This is perhaps the best example of a health-tool turned sex-toy that should probably be left as a health tool. When it came out, the Hitachi was an amazing device. It was bold, powerful, and seemed perfectly innocent if you didn't know why most women (and some men) were buying it. However, there are now newer, quieter, more versatile devices on the market that leave the Hitachi showing its age. It's still the big guy, but now it's primarily the name that keeps the Hitachi on the top of lists.

That said, it can stimulate anywhere you want, as it is a massager, with the caveat that you keep it relatively dry (don't use it in shower, tub, lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific, etc.). It's got two speeds, from "Okay, that feels pretty potent" to the equivalent of Chinese numbing spice soup - you know what's going on, but your senses are being so overwhelmed that all you feel is numb. For women, the intensity at high probably isn't as problematic - it's a touch-and-go approach, which would work well and lead to quick orgasms. For men - particularly when coupled with the sleeve attachment, the stimulus is too intense, too fast, and, at least in my case, too numbed to seek relief either on the lower speed or through other means. I have not, however, tried to use it for perianal prostate stimulation, so it may still hold that possibility.

The short of it is, it's great as a massager for short durations of play with several limitations, which I will get to below. It is best used for women as clitoral stimulation, for men in D/s forced orgasm play with women, as a general warm-up play, or - heaven forbid - as an actual massager for tense muscles. For men that can reach orgasm easily through vibration, then this may be the toy for you as well.

The head of the Hitachi is made of textured silicone, attached to the handle/controls/body by a thin plastic neck. The wand/control portion is made of the same hard plastic that 90% of consumer electronics are made from (I'm assuming, at least, as it seems the same). When first opened, the silicone can have a slight odor to it, somewhat akin to new car smell but not nearly as overpowering. Within an hour, that smell is gone, and the toy at rest has no odor. When powered up, it may sometimes smell slightly of ozone, but that is infrequent and usually only if used over an excessive period of time. Under the same conditions (used for more than the recommended 30 - 45 minutes), it may smell faintly of hot plastic.

It should be noted that if you are using the Hitachi without a head attachment, you should put a condom over the silicone head. First of all, this means easier cleanup. Well, really, that's the primary reason. The silicone is textured and prone to both "linting" and trapping moisture and potentially bacteria. If you're using it on other people, the risk is increased. Treat the Hitachi like a penis - use a condom every time to be safe, and change the condom if the Hitachi is changing partners in the same play session. If you're using head attachments, they are MUCH easier to clean, but should be cleaned between use or users. Even without STD concerns between users, using a condom means you don't have to try to take off the silicone top after each use to clean it thoroughly. And yes, my fellow men, this also applies to you. Whether you are using it for yourself or on someone else, make sure you're keeping it clean between uses and users.

If you've never seen a Hitachi before, picture a raquet ball (kinda a shaved tennis ball) on a peg and that peg shoved into a...actually, it doesn't matter. The idea of the Hitachi isn't to stimulate by shape, but by function, so just think of it as a magician's wand with a shaved tennis ball on one end, and an electric cord on the other.

Honestly, it's as basic as it can get, which isn't a detriment to the wand as it doesn't need to do much. You've got your handle, the neck, and the head, and on the handle is a three position switch - down for "Mmmmmm....yeahhhh...", middle for off, and up for late 60's muscle car (Low, Off, and High). There's a reason most of the Hitachi clones look like each other - the design is basic, but works... except for one of my number one complaints about the Hitachi.

The case is made up of two halves of plastic screwed together. There may be some glue used at some point during the construction, but within about 10 minutes of use, it's just the screws holding two thin plates of hard plastic together. They rattle against each other, quite loudly, in fact. Hence, why one of the uses I suggest is to annoy those neighbors in your apartment building who are always annoying you. Actually, it was after I purchased the Hitachi that I realized what my neighbor in college was using at night that was keeping everyone in the dorm rooms around hers awake at night.

And no, that last part isn't hyperbole; if you live in a dorm and you use the Hitachi, everyone around you can hear it. There's no way to escape it - it's that loud. I wrapped gaffers tape around the top, where the body meets the neck for about 3" as tight as I could to dampen the noise, and it still is really bloody loud.

Acoustics aside, it's built to get the job done and to not look like a neon sign that says "I have sex toys!". Well, except that 90% of owners are using them for self-gratification - take solace in that if someone notices your Hitachi and gives you a suspicious look, it means that they either a) own one, b) have shopped in sex toy stores, or c) have seen them used in porn. Any of these cases means using that knowledge against you as mutually assured destruction - much like seeing a colleague at a sex-positive event. A-hem.

If nothing else can be said about the Hitachi, it's that it meets advertised expectations. Two speeds, a vibrating head, and 10 feet of cord. As said earlier, though, its age is showing, Newer knock-offs have done better in focusing the vibration in the head of the device, and it rattles like crazy. The controls are insanely easy, which means that yes, I have mixed up low and high on at least one occasion.

As noted above, it is NOT waterproof. It is only marginally safer in the tub than your toaster. Under no circumstances should you attempt to take the Hitachi into the bath, no matter how well you think you have it waterproofed, because the only safe way is putting it in an airtight case with the entire cord inside the case with the wand, at which point it really isn't doing its job now, is it? If you are a woman who squirts, you should be fine as long as you dry the case afterward, or hold it such that the wand body isn't in the way. If you are a guy, you'd have to try REALLY hard to make this an issue.

Also, it bears saying that you probably shouldn't use this for intra-anal use. It's feasible, but you should probably make sure that the condom covers more than the length being inserted.

As stated above, it's simple to keep it clean if you use a condom to cover the head, or use a head attachment. Pop the condom off afterward, unplug it, and pop it in a dry, convenient location. Recommended - night stand, vibrator/sex toy chest, under the bed. Not recommended - guest bedroom, where it can be found by children, beside the pool, your parent's house.

I'll be brief - yes, you could store it in the box, and yes, you can use the box for giving. The latter is practical; the former is really unnecessary. The box is slightly larger than the wand itself, so you're probably better off just tucking it away wherever so long as the cord doesn't get in the way and that is fairly dry.

So, here's the too long, didn't read summary:

Good: discreet, easy to maintain, unlikely to cause a fuss if found, simple to use, powerful.

Meh: lacks versatility in settings, wouldn't recommend using after-market dimmers to add speeds. It causes the motor to chug.

Bad: can fall between too intense and not intense enough for many people, LOUD, gets very hot in extended use.

Test conditions:

Heterosexual male, using the sleeve attachment. Various experiment repeats.

Successful sessions - 1 in 1 month.

Unsuccessful sessions - 5 in 1 month.


Notes: LOUD, fear of alerting neighbors may have inhibited enjoyment. Even with tweaking, it still is far less than stealthy. However, I would recommend it for massage use, or for women, not so much for men, except for play with women.

UPDATE 2011/08/26: I burned out my Hitachi Wand before I actually got to use it in the manner I had intended. One and a half months. It may have been a defective wand, it may have been that I was just too much for it. Either way, it's going back next week to see how good Hitachi's 12 month warranty is - I'll keep you all posted!