Maximus is a lube of compromises. It's glycerin free and unscented, which is a must for someone like me, but it's not paraben free. It comes in a convenient bottle with the best pump I've seen so far on lube, but it's a little pricy per ounce. It's amazingly thick and holds up like a gel, which I personally love, but it leaves a extremely unpleasant stickiness behind once it's dried.

Whether Maximus is a good lube for you depends on what you want from it.

Maximus is incredibly thick for a water-based lubricant. The best way I can describe it is as being almost as thick as aloe vera gel. Turning the bottle upside down makes it slowly ooze, and the gel clings to whatever it's put on instead of sliding down it.

There's an easy to use pump on the bottle that can be controlled to get how much you need, but be aware that with such a thick lube you will need more volume than with a thinner lubricant.

For me, this is a good thing. The thickness of the lubricant combined with how slippery it is means that reapplication isn't really an issue; it's enough the first time around if you're plentiful with it.

And at first, it seems almost perfect. There's a slight grainyness when I rub it between my fingers, but I don't notice it during sex. It's thick and slick and it lasts for a good amount of time.

The issue with the texture of this lube comes into play when it dries. It becomes an unpleasant, tacky mess. It's bad enough that I find myself avoiding this lubricant, because I can't concentrate on the pleasure while feeling like I desperately need to wash my hands.

There's not really a scent to this lubricant, which I appreciated. I have bad allergy issues, and I've had some lubes in the past send me running for my inhaler. With Maximus, that isn't really an issue.

It's not intended to be an edible lubricant, but it does taste better than some water-based lubricants I've tasted. It's slightly sweet with a hint of bitter aftertaste. I wouldn't recommend using this for a blowjob, but it won't be terrible if you accidentally lick a bit.

It's no secret that I am not a fan of water based lubes. If I had my way, I'd use silicone lube for everything and leave it at that. Unfortunately, though, silicone lubes and silicone toys don't play well together, so I grabbed this lube with the intention of using it to protect my silicone toys.

With that said, I did run the gamut with it, and this is what I learned.

Because it's such a thick lubricant, it stays in place better than most. I found that made it a better candidate for anal than most water based lubes that I have given a shot. It worked equally as well for PiV sex, and combined better with toys than it did with penises.

Because of the aforementioned issues with it drying out, I found that I didn't enjoy it as a lubricant for manual stimulation of the clitoris.

What I didn't like about it was that I found the lube prone to stinging when applied to irritated skin.

The bottle isn't really discreet, but it is one of the best designed pumps that I have come across. Nothing is more annoying than fighting with a bottle of lube when you're wanting to get down to action. I haven't had any issues with the pump, and it dispenses enough to not have to jockey the bottle.