The Iroha Mini is a teeny tiny palm of your hand sized vibrator. At just 2.5 inches tall and 2.25 inches wide the Iroha Mini is an itty bitty treat. It’s two-toned colorful tear drop shape sort of reminds me of a piece of candy. Under that candy coated shell I kind of expect to find delicious milk chocolate.
Sadly there is no chocolate. Only a lonely little AAA battery that powers the Iroha Mini. Going into this, I kind of knew I wouldn’t be totally wowed by the Iroha Mini. But I had a $25 gift voucher to spend with Unbound and the Iroha Mini happened to be exactly $25. As I hit the purchase button I hoped at the very least the Iroha Mini would be a decent enough vibrator I could recommend for those of us on smaller budgets. Or as I like to say, those of us with champagne tastes on beer budgets!
The shape of the Iroha Mini is really simplistic and I think pretty aesthetically pleasing in a sort of modern art kind of way and if you are looking for something discreet… well, I don’t think you can get much more discreet than the Iroha Mini! Nothing about this toy screams “SEX TOY.” The top half of the vaguely triangle shaped Iroha Mini tapers into a rounded tip that allows me to apply firm, pinpoint stimulation where I need it (mainly my clitoris). It is lightweight and easy to hold, although I sometimes wish there was a little bit more of it to hold on to, because after awhile I found that my hand was starting to cramp up. I am really in love with the color combos, they are playful, a bit quirky and are not color combos you usually find on sex toys. I own the Fuji-Lemon, which is lighter colored purple and a brighter lemon-yellow. The Iroha Mini is also available in Ume-Anzu which looks kind of like a coral and salmon pink, and the Sora-Mikan, which is an orange and sky blue. Very bright, very fun!
The battery life is reported to be something around the five hour mark. I have yet to run mine down all the way, but I think there is maybe only an hour or an hour and a half worth of playtime in my Iroha Mini so far. When you do run your Iroha Mini out of juice, changing the battery is very simple. The two halves of the Iroha Mini can be twisted and separated with relative ease. The bottom portion of the toy (in my case, the yellow half) holds the AAA battery, which you can just pop out and change for the brand new battery. To put it back together, just line the little white tabs of the upper half (in my case, the purple half) into the holes of the bottom half and twist back together. I’m probably making it sound more complicated than it is, it really is quite simple.
The on/off button is really hard to miss on the Iroha Mini. It took me a good minute to sort out how to turn this toy on once I had it out of the packaging. First I twisted it (which incidentally is how I discovered how to change the batteries) thinking that was how you turned it on. When that didn’t work I just started squeezing it in random places, then I finally noticed the “soft spot” on the side of the toy. The button sits very flush against one side, if you look close enough you can see that there is a little circle where the button is. If you struggle turning it on, know you are not alone, I feel your pain. I’ve been there and I won’t judge you for it. Once you do find that button though, it is extremely easy to operate the Iroha Mini. Push the button and away it goes. All done? Then just push the button again and it turns itself off. It doesn’t get any easier than that, there aren’t even any of those pesky speeds and patterns to deal with… you get a single speed, one choice, all the work is done for you. You just turn it on and begin masturbating.
Sadly, that single speed was a major let down for me. It was so buzzy and the vibrations so shallow that my clit just retreated and said “let me know when you are done with that bullshit.” Zero orgasms were to be had with the chic little Iroha Mini. A sex toy can not get by in this world on good looks alone, there needs to be a little bit of oomph to their motors. Also, a lot of the vibrations did seem to disperse up through the rest of the Mini’s body, leaving my hands feeling very numb after a few minutes of use. All is not completely lost for the little Iroha Mini, there was one spot I did enjoy the mild, buzzy vibrations… my nipples. It was perfect for teasing and tickling my sensation hungry nips. By no means though is this the weakest vibrator I’ve ever used, but I wish it was stronger. However, because the vibrations are so soft, it is a pretty quiet toy as far as vibrators go. It emits a mid-frequency buzzing sound, nothing you are going to hear through doors or walls.
The Iroha Mini is waterproof and submersible, you can take it with you into the bath or shower and clean it easily. It is also coated with an anti-dust coating (yay no lint)!
Materials wise, I had to do a bit of digging… some bloggers were reporting that it was covered in silicone, while others saying it was elastomer. I figured I’d solve this mystery by visiting Tenga’s official website… but of course, the website wouldn’t load for me at that point. Thankfully the cool people at Luvoqa came to my rescue and did confirm that the Iroha Mini is ABS plastic coated in elastomer. Which sort of bums me out a little bit, I would have preferred it to be coated in some sort of plush silicone (something like Iroha Kushi). C’est la vie.
I wanted to recommend the Iroha Mini to you all so bad. I wanted to be able to scream “BUY IT!” at the top of my lungs. It has so much going for it, the size, the colors, it’s discreet and budget friendly… but dammit, it just doesn’t vibrate worth a damn! Maybe if you are very sensitive, you could make this work. My Stunt Cock is usually very adverse to vibrations, he will jump ten feet into the air if I come anywhere near him with the Doxy or Hitachi but he didn’t find the Iroha Mini to be objectionable, to him it felt good. So, if you are a power queen, like myself, the Iroha Mini will just make you yawn and fall asleep mid-masturbation, but those who like a much milder vibration might find some use for this sweet little toy.
Thinking you want to give the Iroha Mini a go? Purchase it from any of these fine retailers: Unbound, Shevibe, and The Stockroom!
The Iroha Mini by Tenga was purchased by Kitten Boheme with a gift voucher provided by Unbound. Kitten Boheme paid for shipping with her own funds.