The Throbbin' robin (manufactured by Pipedream) was an exciting choice for myself, as I'd never had a vibrator that thrust, twirled, and vibed my clit all at once. I was expecting stars and fireworks and instead got some sparklers- one of those fancy ones with three different colors. It was exciting, and different, but it wasn't earth shattering and there were some drawbacks.

The first obvious drawback is the safety of the material versus the design of the product. Basically, it's a porous material which means it's hard to disinfect, and can never be fully sterilized. Add this, with a rather tricky to clean design, and you have a bit of a problem. Now yes, you can put a condom over it, but that takes away from the ribbed bottom that extends and retracts when thrusting; those add a lovely sensation most times. I say most, because sometimes they can hurt, depending on what position you have it inside of you. Often, I need to readjust how it is sitting inside of me.

Adding to the design flaws of this thing, I have to say that it gets annoying holding it there, and I am the sort of person that prefers my hands free to do other things--grip the bedsheets, scratch up my thighs, twist my nipples- and you can say goodbye to that unless you do some MacGuyver tricks and find away to keep it firmly inside of you. I find using the back of my calf works, but the closer I get to climax, the more I'm wanting to squirm around. You can't just let it sit there though, because the base is heavy and will fall out. So that can be a nuisance if you are ridin' solo. One last minor design flaw is that the beak of this robin is ridiculously pointed. It can actually become painful when pressed into your clit for a long period of time. Why they didn't choose to round it out is beyond me.

The material around this toy is made of rubber, which as I've said is rather porous and impossible to fully disinfect. I find the best way to clean this is use some antibacterial soap, paying attention to all the crevices and details. Personally, after I've washed it with warm water and soap, and thoroughly rinsed, I spritz on some no-rinse toy cleaner and let it dry. You need to take care when washing it to not get water down on the control panel because this bad boy is -not- waterproof. Another con of rubber is that rubber usually has phthalates in it, and if you don't know about phthalates, click here to educate yourself on them!

It takes four AA batteries that are kind of hard to get in, but once you get them in the first time, you'll know how to get them in. I advise pulling the batteries out each time you are finished, or you are going to have drained batteries faster than you can blink- yeah, that fast. Well maybe not, but still. No one wants to buy batteries every week.

The Throbbin' Robin is controlled with six buttons on the handle/base. One controls the light embedded inside of the robin, one reverses the rotations, two control vibration, and two control rotation. Hitting one of the vibe/rotate buttons sets it onto low speed, hitting both sets it onto high. Reverse obviously reverses the rotation direction, and the light button turns on an annoyingly fast strobe light that flicks back from red and blue. The light is useless in my opinion, but whatever you're into I guess.

It came packaged in a rectangle box with nothing but the toy, and the plastic piece keeping it in place. Which is fine, less trees being cut down I suppose.

The Good - It does provide a subtle thrusting feeling, nothing like a real man of course. The vibrations and sensations that it provides does do its job on getting you worked up, but I don't know if it will get you off alone. It really depends on your sensitivity. I'm the sort of person who takes a lot to get me off, and I usually need to read erotica while doing my self loving to get off. So for me, this toy alone does not provide the stimulation I need. The controls are easy to use as well.

The Bad - Rubber is hard to keep clean, it's not waterproof so you have to take a lot of care while also having a lot of little things to clean. Washing it can't be a one two done thing, it takes a little effort. The ribs that extend and retract can cause a bit of pain. The batteries have to be taken out when you're done.

In conclusion, it got me off, felt great, and brought me a lot of pleasure. It does take a bit more upkeep than say, a glass dildo, and the design can be a pain to work with. But if you find a technique that keeps it in and doesn't pinch your sensitive inside bits, you will be rewarded with some intense sensations. There is a definite payoff for the work. However, considering rubber usually contains phthalates which is BAD as mentioned earlier, is this worth $61.99 USD? Hardly. I'd consider $45-$50 much more fair. I give it three stars for giving amazing sensations, but lacking in design, and price.

For more product pictures, click here to go to my personal photo bucket.