A bedside staple, the Viben Sultry wand vibrator is for me. Also, a frequent must-have in the shower, since it’s waterproof! So: What’s good about this wand vibrator versus its sibling the Viben Obsession. Why would you pick it, compared to a Magic Wand?
Wand vibrators are often large toys, over a foot in length: These full-size wands are loved by folks who prize powerful vibration and/or wide, all-over genital stimulation.1 A wand can rock everything from clitoris to anus. So the Sultry’s a long vibrator, but its slimline handle is my favorite part of this grrrr-rumbling Viben massager; besides that it’s waterproof!!!
It’s my absolute favorite vibrator of the last year, because I looove the speed range: Good orgasms are guaranteed for me with the Sultry. (More easily than with a Magic Wand!) This Sultry review will explain its pros & cons… Skip to the end for a quick summary & 10% discount code.
Contents
Top Sultry Advantages
In brief, here’s why I’m using the Viben Sultry often, and why it’s in my top three favorite vibrators of 2022 so far:
- Waterproof: Which means waterproof submersible. I have doused it, I have showered with it many times, and it is still going strong. (Unlike the Viben Obsession, which will resist splashes of water [washing its head with soap in under running water], but will die if you fully submerge its body and neck.)
- Great handle shape: It fits. The curves here are more ergonomic than the straight cylinder of a Magic Wand. I also really enjoy how the bottom of the Sultry’s handle narrows down. Why? Because I can wedge it between my adjustable bedframe and my mattress, and the Sultry will stay wedged in pretty darn well if I’m humping it, effectively, while I’m standing beside the bed.
- The vibration power is good, and rumbly for a wand. That’s critical, of course. A vibrator motor needs to speak to me to be kept in the regular rotation. I’ll go into more detail in the next section, but TL;DR, the Sultry has a respectable speed range (it starts low & rumbly; then finishes on pretty high power) but is not super-powered. That’s versus the Viben Obsession being so strong even on the lowest setting, I reserve it for a couple days a month when I do want really intense.
Sultry’s Speed: Vibration Functions & Intensity
It’s got 8 intensity levels, from “Va-vrooom, off to the races” (high power) to “low hum” (lowest setting). So 8 speeds—times 20 functions (1 steady, 19 patterns). That’s 160 choices total.
But I’ll rate the Viben Sultry for its 8 steady intensity levels, which (being consistent!) are easier to gauge.
I give Sultry an 8.75 out of 10 for its top speed, vs. 9.75 out of 10 for the Magic Wand Rechargeable on high. Then, it runs from 9/10 to 8/10 for rumbly vibration depth, which is quite deep — NOT buzzy — vs. other big strong wand vibes! So, full-sized Magic Wands possess a bit more power, but the Sultry by Viben packs more speed options in. If you do want a super-power wand, though, then Sultry is not the strongest.
On intensity levels 1 through 4, Viben’s Sultry has some serious rumble. The vibration is low-frequency. It starts picking up more grrrrr! on intensity #5. Then, speeds 6 through 8 do have more an edge: noticeable secondary frequency bands over 100 Hz that some users may interpret as more buzzy. Yet, the Sultry is definitely less high-pitched / less buzzy on high speed than power wand favorites like the Doxy Die Cast!
My Experiences with Sultry
Pressing the Sultry’s big head against myself feels so good. I especially love being able to choose more moderate-powered vibration to begin with.
A slow progression toward the high speed, if I want. I’ll lay back for half and hour and just chill with Sultry. Usually I’ll start about intensity level #3 (two above low speed). Then move up to 4, and 5, and 6—which is my “grand finale” speed. The one where I wanna turn it down quickly when I orgasm, lest my clit be upset.
Besides chilling in bed, I like Sultry here:
Shower wand. So relaxing. Warm water running all over, vibration running all below. OMG. I love it.
Sticking out for humping. Sultry’s handle for the win again. Because I’ve made the Viben Sultry into a grinding wand. So I have an adjustable bedframe, where you use a remote control to incline it up behind your back.2 This incline puts my mattress closer to thigh-level: And then, the Sultry’s tapered-down handle end fits right in between the frame and my mattress.
This means, I can stand upright and rub off on the large wand massager head. *high five*, none of my other wands let me do that!
Now, if you’re someone with a normal stable bedframe: you may be able to do the same except lower. Kneeling, which may even be more better because you can brace your hands easier against the mattress. My (uninclined, flat) mattress frame is 15 inches off the floor, right under my knees. So again, I wedge the Sultry’s lovely-shaped handle between frame and mattress, put a pillow down to protect my knees, and voilà: Hands-free vibration, with my hips moving.
I’ve had a lot of fun with this unique vibrating setup: It’s a the polar opposite of lying back and just receiving the vibration. Using my hips to rub on the wand head feels almost aggressive, and it delights me that the same vibrator provides two use options that are so different from each other.
Sultry is best well-lubed up if you’re rubbing hard on its silicone head (so do get some good thick lubricant like Sliquid Silk!). Sultry offers broad stimulation that I think is fantastic. (Other clit-havers will benefit from more pinpoint clit stimulation, and find themselves drawn to bullet vibrators or super-focused tips instead.)
Sultry vs. MW Rechargeable & More
Versus the Magic Wand (Rechargeable),
- Sultry weighs 42% less than Magic Wands (347g vs. 597g).
- Sultry’s handle is ergonomically curved & easier to grip.
- Sultry is waterproof submersible. I don’t have to be cautious cleaning the Sultry’s head after use; don’t have to worry that water will drip into the neck and ruin the motor, as is a concern with all Magic Wands by Vibratex.
- Sultry is less powerful on high than the MW-R; but Sultry starts gentler.
- Sultry has more intermediate-strength settings, more speed range. The Magic Wand Rechargeable has a large jump up in power between speed #2 and speed #3; the Sultry progresses more gently. I love its rumbly “strong but not HIGH SPEED” options.
- Last, the Sultry’s head is less “padded”; it doesn’t have the spongey foam layer under a silicone coating like Magic Wand Rechargeable, Plus, and Mini. Instead, the Sultry is straightforward, its head a thin layer of smooth silicone bound directly to the plastic core below. I like the paddedness of the Magic Wands, but will acknowledge that I’ve heard of people who use their M. Wand a lot having the silicone feel “loose” from the rest of the wand head beneath; so the Sultry’s head may be less defect-prone in the long run.
And versus the Viben Obsession, the first vibrator that made this brand known to me: The Obsession is a powerhouse from start to finish. I’ve wished it had lower intensities. I’m someone who on occasion appreciates strong vibration but prefers a gentle route there, so the Sultry is better suited for my body almost all the time. And I can definitely use it in the shower. Last, this new Viben wand’s neck design is improved: The Sultry’s neck does not have grooves that lube can get trapped in, and it is less flexible. This is good (1) for applying consistent pressure, and (2) because it’s likely to be more durable; flexi-wand necks correlate with wand vibrators dying more frequently, before their time!
So these are all positives; I’m liking the Sultry a lot. Yet it does have 2 minor downsides:
- The handle gets a bit warm. It heats up close to the metal ring at first, and then after 10 or 15 minutes of use, the Sultry’s cutout grip will be warmed up too. It’s not anywhere near “burning,” and I know some folks actively seek out warming vibrators; but if you’re someone who is ultra-sensitive to heat, be aware. Shifting my hands to a different section of the handle, or just letting go and allowing Sultry to stay wedged in place by my thighs (or using the hands-free humping method above), reduces the warmth.
- It now runs from low intensity, to high intensity, yay! I just need to be sure to not press the center “pattern change” control button when playing at night, since I’m into steady vibration but rarely enjoy fluctuating patterns!
Speaking of the button control:
How to Control
The Viben Sultry has a 3-button control system, reminiscent of the Mini Halo wand by Shibari. How to control Sultry:
To turn on: Hold the power button down for ≈ 4 seconds to either turn on or off. It will not power on if you just tap the button for a second lightly. You must press down for several seconds.
So it’s tough to turn the Viben Sultry off by accident, which is nice. I personally would’ve designed this button control system with plus and minus buttons to increase/decrease intensity faster, instead of “scroll through 8 levels with a single button” intensity control. But, with 160 possible function + intensity combinations, I have to cut the Sultry some slack: That is a lot of choices to engineer moving through!
The buttons are not very raised. They’re moderately tricky to navigate at first, but it’s not all bad: Raised buttons, separate from a silicone silicone layer, can allow water ingress and kill the vibrator motor. Indeed, my first Viben Obsession died when I took it into the bathtub: I immediately saw air bubbles emerging from its raised control buttons, and I was like, “Ooooh, that’s not normal.” And it croaked. Whereas the Sultry doesn’t do that!
So, you’ll want to spend a few sessions / a couple weeks getting used to which button does what. My first week with the Sultry, I would sometimes hit the center button, which changes functions (it moves from the 1 steady function through the 19 patterned functions). And since I’m not into patterns, now I’m glad that hitting the bottom button only (for speed changes!) is set in my spatial memory, and I can navigate Sultry’s buttons without issue 98% of the time, while not looking at the toy.
To charge the Viben Sultry, you press the pin charger into the self-healing silicone circle on the lower-backside of the handle, under the letters DC. It requires a little bit of force to push the charger in; expect to see the control button’s on Sultry’s front flash when you have it connected properly.
Viben Sultry Recap & Rating
The Viben Sultry was my favorite clitoral toy of 2022, and carrying into this year, it’s my favorite all-time wand vibe! (And I own a lot of wands!!!) The range of 8 vibration strength levels, the big massage head, possible hands-free positioning—these have all endeared me to the Sultry.
It has the pizzazz that I’d expect from a Viben brand wand, since having discovered the Obsession last year. For me, Sultry is now a more frequent friend because I do appreciate that it starts lower and has more vibration options, and also that it’s more waterproof. But I still recommend the Obsession for folks looking for a thrill-ride of higher intensity.
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Feature | Rating (out of 10) |
---|---|
Orgasms per dollar value: I love it | 10 |
User experience/ Ease of use: Good speed range; Rumbly; Easy grip; Waterproof; Button control is OK | 9.5 |
Luxury feel (body-safe, storage pouch, 1-year warranty) | 8 |
Run time (≈2.5hrs.) & easy charging | 8.5 |
Total | 8.9/10 |
Vibration power, low-to-high intensity [vs. all vibrators] | 5.75 to 8.75/ out of 10 |
Vibration depth (“rumble”), low-to-high | 9 to 8/ out of 10 |
NOTES
Excellent review. Can the Viben Sultry be turned on when connected to its charging cord and an external power source?
Curious to know where the sultry sits in your top 10 wands? How does it compare to the BMS palmpower extreme? I might have to get one!
Yes, for sure, it’s in this guide!
Love your reviews, they’ve really helped me acquire quite the arsenal for my wife.
1-Is this a good choice over the MW-R for someone who has a pretty sensitive clit? Direct contact is not great for her. So the power of the MW will likely be too much.
2-Does it still make you start on the highest speed setting? This part here made me unsure. Did they fix that issue?
Thank you!
“It now runs from low intensity, to high intensity, yay”
Hi! So, Sultry does run from low to high now, yes, that’s correct.
Magic Wand R is not that powerful on the low speed. (That’s vs. Magic Wand Original, which doesn’t have gentler intensities.) I prefer the Sultry because of its 4 additional moderately-strong speeds; it has more range in the middle.
For someone with a very sensitive clit, you might go with the low end of the intensity range on Pillow Talk Sassy or Pillow Talk Racy.
Ever try the smaller Viben Tempest wand? Can’t find any reviews on that one. If it’s close to the power and vibe of the Sultry, that one would be a winner too!
Yeah! I found it weaker and higher-pitched. It wasn’t my thing. It’s not awful, I just prefer the Sultry strongly.
Agreed with the comment above about all the help guiding us men to amp up the pleasure for our wives. Great stuff!
Does the Sultry have that annoying auto-off feature many other wands have? I find it’s a big mood disrupter around 20-30 mins, especially since that’s often when things have got very close. Thanks again!
Thank you! 😍
No, the Sultry does not turn off at any time between when you start it and when the battery life finally runs down (unless you press the power button, of course). About 2 hours run-time.
Any thoughts one if the Strange Bedfellas wand toppers would work on this?
Definitely. **Revised: the larger topper fits better IMO. The smaller one does fit, you just have to stretch it more. The larger topper in contrast is easy enough to slip onto the Sultry, recommend without lubricant inside the cap, and does grip just fine when you’re moving against it.