Toy Review – The Duo 2 by Womanizer
It’s been almost 4 years since I first tried the original Duo from Womanizer. I was rather pleasantly surprised then, and I maintain that stance to this day. It’s difficult for a lot of people to find a dual-stimulator that actually fits their body (I’ve certainly had my fair share of duds) so that I managed to find one, even with all my vulval weirdness, feels like nothing short of a miracle. That the toy itself is actually really good as well is like having your cake and eating it too and there still being more cake for later – an absolute joy.
Not a whole lot has changed between the first and second incarnation (and you know what? I’m glad!) but there’s still a few things to bring you up to speed on.
To re-hash the original, the Duo is an internal vibrator plus external air-pulse stimulator combo. The internal vibrating arm on both models has 10 patterns (a few of which I think are okay, sometimes. I generally don’t care for external vibrating patterns but on occasion I like to aggravate my insides with them.) The Duo 2 has been upgraded to 14 steady intensity levels from the Duo’s original 12. With such a wide range I don’t know that this is particularly noticeable, but I appreciate it nonetheless – when other toys offer only 3 or 4, and I have to spend my whole session on 4 and wishing it went higher, I love the little surprise the Duo and Duo 2 offer by actually turning up another level when I hit the increase button. The Duo’s motor was always strong enough for me and I feel the same about the Duo 2, so I rarely even wind up all the way at their highest vibration levels before I’ve had my first orgasm.
The air-pulse function of the Duo 2 seems to also remain relatively unchanged from the original – which is a very big plus for me. I’ve mentioned in pretty much all of my air-pulse toy reviews since maybe the second or third, that I really struggle to find consistency across these types of toys, even within a singular brand. I’ve reviewed 8 different Womanizer products now, and the only 2 that I’ve really liked are the Pro40 and the Duo(s) – the rest felt not great and absolutely fucking terrible. For reasons I do not understand and cannot explain, one brand using presumably the same technology – just with different bells and whistles – across multiple products does not create a consistent sensation, so there’s never any telling whether or not I will like a new product based on whether I liked an old one. I also struggle to recommend all of these types of toys because there really is no “get the cheap one and if you like it, upgrade later” to be had here – I hate the most expensive model I’ve tried and I hate the cheapest. If I had started off with either of those as a regular consumer and thought they’d all feel the same (and the price difference was entirely about how many features I wanted) I’d probably swear off all air-pulse toys entirely. Not everyone can or does notice a sensation difference, but for me they are front and center. I was a little terrified that when Womanizer cracked open the mechanics of the Duo to make their upgrades, they’d somehow mess up the way it felt and I would wind up hating this one too, and I’m extremely relieved that did not happen.
I will note that the Duo 2 has a…smoothness… that my original Duo is lacking, but since my original is 4 years old and seen quite a bit of use, I cannot say for sure if the little bit of rattle the old one seems to have is actually how it came out of the box back then and the Duo 2 has been upgraded, or if I’m just noticing some typical wear-n-tear when able to compare it to something brand new. The old Duo’s pulsing noise is a bit louder and defined in each beat, and I feel a little more revving in the steady vibration pattern (without it feeling like an actual pulse pattern). Without the brand new Duo 2 to compare it to, these aren’t things I would have ever noticed or considered problems with the original, and again my Duo 2 may wind up taking on these same characteristics once its had the same amount of use.
The main difference between the two models is the inclusion of Womanizer’s Afterglow feature in the Duo 2. When the power button on the back of the toy is pressed shortly, whatever intensity you were originally playing at will knock back to level 3. The ability to turn the toy down post-orgasm without having to counter-intuitively turn it up or abruptly off is something that I beg manufacturers for when they fail to incorporate enough of the proper buttons to achieve this. The Duos however have all the requisite buttons for performing this task – having been equipped with increase and decrease buttons for both the vibration and air-pulse functions – so this feature feels more like gimmick than necessity in this model. Afterglow is also just not performing the way I really want it to, which would be a steady decrease, not an instantaneous and severe cut off. Maybe if activating the Afterglow function made it gradually lower down to the level 3’s that would be okay, but the way it operates now feels like ripping the carpet out from under my genitals.
The other feature that both exhibit and I immediately turned off is the Smart Silence function. I didn’t write about it in my first review and I’m not sure if maybe the feature wasn’t turned on by-default back then or if it just slipped my mind. It’s supposed to make using the Duos a more easily discreet experience – when the toy is not detecting skin contact it stops functioning, when skin detection is returned, it goes back to where it was. A quick tilt of the wrist is all it takes to silence the toy, with no panicked button fumbling, and you don’t have to fumble the buttons again trying to turn it back on when the coast is clear. Sounds great! This may indeed be very handy for a number of folks who struggle to get the sustained and guaranteed privacy they need, but for me it just makes my user experience more difficult. The Smart Silence detector is connected somehow to the nozzle of the air-pulse section, which means that if Smart Silence is enabled I can’t turn the vibration in the internal arm on until it’s all the way inserted. Penetration isn’t super difficult for me, but without some warm up it can be a little pinchy. If I were using two separate toys then I’d be warming up by playing with my clit toy, but the Duo doesn’t make for a great single–use-stimulator – turning it upside down so I can use the air-pulse section without the internal arm being in the way changes the shape and sensation of the nozzle which means I can’t pin-point the right spot on my clit. I don’t want to have to use a whole different toy for my warm up, so I have to keep the Smart Silence feature disengaged so that I can use the vibrator before the toy is situated fully inside me. That the feature can be turned off means this is by far not any kind of deal-breaker for me, it was a minor annoyance the first time I went to use it and realized the feature was turned on and I didn’t remember how to disengage it, so I had to stop and pull out the manual, but that’s it. I do always wonder how much of the price tag is carried in these features I would so happily go without, but I can recognize where they’re beneficial to others so I can’t come down too hard on them as “gimmicks” like I do in other cases when something is clearly not a feature anyone would have ever asked for.
Overall I am still deeply in love with my Duos, I consider myself blessed to have found at least one dual-stimulator that truly knocks my socks off. The air-pulse section does feel different to me than my darling Pro40, but it’s close enough that I still greatly enjoy it. I think a big contributor to the Duo fitting my body is the longer cone-shaped nozzle – it provides a greater range for which to make contact in both points. I wrote in my original review that the internal arm hits my G-Spot “just right” and while I absolutely stand by the sensation being “just right”, I think I may have originally been a little off on the location (let’s just say I was overwhelmed in orgasms.) The flat-ish top surface of the internal arm is actually hitting a little further back than my G-Spot, but I’ve taken to enjoying stimulation in that space between the G-Spot and above the cervix. It’s a sensation in me that I can only best describe as similar to having your funny bone hit – it almost tickles, but not the way the rest of your body tickles. It’s aggravating, but in a good way. It elicits a sensation almost like needing to pee, but not quite. My body’s primal response is to try to lean into that sensation even harder, like scratching an itch really well. The wide range of rumbly vibrations keep me interested no matter how long I take. The Duo’s internal arm has enough flexibility that I can position the air-suction section properly, but maintains enough rigidity that I can get the pressure I need into that upper wall to push me over the edge. I’ve even been able to roll over and go hands-free with the Duo wedged underneath me – if I get it positioned right I can tilt and grind my hips into it for an incredible orgasm. It’s a bit bulky though and does dig into my pelvic bone so I’m not necessarily recommending this as the best lay-on toy option, I only use it that way every once in a while. I’m thrilled that the Duo 2 gets to take up residence in my go-to toy box.
Big thanks to Womanizer for sending me the Duo 2 to review! You can get yours by Clicking Here!
The Womanizer Duo 2 – Tl;dr
