I tend toward more phallic toys in general, but the shape of this toy caught my eye and I decided to give it a try.

It came in a clear plastic container with the ball suspended in the middle, like a kid's toy. I do appreciate the humor in having a sex toy that can easily hang out on a display shelf or be tossed around in front of mixed company. When I pulled it out of the box, I did notice a slight odor, pretty classic for TPR, but most of that dissipated with a wash in regular soap and water. The ease of cleaning this is definitely a plus for me, given how generally lazy I am.

It easily screwed apart to put the batteries in (3 AA) and there wasn't any issue getting it back together again. The seam between the two halves is a bit gappy and can cause some discomfort if you accidentally catch hairs or skin in it, but that can be avoided with a bit of care or stretching a condom over it.

The red side is smooth plastic, without any seams. The pink side, made of TPR (thermoplastic rubber), is velvety but still with enough grip to make holding easy. This is also the side with the little push button. I have arthritis in my hands and fingers which sometimes makes using small controls difficult, but I had no trouble clicking this one. It's slightly raised above the surface of the ball and doesn't require a lot of force. It is a bit large, so it could be harder to hold and manipulate if you have really small hands. It doesn't weight very much, which makes the size slightly more manageable.

I found the red side to be plenty slick without any additional lube, but decided to try anyway. I found water-based lube just kind of slid off, but the silicone-based lube I had on hand stuck a bit better. This isn't a toy that would, reasonably, be inserted into any orifice, I wouldn't consider the lack of lube adherence to be a big issue. Cleaning the lube out of the seam between the two halves was a bit funky, I will admit.

My one big complaint with the Pleasure Ball is that it's loud, as invasive as a weed whacker on Sunday morning. Even under a couple of blankets, you can still hear this puppy going on the lowest level, and it made the dog growl every time I shifted and the volume changed even the slightest.

The vibrations are stronger than I expected, given the shape and general 'novelty' of this toy. I can definitely see how it'd be an issue for those who need more focused vibrations or those who need penetration, but I can get over stimulated with too much in small areas. The difference between the three settings is noticeable, but it's an easy transition between low, medium, and high. If you can't get off on the lowest setting, the highest isn't going to do much more for you.

It worked pretty well for general massage, but the noise was kind of a turn off and I make motor noises, on occasion, when rubbing my husband's back. I use a lot of downward pressure on his back, and was concerned about the amount of pressure on the join between the two halves.

Rolling it from one side of the lady garden to the other, slowly, and letting the vibrations reverberate over the area not touched by the ball was very pleasant. Laying face down and grinding on the Pleasure Ball was a great way to get more surface area touching without requiring the coordination of holding it between my legs.

I still enjoy playing with this. My partner actually seems to enjoy playing with it more than I do; but I enjoy the attention!