R K O’Connor Reviews The Fun Factory Duke Prostate Stimulator

The Duke: Excellent, and Unusual, Prostate Simulator

The “Duke Click ‘n’ Charge” vibrator from Fun Factory is clearly intended for prostate stimulation. It’s one of the more unusual such toys I’ve used. It’s shape is all its own. Indeed, I can’t think of anything even remotely like it. I’m sure there are other ways it could be used, but it seems to have been designed with prostate stimulation very much in mind. How well does it work? We’ll see.

Design

The key feature of the Duke is obviously the unusual shape. The business end of the toy can be thought of as having two pieces. There is an initial piece that is about 4″ long from the base of the vibrator, though the useful insertable length of that part is only about 2.75″. It is a bit over an inch wide for most of its length. It has a very gentle curve and ends in a little ‘bulge’ that is supposed to sit along the prostate when the toy is inserted. At the bulge, it is about an 1.5″ wide.

Beyond that, and veering off at an angle, is a sort of ‘finger’, about 2.5″ long and only about an inch wide, at most. This extends deeper into the rectum, with the overall length being about of 5″. More importantly, though, the ‘finger’ provides a kind of spring effect that helps to push the bulge at the center up against the prostate.

How all of this feels when the toy is inside you will depend very much upon your internal anatomy: Just where will the bulge rest against your prostate? In my case, it “cups” the prostate quite wonderfully, so that the vibration is delivered right where it needs to be.

On the other end of the toy, we have a curved piece that is a couple inches long and that is described as a ‘perineum stimulator’. But it’s probably better to think of it just as a flange that keeps the Duke from being inserted too far. Because the material is so soft, not much in the way of vibration gets through the flange, and it is too flexible to put much pressure on the perineum or, as with the perineum tab on something like the Aneros, to hold the Duke in place against the prostate. That said, the feeling of this part against the perineum is not unpleasant. It’s just not what you are going to notice.

The Duke is made from a soft silicone, which makes it very comfortable for anal use. It’s a bit “squishy”, too, which makes it very comfortable for extended use. It also makes it a bit easier to insert than it might have been if it were harder.

The vibrating mechanism is contained in a hard, black, plastic shell that is inserted into the base of the toy. A fair bit of the vibration is delivered pretty near the bulge in the middle, which is perfect, though you will also feel some it around the anal ring. The vibrator can also be removed fairly easily, so the toy can be cleaned (and, since it is silicone, it can be put in the dishwasher or otherwise sterilized, if you wish). This is good because the shape of the toy is not great for using it with “protection”.

Speaking of silicone, the Duke should (of course) not be used with silicone-based lubes, which could melt the material and make it sticky. You don’t need a lot of lube, though. This is an “insert it and leave it” toy, not a “move it in and out” toy.

As is fairly typical nowadays, the vibrator has a variety of settings, which are controlled via a small button on the side of the vibrator: Three constant speeds, and three different “pulse” settings. The first two are just on-off of different lengths. The third is a series of pulses that start out slow and get faster, then fall back to slow and start over again. (Recent ads I’ve seen speak of more settings, so perhaps there are now more.) The same button is used to turn the toy on and off, by holding it down for a few seconds.

The vibrations themselves are of medium intensity. To a large extent, this is because of the soft material from which the toy is made. The vibrations seem to originate fairly strong, in the vibrator itself, but soft materials tend not to transmit vibration very well, not as well as harder ones do, at least. So, well, the vibrations aren’t weak. But they’re not as strong with the Duke as with some other prostate vibrators I have used.

One very nice feature is that the Duke is rechargeable, using a separate wall wart. I’ve never had a problem with it discharging during play, so long as it was properly charged when I began, and it easily lasts two or three decent-length sessions. I just try to make sure to charge it every other time.

Evaluation

The Duke is not a cheap toy. Retail price is $100, though it can probably be had for a bit less from some retailers. Is it worth that kind of money?

Overall, I am very happy I bought it. When I have prostate sex with myself, I tend to use a few different toys in one session. I usually save this one for near the end, as it just wears me out.

The shape of the Duke makes for a very different experience than with most other prostate toys I’ve used. I love the feeling of fullness I get from the Duke. Few prostate vibrators are as long as it is; most tend to be just long enough to reach the prostate. The Duke, on the other hand, extends further into the rectum, so it fills by length. And it is wider, at least in the middle, then most prostate vibrators I have used, so it fills by width, as well, yet without being so large as to be uncomfortable for extended use.

The bulging part in the middle provides wonderful stimulation even before I turn it on. Once it is on, it delivers adequate, if not particularly strong, vibrations right where I need them. If I’m aroused enough, I can come just from inserting it, as the bulge rides over my prostate and puts nice, firm pressure on it. I will typically go through the cycle of settings at least once, coming differently with each one. As I get more aroused, and my prostate becomes more and more sensitive, the pressure the bulb puts on it becomes exquisite, and I find myself coming over and over again, at minute intervals or so. Hard to complain about that!

Another thing I like about the Duke is that it stays in place, right where you need it. I’ve frequently complained about other prostate toys that they don’t. You have to hold the toy just right to get it firmly in contact with the prostate, and this usually means pushing it down away from you if you are lying on your back, and then holding that not terribly comfortable position. There is no such problem here.

Because of the odd shape, it took me a bit of practice to figure out how best to insert the Duke. But it’s fun practice! Basically, one needs to get the “finger” in and then, instead of just trying to push the rest in, at which angle it’s too wide for comfort (for me), tilt it upwards so it enters at the narrowest point. If  you’ve ever seen the way a doctor, or midwife, rotates a baby to allow the shoulders to pass through the  vagina, it’s kind of like that.

My sole complaint about the Duke is that the control mechanism is a hassle. The button you press to turn it on and change the settings is, frankly, difficult to use. When the toy is inserted, it is not easy to get at the button, and if it gets covered with lube, as it inevitably will, it can be hard to press it firmly enough to activate it without having one’s finger slip off. You really have to grab it from both sides to get it to work, and trying to turn it on or off can be a pain, as you have to hold it down for a good while. Since the Duke is not particularly easy to insert and remove, one doesn’t really have the option of taking it out to turn it off, if one just wants a rest, and then re-inserting it, at least not without going to a fair bit of trouble. Which is the opposite of why we are playing with this thing in the first place, right?

Conclusion

As I said before, how well the Duke works for you will depend, more than with other prostate toys, upon how it fits your internal anatomy: upon how well the Duke’s shape fits the shape of your insides. But it seems to fit my insides very well, and so it works very well for me. It’s one of my favorite toys. That said, it is fairly expensive. But if you’re willing to plunk down $100 for a sex toy, then this is one you should definitely try.