The sex toy market is run amok with gimmicks, some good and others... not so. There's warm-up vibrators, rose vibrators, and even BuzzFeed entered the playing field.
Not to yuck anyone's yum, but sometimes you don't want to play with a toy that has gizmos or viral potential. You just want a toy that provides reliable orgasms; a toy that's magic, if you will.
I'm talking about — insert sparkle emojis here — wand vibrators.
Like the dual rabbit vibrator, the wand (specifically the Hitachi Magic Wand) exploded after appearing on Sex and the City in the early oughts. Two decades later, Hitachi is still beloved, but now there are other contenders competing in the wand arena.
Here, we'll compare three: the Hitachi Wand Rechargeable, Le Wand Rechargeable Vibrating Massager, and the Doxy Original Massager.
In truth, all of these wands are great and get the job done. Whichever you choose depends on personal preference.
First, let's compare costs. These are all within a $50 range of each other, so unless you're really pressed for cash this won't make that much of a difference.
The Doxy is the least expensive toy as it starts at just under $120, $15 less than Hitachi. One benefit of the Doxy, however, is that it's highly customizable from the head to the collar to the buttons to the color of the wand itself. If you'd like to customize any part of your Doxy besides the wand color, they'll charge you $40. This means that the customizable Doxy Original is more costly than the Hitachi, but still $10 cheaper than Le Wand.
What are you paying for? Each toy has a distinct look, but features differ as well:
Wands are known for their strong, consistent vibration. All three, however, have a variety of modes.
Doxy has two: vibrating and pulsing.
The toy doesn't have a dedicated button for switching between the two. Instead, the user holds down on the power button for three seconds to glide from vibration to pulse, according to an instructional video on Doxy's website. There's no detail on the site how many intensities there are, but from use, it feels like four, from a hum to a roar. The pulsing mode goes from a slower start/stop to a rapid one the more you press the plus button.
The Hitachi Magic Rechargeable has four intensity power levels and four vibration patterns.
Both patterns and vibrations are controlled by a bar chart button and a wave button, respectively. This wand has the benefit of having a light display so you can see what level you're on.
Hitachi's vibration patterns range from a consistent vibration to a quick pulse to a rev-up-to-slow-down and repeat.
Le Wand, meanwhile, sports an impressive 10 speeds and 20 vibration patterns.
Like the Hitachi, Le Wand has a "wave" button to cycle through the patterns, but it has a plus and minus button to change the speed (also, the plus button serves as "on" while minus serves as "off"). Similar to the other toys, Le Wand has both vibration and pulsing available, just with more variety in terms of the quickness and intensity of the pulses — these patterns are all laid out in Le Wand's user guide.
The Doxy boasts being 30 percent more powerful than the Hitachi, with higher rotations per minute (RPM) at the highest intensity: 9,000 RPM for Doxy, 6,300 RPM for Hitachi. Le Wand's website doesn't clarify its RPM.
If you climax with vibrators, though, it's likely you'll have a euphoric experience with any of these.
If you're like me, a vibrator just needs to buzz in order to get you off. If pulsing is what gets you over the edge, however, you have your pick of patterns.
As I mentioned in my review of the internet's top 10 vibrators, I hesitate to say that wands give a foolproof orgasm because everyone is different. If you climax with vibrators, though, it's likely you'll have a euphoric experience with any of these. The specifics, however, will determine which one is the best for you.
Of these three wands, the Doxy is the one that's corded (though both Hitachi and Le Wand have corded options, too). While it almost seems archaic to have a wired toy, I see the appeal of using the Doxy. For one, you never have to wait for the toy to charge. Further, the cord is three meters (around 10 feet) long, so you also never have to worry about awkward tugging — unless your outlets are far away from your bed, in which case you're probably used to said awkward tugging moments when charging your phone.
If you'd rather be free of cords, however, the Hitachi rechargeable or Le Wand is for you. Both can go for three hours at a full charge, which also takes three hours to complete. After 20 minutes of consistent use, the Hitachi shuts off for safety reasons (presumably, because the toy gets hotter the longer it's on) and to preserve battery life.
As for the heads, Hitachi's appears smaller and boxier than that on Le Wand or Doxy; the latter two are bigger and rounder up top. When using the toys solo it doesn't matter, but a bigger surface area is desirable if you plan on using the wand with a partner.
Le Wand is the only toy of the three that comes with a travel pouch, which is a huge plus for storage at home or anywhere else. Doxy is unable to be detached from its cord, so keep that in mind when figuring out where it'll go in your collection.
None of these toys are waterproof, so you have to be careful when cleaning the heads. Further, all three are comparable when it comes to noise. These aren't subtle — if you want a quiet toy, a wand isn't it!
In terms of looks, each of these toys has an advantage. The Doxy, for example, can be highly personalized and comes in bright purple or pink. If you want a wand that's a little extra, the Doxy could be for you.
The Hitachi, meanwhile, may not look cute at first glance, but that wand is recognizable anywhere. The classic look has been around for more than 50 years; when a sex aficionado sees a white toy with blue accents, they know right away it's the Hitachi.
Finally, there's the Le Wand. If you want a wand in a neutral color with a classy sheen, go with this one. Pick from one of three colors — white, gray, and black — and impress either yourself or your partners with the sleekness of this wand. Gigi Engle, ACS, certified sexologist and author of All The F*cking Mistakes: a guide to sex, love, and life described Le Wand in our most popular vibrators roundup as, "like the Magic Wand, only sexier."
The world is your oyster. These toys are at similar price points and provide enough vibration to make you orgasm for years to come.
The choice comes down to a few questions: how many vibration patterns you want, whether you crave a wired or wireless experience, and if you care about the extras, such as customizing your wand or having a travel pouch.
Further, all three companies have more vibrator options than just these three, such as the petite Le Wand or corded (original) Hitachi. If the three reviewed here don't fit the bill for you, peruse their other offerings.
Whatever wand you choose, go forth and cast some spells on yourself.
