Flicker is one of several colorful vibrators in the Mini Marvels line put on the market by Cal Exotics. Late last year, my partner and I purchased the Bunny and were pleasantly surprised by it, so when I had the chance to review another toy from that line, I jumped on board with optimism. Boy, was I disappointed.
The Flicker is a bright pink silicone toy in the shape of what I can only describe as a disembodied tongue. I get that it’s meant to be colorful and whimsical like the others in the line, but the shape is actually a major downfall for it, (more on that later).
Since the Flicker is silicone, there aren’t any safety concerns with the material, which is always nice. Cleaning is easy with antibacterial soap and warm water, and you can soak it in a 10% bleach solution for an extra deep clean. Using a condom on this toy for sharing would be difficult due to the shape, but not entirely impossible. I don’t recommend using this toy anally but you could potentially use it as a rimming toy if used externally (although better ones come to mind).
Right from the start, Flicker has some functional issues. It has a mandatory travel lock feature, which requires you to hold the power button for three seconds before it turns on or off. While that can be nice for traveling (though still a problem if it is pressed against something in your bag), it’s kind of annoying for daily at-home use.
From there, it doesn’t get much better. The first of its ten settings is hardly noticeable. Is this thing on?
The third and highest setting is a decent strength, but the design flaw with Flicker is that the motor is located where you hold the toy, making the strongest vibrations focused on your fingers and not elsewhere. My fingers go numb before I get anywhere with it. In fact, since the tip of the toy is made solely of silicone, the vibrations don’t travel all that well to it. In most toys, the motor’s location is key to how strong the vibrations are. The Flicker is essentially a long tongue-shaped silicone attachment to a vibrating ball you hold.
Also, the name Flicker is a reach, in my opinion. The tip does appear to “flicker” a bit because it doesn’t have a solid core connecting it to the motor. It’s a firm piece of silicone, so it does move a bit with the vibrations. However, the name and description of this toy led me to because it had more “flicking” power. The tip ends up being super weak and ineffectual.
Insertingthis toy doesn’t do much, either. I tried, hoping it would give me a deeper vibration if I got closer to the motor, but the size and shape is all wrong for insertion and it just felt foreign.
What positive attributes does it have?
What I did like about Flicker is the same for the rest of the Mini Marvels line:
- Cute packaging
- A decent price tag
- Smooth, body-safe material
- Rechargeable (USB cord included)
- Waterproof
- The controls light up in sync with the current pattern, which helps when trying to pick a preferred pattern (although I’m all about that steady high vibration, myself)
- Comes with a one-year warranty
That being said, the Flicker is going to gather dust in my toybox. The good things about it simply aren’t enough to outweigh the glaring design flaws and weak vibrations it delivers. I’m going to spare myself the numb fingers and use another toy instead, especially since I can score the superior Mini Marvels Bunny for the same price tag, with the same positive features plus a better design and stronger vibrations.
Many thanks to SheVibe for sending me the Flicker in exchange for my honest opinion.
