Betty Dodson's Vaginal Barbell is a multi-use product that can be used to tone PC muscles in both men and women or as a metal dildo. Exercising pelvic floor muscles is important for vaginal health, giving greater bladder control and even strengthening orgasms. Doing kegels with resistance, such as with this vaginal barbell, optimize the effects of kegels, much like adding weights to your workout. Because there is no give to metal, it makes an excellent choice as a resistance product for your kegels.

To do the exercises, insert the end of your choice--the smaller end may be preferred by beginners--and flex your PC muscles, which are the same muscles you would use to voluntarily stop the flow of urine while going to the bathroom. According to the included instruction manual, the PC muscle can also be felt by women by inserting a finger into the vagina and squeezing the muscles around the inserted finger. These will be the same muscles you will squeeze when doing kegels with this product.

In addition to doing regular kegels with the barbell, you can also squeeze the PC muscles while slowly pulling the barbell out, getting resistance from the rings and balls. Similarly, because this will stay in place while inserted, kegels can be done while using a toy or fingers on the clit.

As a dildo, the balls and rings provide interesting texture and the larger ball can be used to stimulate the G-spot. Care should be used if thrusting this, as metal is of course very hard and could bruise the cervix if thrusted too deeply. Men can use this to exercise their PC muscle as well by inserting this anally and squeezing the PC muscles. If used this way, the larger ball should probably be left outside the body and held onto tightly. Alternately this could be used to massage the prostate as well.

The barbell is made from stainless steel, but it does contain trace amounts of nickel, so those with allergies should skip this product. Stainless steel is a nonporous material that is easy to care for, and it did not have any sort of smell. It retains temperature well, so try soaking it in warm (not hot!) water for a minute before using.

The shaft of the barbell is totally smooth with two differently shaped ends. The smaller end has a small ball at the very end, followed by a thin ring. The smaller ball is about 1" in diameter and the ring is just slightly smaller. Though the description says the diameter for this is 1", I found that the opposite end has a larger ball on the end, which is about 1-1/4" in diameter. The larger end also has two rings below the ball, which are the same size as the ring on the smaller end. Both ends are insertable, so it can be 1" if you use the smaller end or 1-1/4" if you use the larger end. The ball and rings are noticeably felt during insertion and if using the barbell as a dildo. They create additional friction, which I thought felt great. If using this as a PC muscle exerciser, the balls and ridges provide extra resistance for a more effective workout.

One thing I was not prepared for is how heavy this thing is. I read the description and I was like, "Oh, a pound," not really registering how heavy that would be for a dildo. I'm pretty sure I'm going to keep this in the top drawer of my nightstand to double as a weapon in case someone breaks into my house at night. Seriously, you could do some damage with this thing. The really cool thing about the weight of this is that you can insert it and just leave it. When lying on your back, it sinks down under the weight to the back of the vagina so you can have both hands free.

The size of this is great for both an exerciser and a dildo, and the two different ends ensures it will be enjoyed by a wider variety of people with different tastes. It may not be appreciated by size queens, however, as the only area above 1" in diameter is one ball on the larger end. The dildo is 6-3/4" long, and about 1" in diameter throughout, except for the large ball, with a slightly larger diameter for the rings and small ball. As previously mentioned, the larger ball is about 1-1/4" in diameter, which may be too large for some uses (i.e. for anal beginners potentially). The shape of this is effective both for vaginal exercise and as a textured dildo, and I found the larger ball to be very effective for G-spot stimulation.

I don't know if I would call it discreet. Potentially you could pass it off as something other than a dildo or vaginal exerciser, but I'm not sure what. If you threw it in your tool box, it might look right at home, however.

The design of this provides great resistance for kegel exercises, and I do feel like it has increased the intensity and effectiveness of my workouts. I have only used this for about a week, however, so I can't comment on exactly how much it has helped, as it takes awhile of consistently doing kegels to see the effects. I will submit a follow up review in a few months to comment on how much I think this has improved my kegels.

As a dildo, I think this performs really well. It's textured enough to be interesting but not enough to be uncomfortable, and I am not someone who generally likes much texture. Ultimately I am very satisfied with this, though I do wish it didn't have nickel in it so more people could benefit from this product. I don't think I'd pass it down as a "family heirloom" to my grandchildren, as Betty suggests, but I'm hoping that was tongue-in-cheek anyway.

Stainless steel is easy to care for. It is a non-porous material that can be washed with soap and water, 10% bleach solution, or toy cleaner, though the manual suggests boiling for one minute before the initial use. It is compatible with all types of lubes and there are no particular restrictions for storage, I'd just recommend somewhere that it's not going to fall out onto your foot, since this thing is so heavy.

It comes in really minimalist packaging--a white cardboard box with a sticker on the front with purple tissue paper and a blue plastic netted sleeve inside. The packaging was kind of off-putting to me, but it is recyclable. The included instruction manual is super useful, explaining in detail the many ways you can use the barbell, the history of kegels, how to locate your PC muscle, and the benefits of PC exercises. It's definitely the most informative manual I've ever received with a toy.

I have several vaginal exercise products, most of them balls, and I got this mostly as an ode to my partner, who is a metals engineer. I didn't really have any idea how this was supposed to work from looking at the product page, and when I received the simple, unpretentious box in the mail, I was skeptical. This really is a cool product that I am glad I decided to check out, and I can foresee using this for a long time to enhance my kegels.