The intended use of this toy is to increase the flow of blood to the clitoris. With a little bit of practice and experimentation, it does that, and with a great deal of patience, it can also be used to apply a gentle sucking action that is quite pleasant.

It also has a vibrating function, which is too weak to provide anything but frustration, and distracts from the suction. I'm not big on requiring power in vibrating toys, but this is weaker than anything else I've used, including the Screaming Octopus, which runs on watch batteries.

If you choose to buy this toy, buy it for the suction.

The body of the toy is a hard plastic, with a hard rubber bulb to provide the suction, and a removable ring of soft material to slightly cushion the hard plastic mouth. The "penetrator" piece, meant to apply the weak vibration to the clit, has a soft nubbed coating. All of the soft parts are made of TPR, so phthalates are not an issue.

The toy is a bizarre shape and you'll need to be somewhat creative in storing it discreetly. It fits in a small makeup bag I bought at a fair trade store, but it's too lumpy to shove in a sock or a standard vibrator/dildo bag. If someone discovered it, you could claim it's the snake venom suction tool from your first aid kit, but only if your lying abilities are fairly advanced. Store it without batteries if you expect to sell this cover story. You should store it without batteries anyway, lest they corrode and ruin the toy.

The California Exotics Clitoral Pump has flaws, and it will disappoint users who aren't willing to devote some time and energy into getting the most out of it.

If you position it exactly right, with a little patience, you can achieve suction. Quite possibly too much suction, in fact, and caution is advised or it could hurt a little. If you really put the effort in, you can master the exact science of gently squeezing the bulb to get it to do something not entirely unlike suction. If you do, that feels really nice. Eventually your hand will go numb, because the bulb is pretty hard to squeeze, but it's almost worth it.

I couldn't reach orgasm with it, but I'm not sorry to own this toy, because it provides a different sensation, and makes the clit more sensitive for whatever you choose to do next. Increasing blood flow in the area is the intended function of products like this one, and it works, making this a great foreplay toy. The vibration part is useless -- it's very weak. I don't even bother to put batteries in mine. The misleadingly named "penetrator" portion doesn't do much of anything and attempts to slide the head of the thing into position tend to break the suction.

The good part of this toy is the suction, because we're all lured into thinking that sounds great, and this toy is safer than a makeshift option, like a shampoo bottle with potentially sharp edges. The horror stories have kept me from trying makeshift suction toys, but I must admit to thinking about it, so this cheap looking plastic toy with its flaws is worth a little money in that regard.

It passes the sound test, because the vibrator portion doesn't really do anything. Turned all the way up and left on the bed, it could not be heard from through the closed door, or from across the room.

Recommended might be too strong a term for this toy, but it's fairly cheap and I haven't abandoned it even though I have some really nice things. I like it more than it deserves to be liked, and you might arrive at that conclusion as well. You should definitely buy this toy if you want to experiment with suction and are willing to deal with the flaws -- considering them before your purchase will remove the disappointment factor.

Water based lubricant is recommended with this product.

It's a huge pain in the ass to clean, which I could describe in detail, but I'll just say that it requires q-tips and let you discover the joy of that on your own. Toy cleaner, or a mild soap and water, should be used before and after use. Take care not to get the battery compartment wet. Store it without batteries.

The packaging is moderately appalling. I'm usually careful to always recycle, but this box went straight into the fireplace. In the middle of summer.