Sex Toy Review: Trojan Tri-Phoria

To most sex toy industry watchers I think it was always clear that one day large multi-national corporations would get into the sex toy business. The question wasn't "will they?" but "when will they?"

And I used to think that one of the benefits of having large corporations get into the sex toy business is that their own self-interest (in terms of legal liability and keeping customers happy) would translate into safer sex toys and at least the veil of more responsive customer service. Keep in mind that back in the day many toys weren't safe to use right out of the box. And trying to get a manufacturer to talk to you was next to impossible, even if you were a retailer. If you were a customer, forget about it. So while I tend to favor small over large companies, I imagined that Toshiba would probably think more about customer satisfaction and making products that wouldn't actually hurt people than any of the dozen or so factories in China that turn out sex toys to be packaged and sold elsewhere.

That day has come. It started with SSL International (the parent company of Durex), followed by Phillips, and now Church & Dwight (Trojan's parent corporation) is the third major corporation to invest heavily in manufacturing and marketing sex toys. But a funny thing happened in the twenty years since we began dreaming of the mainstreaming of sex toys. What happened is that companies like Vibratex grew, and companies like Vixen, Fun Factory, LELO, Jimmyjane, and others opened up shop, making sex toys that are practical, thoughtful, and fun, and running companies that - to greater and lesser degrees - respond to customers complaints and requests.

Which makes the introduction of the Tri-Phoria, Trojan's first serious attempt at a vibrator less of a cause for celebration or relief, and more of an opportunity to compare how a huge company does sex. When the equal-opportunity capitalists at Babeland sent me a Tri-Phoria (buy direct, $47) I was pleasantly surprised. Although I'm not sure the thing that was missing in the market is even missing anymore. Read on and you can always let your fingers do the shopping and then judge for yourself.

Read the Full Review: Trojan Tri-Phoria Intimate Massager

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