LELO HULA Beads Review

Cara Sutra

27 January, 2014

Price:
£108.95

Brand:
LELO

Shop:
Lovehoney

Materials:
Silicone

Buy (USA)

Buy (UK)

LELO HULA Beads Review

The LELO HULA Beads were sent to me free of charge in exchange for a fair and honest review, and what an interesting experience it was! Read on to find out how it went and what I think of this unusual sex toy…

Related: Read all our LELO vibrator reviews

There had been the usual surge of curiosity and, dare I say it, buzz about the LELO HULA Beads before LELO officially launched them in the pleasure products marketplace. The name, HULA Beads, led me to the (somewhat) mistaken assumption that LELO had designed some luxurious vibrating anal beads. The reality is that the LELO HULA Beads are a dual motor, rotating and vibrating pleasure product, which is primarily meant for vaginal insertion and use.

The LELO HULA Beads come packaged in the usual gift style box; a glossy cardboard outer gives elegant details of the product within, out from which slides the black lidded box subtly embellished with the LELO logo on the top. Open the lid to be presented with the LELO HULA Beads: vibrator and remote control. Yes, it’s one of those SenseMotion controllers again, this is a vibrator from the LELO Insignia range. Get ready to press, tilt and shake your way to orgasm!

My LELO HULA Beads are in the turquoise and pleasantly alternative Ocean Blue, this vibrator is also available in the LELO Deep Rose or Black colours.

When it comes to price, the HULA Beads are another ‘investment in pleasure’ type decision when it comes to purchasing a sex toy that’s right for you. It’s not every day that most people can chuck just shy of £120 at a sex toy, which is why product reviews are important! If you get off on G-spot stimulation alone, or want a luxurious way to experiment as a couple, whether in the privacy of your bedroom or even for discreet public play, the LELO HULA Beads will suit you.

I require clitoral stimulation as well as vaginal/G-spot, although using the LELO HULA Beads for anal stimulation was intensely erotic too. I am not sure if they’re meant for anal masturbation or to be used in the anal area while penis in vagina sex is occurring at the same time, but there is a pull cord which seems securely affixed to the bottom of the HULA Beads and with which you can withdraw the HULA Beads after use. Please be aware, though, that LELO do not officially approve the use of the HULA Beads for internal anal stimulation, this was my own experiment undertaken with all the risks known and considered. You’re meant to use flared base sex toys for anal sex and masturbation as items can be sucked up into the anal cavity, so the flared base prevents things from getting lost.

~takes off sex toy educator hat~

So. The LELO HULA Beads. What’s the low down?

What’s in the LELO HULA Beads Box?

In the box you get the LELO HULA Beads rotating head, vibrating toy, the wireless remote control which has the SenseMotion technology exclusive to the Insignia range from LELO, a LELO instruction booklet, LELO product authenticity and registration card, a sachet of LELO personal moisturiser (lube), a mains charging lead and a black satin drawstring storage pouch. There is also the remote control key to open it up, and 2 AAA batteries which power the remote.

How To Use LELO HULA Beads

Before you get to use the LELO HULA Beads, you need to power up. For the remote control, this means inserting the batteries included. The HULA Beads themselves are rechargeable, by just inserting the jackpin into the end of the HULA Beads and the plug into any UK mains socket.

As with my other rechargeable sex toys I left it charging overnight; they typically take between 6-8 hours to charge. There is a white LED which flashes while the LELO HULA Beads are charging up, as you can see in the picture.

When it comes to using the LELO HULA Beads, you can press the power button and press again to start the rotation and vibration so as to control the HULA Beads by its own button alone, without the controller. The functions as you keep pressing the power button on the HULA Beads scroll you through the following vibrating settings (the rotation remains same speed throughout):

Constant vibration
Pulsation
Faster pulsation
Ascending vibration
Oscillating vibration
Varying vibration pattern

Press and hold the button to turn the HULA Beads off.

To use with the remote control:

Press the power button on the LELO HULA Beads once, then the + button on the controller. This syncs them together. You start with the TILT function. Tilt the controller one way then the other to feel the vibration ascend and decline as you tilt.

Press the () button in the centre to move to the next function: SHAKE. Shake the controller to increase the intensity of the vibrations, once you stop shaking the controller the vibrations die off once again.

Press the () button again to discover the start of the usual vibration settings. From here you control the vibration speed by the + and – buttons on the controller. Press the central () button to scroll through the same vibration functions as with the LELO HULA Beads itself, namely:

Constant vibration
Pulsation
Faster pulsation
Ascending vibration
Oscillating vibration
Varying vibration pattern
If you press () again at the end of these settings you find yourself back at the TILT setting. Press the – button and hold, to turn off both devices.

The remote control mirrors the vibration felt in the HULA Beads, helping a partner to know the stimulation setting she is feeling at any time.

How do they feel?

The top, constant vibration is my favourite, as I prefer clitoral stimulation to take me to orgasm, or anal stimulation along with sex or other sex toys. The pulse settings are good to get warmed up with but they’re quite teasing; I like to get down to business without being teased so much!

Using the beads

I find the LELO HULA Beads discreet and quiet enough to use in the bedroom with others roaming the house, either alone or with my partner. Usually when I am out I’m with family so there hasn’t been much occasion for pervy public play, but in the bedroom we’ve had several sessions which have included the HULA Beads. I’ve used them alone too, during masturbation.

I will be honest with you now and say this is not my favourite LELO sex toy. Although I can orgasm using them, I usually need other stimulation at the same time. I’m just not a ‘getting off by having my G-spot alone stroked’ kinda gal.

Inserting only the rotating tip into my vagina doesn’t really do much for me; it feels novel, certainly. Rotation seems to be en vogue with sex toy manufacturers right now. Pushing the entire length of the HULA Beads into the vagina, so only the loop protrudes, was much better, I found. The rotating tip can then be felt brushing against the G-spot with each revolution, and the vibrations from the rest of the shaft area are felt in the surrounds.

If I do use the rotating area merely by my vaginal entrance, without inserting any of it, the HULA Beads vibrating motor can be used to stimulate clitorally. This isn’t ideal by any means; the rotation against the labia feels odd and wrong, but the vibration against the clit feels good. I can’t quite reach orgasm this way though, not sure if it’s the rotation on the labia putting me off or that the motor in the shaft just doesn’t have as great an output through the HULA Beads outer body as some of the other LELO sex toys.

Using the LELO HULA Beads in combination with other sex toys, during masturbation, is the best for me. My top preference is using the HULA Beads by setting it to the constant vibration and inserting in the vagina, then using a vibrating bullet or suchlike to stimulate clitorally, or using the HULA Beads anally along with a clitoral stimulator.

When using the HULA Beads with a partner, there’s even more room to get adventurous. He can feel the rotation of the tip of the HULA Beads when it’s in my anal area, against his penis in my vagina. He finds it hot, but then he’s perverted like that. Thankfully. Holding the HULA Beads by the rotating tip and using the vibrating shaft area against my clit during penis in vagina sex with him also worked – where this didn’t work during masturbation – I think due to his additional stimulation in the vagina while my clitoris was being vibrated against.

Although he enjoys using the remote control with me and the HULA Beads, I would rather use the HULA Beads power button alone. Due to budget (probably) I can see why LELO didn’t do another Ida/Tara split and have a HULA Beads version without a remote. I mean, you can use it free from the remote in any case – which is what I do.

Summary

Unfortunately, although I CAN get off to the LELO HULA Beads and the rotation (along with other stimulation whether sex toys or partner) is very erotic, particularly on the G-spot, I find myself always choosing another sex toy to use for masturbation or during sex. I head to my ‘guaranteed good time’ pile. The LELO HULA Beads just falls short of a place in that pile – not, I think, due to any particularly negative features on LELO’s part, but because I just don’t orgasm with G-spot stimulation by itself.

The LELO HULA Beads are 100% waterproof and as such you can enjoy them in the bath or shower as well as in the bedroom, as well as enjoy worry-free cleaning (use anti-bacterial sex toy cleaner!) after use. They’re made with body-safe silicone (according to the box and it feels it too) and both elements feel velvety soft and luxurious. Buttons are easy to press and charging or powering up is easy.

You get the usual LELO warranty and guarantee with the LELO HULA Beads, which you can find out more about on my LELO vibrator reviews page.

As a gift for a ‘Gyrate My G-spot’ gal the LELO HULA Beads will most probably hit the spot divinely. She could treat herself or a partner could buy them for her, to be enjoyed together or for her alone. Yes they’re costly – but you’re paying for the LELO name.