A Tentickle Reaches Out to Me From Across the Ocean…
When Tentickle Toys reached out to me and offered to let me pick out one of their toys for review, I was super excited. My partner and I have been wanting to try out a fantasy dildo for a while, but the opportunity hadn’t yet presented itself. Since we specifically wanted to try out a textured tentacle-style dildo, it was a no-brainer to select the Tenton as the toy to review.
Tentickle Toys is a U.K. based company run by just one person. Not only was the Tenton my first fantasy toy, but it was also my first toy coming from a designer outside of the U.S.. For this reason, I was a little worried about shipping, but the toy arrived promptly and in a nondescript, compact box. The owner was also great about communication, and responded to all my emails super fast despite the time difference between the two of us.
The owner of Tentickle Toys has a background in the special effects industry, which I think is EXTREMELY cool. After spending over ten years creating fantastic monsters and gory prosthetics for film and theater, the owner of Tentickle Toys turned to fantasy dildo making. I never thought about the connection between the platinum silicone prosthetics that actors use in performances and platinum silicone dildos, but it was really interesting to learn about this! This connection to the film industry comes through in all of the designs offered by Tentickle Toys. I love how clearly you can see the influences horror movies and special effects have had on the owner’s creative process!
Tentickle Toys was partially created in response to the COVID-19, as the entertainment industry was slammed particularly hard by the pandemic. The idea had come to the owner before the pandemic, but it was pandemic-induced newfound free time that allowed the owner to finally transform fantasies into reality…and make really cool fantasy dildos.
Choosing My First Fantasy Dildo:
I follow a lot of fantasy toy makers on Twitter and Instagram, and it’s amazing to see how many creators are out there designing fun and unique toys nowadays. Back in 2011 (the first year I was legally allowed to browse 18+ websites), the main fantasy dildo maker in the game was Bad Dragon. I remember sleepovers with my high school friends where I would find myself gaping in awe, fear, and horror at Bad Dragon’s website due to the sheer size of their toys. This left me with a lasting impression of believing fantasy dildos were fundamentally BIG—look out!
Because of this, I was careful to select the “mini” size and the “soft” option when I picked out the Tenton. Tentickle Toys offers the Tenton in “mini” and “medium” size options (monstrous size coming soon), as well as giving you the ability to select “soft,” “medium,” or “firm.” There’s a convenient FAQ on the Tentickle Toys website explaining the difference in firmness levels, and there’s also a size chart drawn up specifically for the Tenton.
According to the size chart, the mini Tenton has a total length of 4.9” and a usable length of 3.9”, compared to the medium Tenton’s 6.7” total length and 5.6” usable length. The mini Tenton’s diameter is 0.7” at the very top, 1.6” in the middle, and 3.1” at the bottom, compared to the medium measuring 1” at the top, 2.1” in the middle, and 4.3” at the bottom. I went with the mini because, again, the 1.6” diameter was what was most comparable to the dildos I already owned, and I was terrified of wasting Tentickle Toys’s time by having to write a shitty review of a toy I couldn’t fit in me.
First Impressions:
When the Tenton arrived to me, not only was it smaller than I expected (due to my shortcomings in spatial reasoning and inability to put in the effort to use a ruler), but it was also so much cuter than I could’ve imagined. The toy being smaller than expected wasn’t a downside for me—far from it. I was relieved that this toy was going to be able to fit in me, but more than that, I wanted to immediately put it in my display cabinet so I could admire it simply as a decoration.
My partner can confirm—I spent 20 minutes just cooing at this toy, “It’s so cute! IT’S SO CUTE!” and squeezing its delightfully squishy silicone in my hand. The Tenton is preciously chunky, and the tiny tip of it looks like a little friend. While it is also available in orange and white, picking the purple and green color option was a no-brainer for me since it reminds me of Shinji’s robot in Neon Genesis Evangelion, one of my all-time favorite anime series.
Performance:
Of course, I didn’t get this toy just to look at it—although I do love looking at it. The tip of the mini Tenton is as small as a finger, which made warming up with it easy. Since I’ve had problems with tearing during penetrative sex for the past year or so, this was a huge relief for me. The Tenton’s girth increases gradually, and throughout my experience using it I was pleased that the wide, chunky base allowed me to keep a stable, sturdy grip on the toy.
For me, though, the penetration aspect of the Tenton wasn’t what won me over. While it feels good internally, my favorite part of the Tenton was how its suction-cup laden surface feels externally. While moving the toy’s partial length in and out of me, the angle my hand caused the texture of the Tenton to rub against my clit and labia and THAT…that felt…amazing. I wanted to keep using it internally, but I reached a point where I instead had to go fucking berserk and use the Tenton as a grinding toy. And holy fuck, I loved it.
Grinding is one of my favorite ways to get off, and for me, sex frequently involves busting a nut while grinding against my partner’s thigh. The Tenton, unlike my partner’s leg, is so heavily textured that it creates an incredible layered grinding experience. The Tenton is so soft and squishy that it was also really malleable when I was using it as a grinding toy, allowing me to adjust the way I was holding it to create different levels of pressure against my clit.
In the “about” section on the Tentickle Toys website, the owner points out that not only are aesthetics and creature concepts an important component of toy design, but also that the “pleasure-giving textures and shapes of the toys” are carefully considered as well. And whew, that about section isn’t kidding!
The texture on the Tenton is so fucking good, and the design of the toy allows you to easily alternate between internal and external stimulation. Because of the small tip and soft silicone, it was really easy for me to insert a partial section of the toy’s length into me, then take advantage of the widely distributed texture across the lower shaft of the toy to provide simultaneous external stimulation.
While I was concerned about the size of the Tenton when picking it out, inserting its full length turned out to be no problem for me. The Tenton feels really good internally as well, and while I still prefer how the texture of it prefers externally, that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy it internally. It’s just that it feels SO good as an external grinding toy, I struggle to think about anything else. Those squishy suction cups feel amazing, and the fat, chunky design of the Tenton practically beckons for you to grind against it.
Thoughts on Fantasy Dildos, Gender, and Grinding:
I think it’s a shame that popular perceptions of fantasy dildos can sometimes get limited to “huge penetrative toy.” Realistically, the potential for fantasy toy design options is….endless. I also think it’s a shame that grinding toys have largely been overlooked in favor of insertable dildos and strong—but smooth—vibrators. Penetration isn’t something that’s always easy to do, and for many people it isn’t something they even desire to do. Vibration can also be hit-or-miss for many people.
Additionally, a lot of people I’ve talked to have expressed a desire for non-gendered, texture-heavy, external-only toys. They also all want to be freed from the burden of hearing yet another iteration of “it’s for women!” in the toy’s marketing copy and branding imagery.
You know something that isn’t gendered? A cool creepy tentacle!
While there’s starting to be a little progress made in terms of developing external grinding toys, I think this is still an area that’s hugely overlooked. The main ones that I can think of are the Rocks-Off Ruby Glow Ride On Vibrator, the “BumpHer” attachment for use in strap-on sex, and the Pelle Whim grinding toys. But here, the persistent theme is a prevalence of gender and a lack of texture. Texture feels good!!!! Grinding against texture feels AMAZING!!! And it’s not just me who feels this way!
It’s understandable that for many people, external texture isn’t going to be the only thing they want a toy to bring to the table. That’s why I think the Tenton is great—it offers you the option to use it as a toy for internal penetration or external stimulation. I also love how the Tenton doesn’t make me feel like a delicate womanly lady grinding on my pink/purple “secret little helper.” Instead, I just feel like I have a cool funky decoration that conveniently doubles as a sex toy.
Final Thoughts:
I really, really enjoyed the Tenton. It’s adorable to look at, and I want to always have it sitting on my nightstand so I can admire its cute, chubby little body and bright color scheme. I was really happy that my first experience with a fantasy dildo dissuaded my fears of fantasy toys being fundamentally “too big” to ever use properly.
I enjoyed the Tenton as a dildo for internal stimulation, but by far my favorite way to use it was as an external grinding toy. The combination of super soft, squishy silicone and amazingly textured suction cups made the Tenton perfect for grinding against. Since grinding is one of my favorite ways to get off, I couldn’t have been happier to find out how well suited the Tenton was for masturbating in this way.
Thanks so much to Tentickle Toys for sending me the Tenton to try out! You can get one of your own here! You can also follow Tentickle Toys on Twitter and Instagram (and please follow me on Twitter and Instagram if you’re not already doing so)!
Disclaimer: I received this product for free in exchange for an honest review.
