter by about 1/8" tall.

I love texture, and when I first took the Pikilo out of its box I learned that it does not disappoint in this area. The Pikilo has a fantastic matte finish and feels like no other toy I have ever had. The shaft is firm but it does have a little give when you squeeze it. The bottom of the shaft has three balls that are about 1" in diameter--this makes a great hand grip when holding the bottom and thrusting. If you choose not to hold the toy, however, Pikilo has a removable suction cup at the bottom that should attach to any flat surface.

I've bought a lot of textured vibrators and dildos, and I didn't think much of the texture of the Pikilo prior to my first use. I assumed it would just be like the other toys I had and the texture would be more of an identifying characteristic when the toy was in the box rather than something I would notice during use. Boy, was I wrong! The nubs were immediately apparent, before I had inserted even the first half inch. They are raised enough that you feel each and every one of the 8 nubs in each row as they slide in. The matte finish has a lot of drag and, without lubricant, felt a lot like sandpaper going both in and out. As my body reacted to the nubs and the texture, I became more and more aroused. For the first time in my life, I was able to do something solo that caused an intense amount of that good kind of pain that causes mind-blowing, full body orgasms. It was almost like a mind game with myself, trying to get the nerve to insert the toy further and further, knowing the waves of intense pleasure and pain that would simultaneously crescendo until I couldn't take it anymore.

I hope to get my partner involved in playing with this toy soon, as it could make for some pretty intense S&M play. The only thing better than anticipating the feeling of the next row of nubs going into me would be not having any idea what was going to happen next. I'm also eager to see what happens when somebody else is controlling the rate of insertion, as I know I pulled back on a few occasions because I was a little scared when things got too intense.

The Pikilo is made from WTP, which is a non-porous, non-latex, phthalate-free plastic. It cannot survive heat so it cannot be boiled or put into the dishwasher. The recommended cleaning instructions are to handwash with soap and water, though toy cleaner could work too. The Pikilo's matte texture makes me question exactly how clean it can get, so I probably wouldn't share it with anybody. I would be scared that the nubs would tear a condom during use, so I'm going to call this a one-person toy. The coating is supposed to be anti-bacterial, so I guess that helps with the hygiene factor. You are not supposed to use oil-based lubricant with WTP toys, but any other kind of lube would work.

I love my Pikilo even more now than when I first tried it. Why? Partner play.

As I mentioned earlier, the highlight of this toy is the drag and texture. One of my husband's new favorite activities is tying me to the sportsheets and cropping my thighs/vulva, then teasing me by dragging the Pikilo slowly across my thighs before inserting it at varying intensities. The extra sensation of not knowing what is coming next was absolutely the missing piece when I played with my Pikilo the first few times.

I love this toy. I wish they were still available. I would totally buy another one just to have in reserve in case this one ever gets lost/damaged.