Ever since I started checking out vibrators I have been curious about the Hitachi. I've read many reviews on many sites and still kept going back and forth on whether to buy it or not. There were so many people praising its ability go give fast, furious orgasms. But there were also many people that had complaints about it as well. Finally, I put it in my shopping cart, and hit check out before I could begin second guessing my decision. My first thought was OMG the Hitachi will soon be mine. Followed by, what did I do? What if it's too powerful? What if I don't like it? What if I like it too much and I toss all my other vibes? What if I like it too much and toss my husband? On and on my what if's went until I finally fell asleep, dreaming of the possibility of an explosive orgasm in under 5 minutes and still excited that the Hitachi will soon be mine.

Well my first experience with the Hitachi did not go well. No sooner would I start to enjoy where I had placed it on my clit and it would either begin to hurt or go numb. I tried it on both the low and high settings. I even tried putting it over a sheet that I draped across myself. Finally after about half an hour I did have an explosive orgasm. But my clit remained numb for a couple of hours afterward. I figured I must be doing something wrong considering how many people love it. So I wasn't about to give up. I tried it many more times and had the same problems every time. Finally I decided that the Hitachi is just not for me. BUT…I do like it as a massager. Actually both of us do. Whenever we have aches or pains I use the Hitachi and it really works well. So even though I won't be using it for sexual purposes any longer, it's not a complete loss

The Hitachi is an exceptionally strong vibrating massager. It only has 2 settings, low and high. Hitachi states that low is 5000 rpm and high is 6000 rpm. Which in layman's terms means low is ridiculously fast and high is ludicrous speed. I thought I would love this because I always turn my vibrators to the highest settings. But my clit just doesn't like how powerful this one is. Another thing to note is that the Hitachi does get pretty warm after about 15 minutes. But I've used it for 30 minutes and it doesn't seem to cause any real problems.

It's design looks like something out of the 60's. It is 12 inches long with a large head that is 2 1/2 inches diameter. The head is made of soft plastic and the texture is, for lack of a better word, pebbly. The rough pebbly texture is actually one of the things I don't care for about it. I found it quite uncomfortable. Which is strange because I prefer textured vibrators over smooth ones, but this was a bit too much. Also at 1 1/4 lbs this vibrator is heavy and after a while my arms got very tired.

This is an electric plug in vibrator. The cord on it is 6 feet long, which may seem like a decent sized cord. But I had to use an extension cord for it to reach across my bed. It is also quite noisy. Probably one of the noisiest vibrators I've ever used. You definitely would be able to hear this through a closed door.

Care needs to be taken when cleaning this because it is not waterproof. I use a damp washcloth with soap and water, damp wipe off the soap, then I dry it off well. As far a lube goes, I would recommend you put the lube on your body instead of the toy because of the fact that it's not waterproof. But any type, or even no, lubricant will work.

I really feel bad that this didn't work for me when so many others love it. Like I somehow failed the Hitachi test. But I guess not every vibrator is right for every person. At least now I know and like I said, it really is a great massager. So at least I didn't waste my money because it is getting used.

I have had this for about 6 months now and I still prefer to only use it for massaging sore muscles. I may try for sex play again some day if I ever get a good G-spot attachment for it. But we do use it, frequently. And it's holding up nicely. This is one sturdy massager and I believe it will last for years.