I don't swim with sharks. In fact, I tend to stay away from dangerous (or apparently dangerous) things in general. When I first saw the Tantus Charmer dildo, my first impression was “stay away - danger”. The Charmer looked like something that would be at home in a Sawzall, and something that looked like it went in a power saw seemed a bit too extreme for my butt.

I reassessed my view of the Charmer after I started hearing rumors. Rumors that hinted at bliss, rumors saying that the Charmer would happily do everything that it did to a g-spot to a prostate if it was inserted in the proper orifice. Eventually, I heard enough rumors that I was willing to put my ass on the line and check them out. With a mix of excitement and trepidation, I ordered up a Charmer. Who knows, perhaps the picture exaggerated those sawtooth ridges.

My Charmer came a couple of days later, and those iridescent purple ridges looked every bit as menacing as they did in the photo. Most of my apprehension disappeared when I took it out of the package and felt it, as the Charmer is made out of a soft silicone that promises to faithfully follow wherever your body guides it, while at the same time having enough strength to stimulate. The base is strong enough to work well in a harness, as it's the newer, stiffer style Tantus base that holds better in an O-ring. The only thing left was to see how well the promises of the Charmer worked out in real life.

To quote the Beatles: “I was alone, I took a ride, I didn't know what I would find there...”  Well, I found out that the rumors are true. The Charmer works wonders anally – the ridges tap danced on my prostate each time the dildo thrust in or out. The ridges also contributed to this dildo being the first one I can describe as easy to hold in with your butt muscles, for what that's worth. However, I would be hesitant to issue a blanket recommendation that guys pick up a Charmer. This isn't a entry level toy, or even a mid-level toy. While smaller, it's definitely advanced – you have to really know your body for it to be comfortable. I would never recommend this as a first dildo, nor would I let someone else drive it unless we had been doing anal activities together for a while. You need to be careful to keep yourself lubed with something thick and slick, and you need to be able to keep your anus relaxed most of the time, or the Charmer becomes very uncomfortable. Strategically tightening my anus from time to time heightened the pleasure, but when I tried “clamping down” during thrusting the Charmer started to hurt. If you have enough anal control there's only one word that can describe the Charmer – WOW! I had a anally induced dry orgasm while riding it, a feat that doesn't happen often for me. Cleanup was a breeze, since the Charmer is all silicone.

The Charmer is like a steam engine – you have to be willing and able to watch all the gauges, set the controls, and grease the joints, but when you can do that it has great power.

It's been five months, and the Charmer has made many performances to my very pleased ass, receiving standing ovations from my cock every time. During those five months I've become more of an expert at using the Charmer, and I'm now recommending it more widely. A very relaxed anus is still a prerequisite to use the Charmer fast and hard, and during my first review that was how I was using the Charmer, sliding it in and letting the sensations carry me away. Going slow, the Charmer is equally charming, and I began to appreciate new sensations. The ridges that raced across my prostate during the wild sessions continue to charm and stimulate, but they also give delightful sensations to my anus as they pop in and out like a string of beads. It takes self-control for me to go slow, but it feels great and I don't get the feeling of discomfort if I tighten up. I'm now recommending the Charmer to people interested in a high-stimulation dildo who are familiar and comfortable with anal stimulation, mostly intermediate or advanced players.

How does the Charmer feel? Fantastic is a bit broad, but it fits. I've had a chance to compare the Charmer with another one of my favorite high-stimulation dildos: the Tantus Squirt. The Charmer's smaller size makes insertion easier, but it doesn't fill up my ass as much as the larger toy. It's still great, though, with the bumps providing plenty of stimulation. The best comparison I have come up with is a drum set. The Charmer is the snare drum, fast and rat-a-tat-tat, and the Squirt is a big bass drum, with powerful yet slower thuds. Hopefully this comparison can help explain the feeling.