With only a few exceptions (thus far) I pretty much hate rabbit vibrators. I mean, the concept is cool… “one toy that I can insert while it stimulates my clit? Cool, count me in!” But inevitably, it always leads to disappointment and resentment. The quickest way to break my heart is to hand me a rabbit vibrator, once you do that I will forever question your motives and wonder if our friendship was ever really real or if I should brace myself for Ashton Kutcher jumping out to yell at that I’ve been punk’d. I feel like in the history of my blog I have only reviewed one rabbit vibrator I liked – the Greedy Girl (and even that isn’t without its flaws, Fifty Shades of Grey branding… ugh, gag me). I have to admit though, I had the We-Vibe Nova sent to me by choice, I love the Tango, I love the Wish… I pretty much love most of what We-Vibe has to offer, so I figured if anyone can break my rabbit vibrator slump, they could. And so, it was with great hesitation, a healthy dose of skepticism, and a basketful of (tentative) optimism I requested the Nova.
My usual issue with rabbit style vibrators is that the arm meant for clitoral stimulation sits nowhere near my clit. It either falls short or extends way beyond where my actual clitoris is located. Or if by some miracle the external arm manages to reach my clit, there are those stupid “bunny ears” are either spaced so widely apart they barely graze my clit or they are so tight it pinches in a weird and not sexy sort of way. Or the insertable half of the toy only manages shallow penitration before the external arm looses contact with my clit or just jams itself up against my pubis mons. It’s just disappointment, disappointment all around.
Another issue with rabbit vibrators is that our bodies are all put together differently. None of us are constructed in the exact same way. This means the amount of spacing, the internal and external length needed and even the pressure required from a rabbit vibe is going to vary from person to person… so recommending rabbits is always fraught with dangers for me as a blogger… I don’t want to steer someone wrong and have them blow their cash on something that doesn’t work for them! Ahhh the anxiety! I always feel much more comfortable recommending a vibrator/dildo combo than I do rabbits. YOUR SEXUAL HAPPINESS JUST MEANS SO DAMN MUCH TO ME!
In my experience We-Vibe consistently delivers toys that are powerful, rumbly, and with deep delicious vibrations. So when my Nova arrived I was pretty excited to see if it lived up to what I’ve come to expect from We-Vibe. I’m pretty sure I had my pants around my ankles within seconds of the mailman handing me my package. I honestly couldn’t wait to test this toy! This also might be why our mailman now just tosses my packages out next to my garage instead of coming to my door… hmm.
So, I had obviously seen pictures of the Nova online and I had a pretty good idea about what it was going to look like. But when I pulled my Nova out of its packaging I was a little shocked (okay, maybe shocked is too strong a word, bemused maybe…) at just how long the external arm really was. The Nova has a funny design for a rabbit vibrator… I mean, it has all the pieces you would expect… both an internal and external arm… but there is something kind of funky about the Nova’s long curly external arm. There is just so much external arm… so much external arm that it begins to curl around itself like a rams horn (ok, I’m prone to exaggeration… but it does curve around like the letter “C”)! I don’t even know why I’m spending so much time on this… it’s just a shape that amused me. MOVING ON!
Actually, while we are in the subject of that curly-whirly arm, we might as well talk more about it. Like… does it even work? Well, the short of it is.. yes, yes it does. The longer answer is that the funny external arm shape actually serves a pretty clever purpose. So, with most rabbit vibrators the external arm is designed to try and reach your clit, which often results in a stubby arm that gets nowhere near the mark, or an arm that works only as long as you maintain an exact penetration depth and don’t move the internal vibrator at all (all reasons why I have a hard time with rabbit vibes). But the We-Vibe Nova is a clever girl (I’m not gendering my Nova, I just really wanted to quote Jurassic Park), that curly “C” shape folds under itself as you thrust the inner part deeper inside, which means the external arm pretty much stays in contact with my clit the whole time. It’s super neat but kind of hard to describe! I think the best way I have of describing it is imagine you are beckoning someone over to you, you know that way you kind of crook your finger back and forth as you motion for them to come closer… that is the sort of movement the Nova’s clitoral arm makes as you thrust in and out. It’s pretty clever and it’s what ended up selling me on the We-Vibe Nova being a rabbit vibe that I don’t absolutely hate.
HOWEVER, if you don’t like direct, pin-point stimulation you may not enjoy the Nova. The clitoral arm literally never left my clit… which I love, often times I need firm, direct, and constant vibration in order to reach an orgasm… but this might make the Nova overwhelming for someone with a preference for more indirect stimulation or be uncomfortable for those who don’t like a fair amount of pressure against their clits. But me? Well, I’m totally smitten.
That’s enough about the external arm for now. Let’s move on to the main body of the toy, the internal arm. Much like the external arm, I think that the Nova’s internal arm is also pretty satisfactory. With an insertable length of 4.25 inches and 1.25 inches at its widest point the internal shaft is a deliciously average sized toy. Which is nice, it isn’t intimidating, it inserts easily and comfortably, and I think is a toy that would be easily managed by many people. Which is totally a nice change up from what you see in the more traditional rabbit vibrators. Many rabbits, especially those terrible jelly rabbits are incredibly girthy and often times look like semi-realistic penises with a terrified rabbit clinging to the side of the shaft for dear life. The We-Vibe Nova looks nothing like this (THANKFULLY) and I really appreciate its sleek, non-realistic design and average size. It’s pretty non-threatening and elegant all at the same time. Not to mention it hits my g-spot like a mother fucking champion.
Both the internal and external bit of the Nova are made from silicone with virtually no-drag matte finish. This thing glides like butter and is wonderfully soft to the touch. Being made from silicone, go ahead an use anything but silicone lube on it. My We-Vibe Nova came with a little sample sachet of We-Vibe Lube by Pjur (which is a really lovely lube). The Nova also arrives with its own little storage pouch, although the box it comes in is pretty nice and sturdy, so I have continued to store my toy in its original packaging (like a Star Wars action figure). Also in its box is an instruction manual in many languages and the Novas charging cable. The Nova is charged via the magnetic cable which attaches itself to the little silver port on the handle of the toy (just above the control buttons). According to the manual the Nova takes about two hours to charge to full and I would say I got about an hour or so of play time out of mine before I had to charge it back up again.
Controlling the We-Vibe Nova is kind of tricky. I feel like this toy is overly complicated and the buttons hard to use. First of all, the buttons are hard to see set into the white silicone of the handle. They are only ever so slightly raised, making it really easy for my thumb to miss as it brushes over the handle looking for the buttons I need. This pretty much means I have to pull the toy out of my cooter in order to find the button I need to press in order to make the toy do what I want… it’s a hassle and I’m not impressed. Second, they are hard to push. I really need to dig my finger nail in there to get the toy to respond to me. On the handle of the toy there are five buttons in total… they are set up in a compass like fashion, with the toy controls spread out around the bigger middle button. The main button (the one in the center) is the easiest to find as it is a circular depression at the base of the handle. That button controls your power and allows you to put the toy into “pairing mode” (more on that later). To turn the Nova on press the center button and the toy will spring to life. When you are ready to turn it off again, just press and hold the center button until the Nova switches itself off. Above the circle button is the (-) button, pressing that will decrease the intensity of the toy. Towards the bottom of the power button you have the (+) button, which as you would expect increases the intensity when pressed. To the left and the right of the power button is the < and > buttons. Pressing those will change modes which cycles you through a series of nine (10 if you include the constant speed in there) irritating vibration patterns (okay, they are irritating to me because I don’t like patterns… but you may like them… they aren’t all terrible). The Nova also features dual motors, meaning that as you are clicking through these modes and intensities you are controlling both the motors in the internal and external arm simultaneously. If you are only use the toy itself as means for control, there is no way to use the clitoral arm and the internal separately… if you want to be able to do that, you will have to pair the Nova with the We-Vibe app.
So, the We-Vibe app is neat in that pairing it to your Nova lets you create customized vibration patterns and play with partners who are miles away. What I hate about the app is that you are pretty much forced to use it if you want to be able to use the full power and capacity of the We-Vibe Nova. You have to use the app if you want to be able to set your internal arm to an intensity setting of 10 but back the external arm down to an intensity level of say five. Or if you want to turn the internal shaft off and just enjoy the external arm… you will have to pair your toy with the app. Ugh. I love having the phone app control as an option… I just really hate that it’s almost necessary in order to me to fully enjoy my toy. Although, since the buttons of the Nova itself are nearly damn impossible to navigate, having the app on hand does make things somewhat less frustrating. Should you wish to pair your Nova with your smart phone, all you need to do is install the We-Vibe We-Connect app then hold down the middle power button of the toy until it buzzes twice. Then it is paired and ready to go. The app itself has a lot going on and it is really more than I want to get into in this review, the app almost needs a review of its own (which maybe I’ll get around to one of these day). But, if you get the app up and running it is more or less self explanatory and can be mastered with a little bit of skillful button mashing (just pretend you are playing Super Smash Bros and mash away until something works).
If you are dead set on buying a rabbit vibe, I think I can recommend the We-Vibe Nova with a fair amount of confidence. It is definitely much better than a lot of other rabbits vibes floating around the market today and I think you will have a greater chance of success with something like the Nova then you would those chunky monkey rabbits with the swirling beads inside the shaft… (gag me with a spoon, ugh). It is a very well thought out and nicely constructed rabbit vibrator, but I really wouldn’t expect anything less from We-Vibe. Personally, I really enjoyed the We-Vibe Nova, it worked for me, the external arm hit exactly where it needed to hit and gave me enough flexibility that I was able to thrust with the internal shaft and not once did I have to curse the gods above for bringing the scourge of rabbit vibrators onto this planet. So, go ahead, give it a go… I think the odds are pretty good that you will enjoy this toy. If not… well… put it on your mantel and pass it off as a bit of modern objet d’art. You can act all snooty when someone asks what it is… you can turn up your nose and in our haughtiest voice say “Oh, THAT is a Nova… surely even a peasant such as yourself has heard of the Nova…” They will probably just pretend they have and not push the issue for fear of looking like an uncultured swine.
Want a totally rockin’ We-Vibe Nova rabbit vibe of your very own (or did my objet d’art suggestion sounded really good to you)? Grab yourself one directly from the good folks at We-Vibe! They are totally ready and willing to put one in a box and ship it out to you speedy quick!
It is also possible to grab the We-Vibe Nova from some of my other favorite vendors… such as Peepshow Toys, SheVibe or Betty’s Toy Box!
