Cal Exotics' Lola waterproof vibrator had potential to be good but fell short. My Lola is hot pink and came in very simple, clean packaging devoid of naked women trying to seduce me with "come hither looks." Lola is 7 inches long with bumps and ridges for texture, but still feels incredibly smooth. She has a slightly pointed tip and the middle of the shaft is slightly thinner than the tip and the base, giving her almost an hourglass figure. Lola really is a pretty vibe.

Unfortunately, that's where the positives seemed to end. I grabbed two AA batteries and attempted to unscrew the cap to insert them. However, the dial that controls the speeds is located at the very base of the toy, and the cap to the battery compartment unscrews about an inch above it. In other words, the dial is attached to the battery compartment cap. Normally this isn't a problem, but due to how smooth Lola was, I had an extremely hard time unscrewing the cap. Every time I tried, the dial would turn, not allowing me to get a good enough grip on the cap to unscrew it. Finally, I was able to get the cap unscrewed. I inserted the batteries and screwed the cap back on. This is where I ran into another problem.

The bumps and ridges that run the length of the vibrator should create one smooth line from the base of the toy to the tip. However, when I screwed the battery compartment cap back on, the bumps and ridges on the cap fell in between the bumps and ridges on the shaft. No matter how many different ways I tried screwing the cap on, I could not get the bumps and ridges to line up again. The vibe still worked, but I was worried about using it in water, as it now looked like there might be spots for water to get into the battery compartment.

Since Lola is made from hard plastic, she is compatible with both water-based and silicone-based lubricants. I used water-based lubricant when trying her on land, and silicone-based lubricant when trying her at sea (silicone-based lubes don't wash off in water). Lola is a multi-speed vibrator; turning the dial at the bottom of the toy turns her on and the further you turn the dial, the stronger the vibrations get. Turn the dial the other way to turn vibrations down; turning it as far in the opposite direction as you can turns her off. There is a good variation from the lowest speed to the highest speed, but once you turn the dial about half way, the noise level increases drastically. On the highest vibration settings, Lola is quite loud.

I first used Lola for clitoral stimulation. I like a lot of stimulation and so I went directly to the highest setting. The vibrations were adequate, though not as strong as I like. However, it's worth noting that I like a lot of stimulation - Hitachi level, to be exact - so I may not be the best judge of vibration strength. If you prefer moderate vibrations, this toy should be more than fine for you. I dislike internal vibrations most of the time, and as expected, Lola did nothing for me when used vaginally. The vibrations felt fine, but due to the straight shape, my g-spot wasn't stimulated and so it felt like just a dull vibrating sensation in my vagina. Not unpleasant, but not terribly pleasant either. I felt like I could just sit and read a book or watch TV with Lola vibrating away inside me and not be bothered one way or the other. Lola does not have a flared base, so I would not recommend using her anally.

And what about at sea? Well, like I said, I was nervous about using her in water. But how can I write a review of a waterproof vibe without trying it in water? I decided against submerging, so the bathtub was out. I chose to try her in the shower and had no problems. It was unfortunate that I could not try her in the bath. As for cleaning Lola, her hard plastic cannot be sterilized, but washing with antibacterial soap and warm water works just fine. Avoid getting water in the battery compartment for obvious reasons, and Lola is about as easy to clean as they come. I recommend removing batteries from toys when they're not in use, as it prolongs the life of both your toy and the batteries.

I'd say this is a decently strong straight vibe that's good for beginners. However, there are other vibes in this price range that serve this function that I would recommend. Not the worst in her field, but certainly not the best.

Honestly, I tried to use Lola only one more time after I got her. The toy was still loud, I still couldn't manage to get the cap to close securely so I couldn't use her in water, and the vibrations just weren't enough to get me there. My opinion on the toy did not change with further use, I'm sorry to say. Oh, well! Can't win 'em all!