I Tried Womanizer’s New Clitoral Vibe, & It’s A (Quiet) Clitoral Treat

Remember that viral photoshoot of Kim Kardashian in prairie-core clothing? That’s me when I orgasm with a lay-on clitoral vibrator, in the best way possible: back to basics, and feeling my pastoral oats. 

There’s something so soothing about a toy that’s designed to get you off while you recline on your back or hump the bed. So, when Womanizer announced that it would be dropping a near-noiseless clitoral lay-on vibrator — dubbed simply “Vibe” — this fall, I was all ears. After all, isn’t it sad when loud motors happen to good vibrators and really deflate a horny mood (to say nothing about keeping your roommates up at night)? Vibe promised to change all of that with a whisper-quiet, “linear” motor that provides a new “UltraWave Vibration” technology for deep, toe-curling clitoral orgasms. 

Vibe marks Womanizer’s first foray into lay-on vibrators, a genre of sex toy designed for external, direct-contact clitoral stimulation. If you’re new to clitoral toys, lay-on vibrators can be a great starting point: They’re usually shaped like a bean or a saddle, don’t require lube the way some penetrative vibes might, and clean up easily with mild, unscented soap (my favorite is from this Japanese brand) and water. They’re also hella versatile — rub them on your clit, your partner’s gooch, your partner’s nipples. The possibilities are endless, just so long as you don’t slide it up anyone’s anus (not a flared base toy, mate). 

Womanizer’s Vibe fits in the palm of my hand. The silicone material is both silken tofu-levels of soft and body-safe. Sex educator Gwen Walsh explained to me that the sex toy industry is largely unregulated, which means that you, the horny consumer, have to go the extra mile in making sure your toy isn’t made with potentially harmful materials — that’s why she suggests looking for toys made with materials such as medical-grade silicone, stainless steel, and borosilicate glass. 

“These materials are non-porous, which means they can be sanitized and won’t hold onto bacteria once cleaned,” she says. “I look for brands that have built a trustworthy reputation among sex educators over the years. Any manufacturer on Amazon can claim that their toys are made of ‘medical grade silicone,’ even if that ‘s untrue. Brands like Womanizer have built rapport among sex educators, including myself, by creating toys with high-quality, body-safe materials.” 

Perhaps most interestingly, though, I noticed that the tip of Vibe has a clever little curved point designed to hug your clitoris with all-encompassing vibrations. Most clitoral lay-on vibrators make me feel like I’m humping a vibrating surface or postmodern object, which is cool, but Vibe made me feel like I was fitting into a horny, clitoral puzzle piece catered specifically to my clit. 

So… How do you use a lay-on vibe?  You can lay on your back and gently apply pressure to your clitoris. You can also start off by humping it. (After all, many folks’ first unofficial sex toy was the corner of a firm throw pillow or the edge of a couch, myself included.) And while vaginally penetrative toys can be rad, there’s just something about humping and grinding for horny AFABs (assigned female at birth) that feels so effortlessly gratifying. 

As Marla Renee Stewart, a sexologist and sexual strategist behind Velvet Lips Sex Ed and the Sex Down South Conference explains, lay-on vibes can also be great for foreplay and partnered sex. “your lover can place it between their legs as you hump away so that you don't have genital-to-genital contact,” she says. “For folks with back-facing vulvas, the best grinding toys are going to have to be strategically placed so that they can straddle the vibrator with ease. This either means uplifting it on a pillow or placing it on the arm of a sofa or something like that. People may be interested in these toys particularly if they’re practicing how to ride and find a good rhythm for their hip movements.” 

I started off by laying on my back, and the curved tip gently cupped my clitoris and stimulated it with deep, rumbling vibrations. This is thanks to Vibe’s use of something called UltraWave technology, which makes use of the linear motor to evenly distribute rumbly vibrations all over the surface area of the toy. Usually, I have to lay on my stomach and apply more pressure to orgasm with a lay-on toy, but Vibe started edging me towards the big O while I was on my back as I amped up the vibration speeds. 

There are a whopping 10 vibration speeds on this sucker, and three autopilot modes. I struggled a little bit to figure out how to turn the toy off (just press the “minus” button), but not before I amped up the vibration level to its max speed. Out of force of habit, I reached to cover myself up with a blanket to muffle the sound, when I realized there was… nothing to muffle? Granted, the vibrator isn’t completely silent — but it’s pretty damn close.  What noises it does make sound more like a low-pitched rumble than a shrill motor. (Just the other week, I had to ask my partner to pause during sex because my anal vibrator’s motor just sounded too loud. “I’m sorry, can we pause for a sec?” I asked them. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it was annoying.) 

Vibe’s discreet, rumbly motor helps transform the toy into an item that feels like a natural extension of my hand. “A complaint I hear often from my clients is that they have a hard time ‘getting out of their head’ and into their bodies,” says sex educator, consultant, and coach Portia Brown. Even more so than a bunch of vibration settings and frills, the right toy should help you feel more equipped and comfortable with yourself, she continues: “Something that a vibrator does is give us enough stimulation to focus on pleasure.” It becomes less of a tool, and more of a sidekick. 

Vibe may not have wand-levels of vibration power, but that’s not why I was intrigued by this toy in the first place. I was looking for something discreet, silent, and incredibly humpable. Besides, its rumbly motor still packs a powerful, near-silent punch that left me both impressed and surprised. Typically, my clitoral orgasms feel like horny little lightning bolts, but Vibe’s ability to build up my orgasm with rumbly vibrations made it feel deeper than ever. 

Whether you’re a first-time sex toy shopper or looking to add a new lay-on toy into your rotation, Womanizer’s Vibe is hands-down, ass-up, poised to become one of the internet’s next big marquee clitoral toys.