The Couture collection Eclipse is a dual-purpose toy: it's designed as a vaginal exerciser to assist during kegel exercises, and it contains tiny moving weights within inner chambers in the balls to provide additional internal stimulation. The Eclipse does a great job with both of these functions. Because the two outer balls are attached to each other and have a sturdy retrieval cord, they are great for people who are not interested in the free-floating marble-style Ben Wa balls. The only thing I would caution beginners to think about is the size. These balls are 1.5 inches in diameter. Once they are inserted they don't feel big, but since the core of the balls is made from hard plastic, it doesn't have any give to it even though it is covered with silicone. If you're okay with the size, I'd recommend the Eclipse to anyone who is looking for a tool to help with kegel exercises that will do double duty as a fun and stimulating toy.

The Eclipse is made of a combination of hard plastic (the balls) and high-quality silicone (the coating on the balls, the connector between them, and the retrieval cord). The silicone parts provide a little texture to help with grip when things get lubed up. This toy is made of high-quality materials and is odorless and tasteless. The firm texture makes it easy to insert each ball. The connecting material bends easily to allow the two balls to be positioned comfortably once inserted.

The Eclipse is very similar in design to other 2-ball exercisers/stimulators. I also own Smartballs and the main difference is in the cord and the shape of the balls. The Eclipse is more oval or egg-shaped, and the Smartballs are more round. They are the same diameter, though, and I don't personally notice a big difference in inserting them. The Eclipse may be slightly more comfortable. The cord on the Eclipse is a single thick stretchy "string," in contrast to other designs that have smaller retrieval strings or loops. It can be a little irritating to find a good position for the thick string on the Eclipse if you want to wear the balls for an extended period of time, but for me it is not too bad. The only really bad issue about the design is that if the stretchy string slips out of your fingers, it can sometimes snap back like a rubber band, which can hurt a little. I thought I left rubber band snaps behind in elementary school! As long as you pay attention to your grip, it shouldn't be an issue though.

The movement of the inner weights in the Eclipse provide a mild sort of vibration when you move. If you are accustomed to steady vibrations from a vibrator, you may not enjoy these vibrations at first, because they depend on you moving around and are fairly subtle. You can also get interesting vibrations wearing them on a vehicle like a bus, train, or bicycle (see below in "experiences").

The Eclipse does well both as a tool to help with Kegel exercises and to provide mild stimulation. It helps with Kegel exercises by providing some resistance to push against as you tighten your PC muscles, and the inner balls provide some subtle vibrations. For me they were silent when inserted, so they were discreet enough to use in public. My only issues with the Eclipse was that the cord or string is a bit thick so it is awkward to position under clothes, and since it is not made of solid silicone and the design includes small ridges, it requires some extra care when cleaning.

The Eclipse is made of two materials, hard plastic and silicone. Because of this, I cleaned it with toy cleaner. You could also use plain soap and water. Because of the design, there are a lot of crevices around where the plastic meets the silicone, so it can be a bit of a pain to clean it really thoroughly. However, most 2-ball exercisers have similar designs with textures that require a bit of extra attention when cleaning.

I used water-based lube to help with insertion. Since the toy is made partially of silicone, if you want to use a silicone-based lube, you should do a spot test first to make sure it won't damage the silicone material of the toy.

The Eclipse came in a box illustrated with flowing water and the balls came in a plastic-y pouch inside the box. The pouch isn't too fancy and I'm not going to keep it, but if you don't have any other place to store them, you could store them in the box or pouch to repel dust and lint. The box had almost no instructions at all - mostly just the usual "novelty use only" disclaimers - so you are on your own to figure out how to use the Eclipse.

I've also tried Smartballs and glass Ben Wa balls, and among the three, I find the glass Ben Wa balls to be the best for me for helping with Kegel exercises. You can check out my review for details, but for me the smaller shape of the glass balls made them more challenging to use, and their single purpose (no vibration stimulation) and ease of cleaning (pure glass, no seams) made me more likely to use them frequently. However, if you are looking for vaginal balls that also provide vibrations/stimulations, the Eclipse is a fine set and I don't have any major problems recommending it. Just check out the cord design when you choose which set to purchase!

I thought it might be fun to wear the Eclipse during a 20 minute train ride - I figured I could just sit back and enjoy the vibrations as the train bumped and shook over the rails. I lived to regret that decision, because just like how you can become unpleasantly numbed by using a vibrator too long, I started to get the numbing feeling with the Eclipse during the ride. I was very happy to get home to remove it! Everyone's sensitivity level is different, so wearing them during a short train, bus, or bike ride might be great for some people, but definitely start with short time periods first!