There seems to be a certain ambiance surrounding the Liberator line of products. One might argue that their namesake is as close to a "household name" as is possible in the sex-toy world. Owners often extol the advantages and versatility of these products, skeptics scoff at the cost and design, and even the mainstream media finds it necessary to recognize Liberator's products in films such as "Meet the Fockers." With all the commotion and hullabaloo surrounding the Liberator line, it often leaves potential consumers confused, and wondering if they truly live up to the hype. I was that consumer, and up until a month ago I was wondering the same things, until I finally got a Liberator of my own; the Liberator Hipster.

The Liberator Hipster seems to present itself as the "Ramp's" curvy new cousin, and likewise is designed to aid in a plethora of pleasurable positions for you and your partner. Whether it's supporting you at just-the-right angle, or positioning you to try something totally new, the Hipster claims to have you covered.

First off, the design of the Liberator products is fantastic; simple, well-designed, and functional.

The "core" of the Liberator products consist of a nice, heavy, furniture-grade polyurethane foam. The foam is dense enough to be supportive, yet pliant enough to remain soft and comfortable. I stand about 6'4" and 210 pounds, and my wife is 5'10" and 140 pounds, and the Hipster has no problems supporting my wife lying on top of it, and I on top of her. Certainly under such circumstances the foam compresses a bit, but never to the point that it negatively effects the function of the Hipster.

Immediately surrounding the foam core is a soft, thin, polyester cover that zips on to provide water resistance and protect your foam from any liquids during those hot, wet, and sweaty sessions. Now keep in mind that this inner liner is "water resistant" and not "water proof," so it'll do a more-than-ample job at keeping lube, sweat, and other body fluids from reaching the foam core, but is not intended to be taken into the shower, jacuzzi, local kiddy-pool, etc.

Finally, the outer layer of the Hipster is another zip-on cover constructed of a velvet-like microfiber which feels plush, luxurious, and soft to the touch. In addition to feeling great against your skin, the texture of the microfiber cover also acts to anchor the Hipster to whatever you set it on, keeping it firmly in place, despite your best thrusting efforts. We've used the Hipster directly on the bed sheets, on top of the comforter, and even the carpet, without ever having to stop and reposition the product (I imagine tile or linoleum may be another story though).

Each of these two covers are simple to fasten or remove. They each operate by a single zipper located centrally, across the bottom of the unit, and easily slip on or off when needed for cleaning and maintenance, which is a brilliant feature.

As for the dimensions of the Hipster, the footprint of the unit measures about 32" in length, and 24" in width. The Hipster curves gently in contour between two ergonomically placed, rolling apexes. The first of these is about 4.5" in height located approximately 8" from the leading edge of unit, followed by a dip tapering off to 3" in height, when 15" rearward. The second (and larger) apex measures 10" in height and is located at 30" from the front of the Hipster, leaving the remaining 2" at the rear of the unit for a contoured roll-off. We've found these measurements to be pretty much ideal for us, as the Hipster is narrow enough to comfortably straddle in various positions, yet wide enough to accommodate both your partner's body and your legs (straddling your partner) in others. The height of the unit is excellent as well, in that it provides support and elevation for a variety of positions to provide better angles of thrusting and insertion, and a definite increase in comfort ideal for extending your intimate encounters.

The Liberator product literature (and many of the people who use them) make some grand assertions as to the performance of their products: "...take sexual pleasure to new heights", "...deeper penetration and g-spot navigation", "...excel every oral performance", and more! These are some hefty claims to live up to, and one can't help but to be skeptical. However, I assure you, after testing, and retesting, and retesting this product, I am happy to report that it truly DOES live up to these claims!

Our oral sessions are better and last longer... not because it has made us any more sensitive, or given us any crazy new techniques, but the Hipster can easily position your partner's delicious goodies at a comfortable height that virtually eliminates those neck or jaw cramps. With your mind free from the distractions of discomfort, cramps, or muscle spasms, it makes it very easy to focus on prolonging your partner's pleasure, rather than getting them to climax so you can get out of that awkward position.

Penetrative sex has been taken to another level as well. The missionary position has been rejuvenated for us both with the Hipster. When the receiving partner is lying declined down the ramp, with their hips placed at the highest hump, they present themselves at a perfect height for penetration. This height and angle certainly allow for deeper penetration than usual for the missionary position, but even better, undoubtedly provides precise g-spot (or p-spot) targeting with each thrust. Better even still with this position is that the hip cramps are GONE! The penetrator need not spread their legs like a gymnast, nor the receiver curl their knees to their chest in the fetal position to hit some wonderful spots missionary style. Perhaps best of all for us with this position is the climax. My wife has the tendency to tense up, and straighten her legs out when climaxing. In the past, this would generally lead to a lesser degree of penetration, and decreased thrusting during orgasm (occasionally even to the point of losing penetration during orgasm), but the Hipster allows for her to keep her legs extended while the trusting continues, leading to more intense orgasms for both of us. Again, this is nothing magical in technique, but the Hipster merely allows better positioning, which can lead to a more gratifying experience.

We've only had our hipster for a couple weeks now, but have also had great experiences with doggy-style positioning, and girl-on-top (cowgirl) positioning as well. It seems that all around, the Hipster just provides better angles of insertion, more overall comfort, and support where needed to decrease strain and effort, and make love-making more enjoyable.

As always, my product from Eden Fantasys came shipped in a discreetly marked package. Inside the shipping box, packaging is minimal, which means minimal waste. The Liberator Hipster simply came wrapped in a sealed plastic bag. Once you tear open the bag, and remove the Hipster it's ready to use. Of course, I preferred to remove the microfiber cover and wash it first.

Storage of the Hipster is less than discreet. Essentially, it's a plush, brightly colored foam pillow, measuring 2 feet, by almost 3 feet in dimension. One may try to play it off as one of those support pillows for sitting up in bed reading and watching TV, except that it has a tag labeled "Liberator" on the side of it; others just might not care. Personally, the best solution we've found to be discreet, is to stand the Hipster up on end (widest hump down) against the wall in the closet, behind one of the rows of clothes. If you do not have a large closet, and discretion is a must for you, you may be out of luck.

As mentioned before, the two removable covers on the Hipster make cleanup and maintenance simple. The outer microfiber cover can be spot cleaned with a damp rag while in place. For a more thorough clean, simply unzip the cover, remove it, and throw it in the washing machine. When the outer cover is removed, the inner "water resistant" cover can be cleaned in place with a damp rag as well. Once cleaned, just put the cover back on, and zip it up.

We have found that if you don't watch where you set the Hipster down, the microfiber cover has a tendency to pick up dust or lint. This is very easy to remedy with a lint brush.

All in all, after all the skepticism, I truly am a Liberator believer now. Yes, you could accomplish some of the same things with pillows and propping, but we played that game for years and spent more time pushing this pillow here, pulling that one there, and just resituating them after 2 minutes of thrusting or movement. If you do fine with stacks of pillows, and reorienting them every few minutes doesn't bother you, then the Liberator line may not be for you. As for us, to know that we can get out our Hipster, throw it on the bed, and go to town without ever having to stop, or go through the hassle of pulling out more pillows or rearranging them, makes it worth every penny in the long run. I would not hesitate to buy another Liberator product after using the Hipster.