If you’re into, or just really curious about back door play, then the fine folks at b-Vibe have something you should definitely take a look at.
The Verdict:
(out of five)
This set of vibrating anal beads is an intensely pleasurable - and pleasantly versatile - toy!
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But before I dig into my review of their Cinco Anal Beads, it’s probably worth a teeny-tiny detour to cover some basics about anal play before we get into why this toy is so great for it.
Don’t worry, this definitely won’t be an in-depth thing; not that anal sex info isn’t important - it most definitely is - but there is tons of great information out there already - especially here at Kinkly.
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But, because it is so important it’s always worth at least a brief refresher. The first thing to remember about anal is that it’s way different than vaginal play. For one thing, biologically speaking, vaginas are designed for insertion. Butts? Not so much. This means that while you should, of course, be gentle and consensual about putting something in a vagina, you must be MUCH more patient about putting anything in an anus.
That means forcing anything into the anus - even high-quality and well-designed toys like this one - is a major no-no. The other key part to anal play is lube, lube, lube and lots of it. Think you have enough? Nope, you probably don’t. And it’s not just about copious amounts but the right kind of lube.
Back to vagina versus anus: for the former, water or silicone-based lubes are best, as anything oil-based raises the risk of messing with the vagina's natural bacteria levels, leading to imbalance and even infection.
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The anus, though, is designed to absorb moisture, making a water-based lube is a bad idea. Here, oil or silicone lube is best. Some people even use plain, old coconut oil and report great results with that. Note that silicone-based lubes can degrade silicone sex toys, so keep that in mind when making your selection.
OK, so: Don’t force anything into an anus, take your damned time, and use the right lube. Oh, and never stop learning: anal sex can be a lot of fun but not when you do it out of ignorance.
OK, so: Don’t force anything into an anus, take your damned time, and use the right lube. Oh, and never stop learning: anal sex can be a lot of fun but not when you do it out of ignorance.
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Finally, there are the toys. When it comes to anal play, using a toy specifically designed for that is the only way to go. Believe me, you don’t want to use something that’s not built for butt play and have to explain to an ER doctor how it got up there. Anal toys always have a wide or flared base - there's reason for that!
Luckily, there are all kinds of great anal toys out there. I recently got to try out the Cinco Vibrating Anal Beads by b-Vibe and have concluded they are among the best.
Looking to test out anal play? Check out our recent New Toy to Know, the b-Vibe Anal Training Education Set.
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Retailing $160, the Cinco is, at first glance, a tad intimidating. After all, it’s slightly over eight inches long, with nearly seven inches of what the sex toy industry calls "insertable length." In other words, that's the part that's designed to go up there.
By the way, if that is intimidating for you, b-Vibe also makes similarly impressive anal toys that aren’t as long, such as the Triplet ($140) as well as a number of anal plugs in various sizes.
But back to the Cinco. The first thing you notice about it is its high quality. It's totally covered with easily-cleanable and durable silicone and the whole thing is so sleek and beautiful, it has that erotically thrilling (or is this just me?) kick you might get unboxing something from Apple.
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The Cinco has that erotically thrilling kick you might get unboxing something from Apple ...
Sporting three high intensity motors, five (hence the name) beads and a comfortable flange - where the charging point and manual controls are - the Cinco … well, it kicks ass. Included with the toy is a neat little wireless control and a USB charging cable (plus a manual). Sorry, it doesn’t come with an actual USB-compatible plug but, seriously, who doesn’t have at least three of those things laying around? To get the b-Vibe Cinco up and running you first have to charge it for a couple of hours. The charging isn’t induction but instead uses a pair of metal contacts that stick to the cable with a moderately strong magnet. Getting them to click together just right is a tad tricky but the Cinco’s power indicator pulses when you’ve done it correctly. Next, you have the choice to either use the toy with its built-in controls at the base or via the remote. A lot of toys these days are remote controlled, but it's an especially nice option for an anal toy. Either way, the Cinco offers an impressive range of options: 15 patterns with six different intensities, equaling more than enough rumbling vibrations to get the erotic job done. 15 patterns with six different intensities, equaling more than enough rumbling vibrations to get the erotic job done. I was immediately struck by how comfortable the Cinco is. Having had some - but not a great deal of - experience with anal play, the toy's 8 inches was at first a tad intimidating but getting it in there was a remarkably smooth process. Once in, using the remote control made it easy to have a fun time with the toy. A piece of advice, however, is to first familiarize yourself with its controls and capabilities, as trying to figure it all out “on the fly” as you’re using it might cause a bit of frustration. At the risk of repeating myself, a big part of the take-away from the Cinco was its comfort. Never once did it feel too much, and while it wasn’t something I tried, it’s conceivable that you could putter around the house while wearing it, which is a tremendous compliment to B-vibe’s designers and engineers. An added plus is that the Cinco is waterproof, meaning that you can take it in the bath or shower too. The vibrations and their patterns were never too intense. Plus, with the remote, you can instantaneously jump from one kind of vibration and intensity to another, which I found to be an exceptionally pleasant erotic kick. One tiny thing that, while far from a playtime deal breaker, did kick me out of the experience a couple of times was accidentally hitting the power-off button, either on the toy itself or with the remote. This isn’t a flaw in the toy, though, but rather my own initial lack of experience. With the remote, you can instantaneously jump from one kind of vibration and intensity to another, which I found to be an exceptionally pleasant erotic kick. Another measure of the Cinco’s quality is the ease of cleanup. A bit of dish soap and water and the toy looks just like it did coming out of the box. Even the remote, which got a little oily from the lube, was just as easy to clean. While it might appear a bit intimidating for the anally inexperienced, I'd highly recommend the b-Vibe Cinco Anal Beads for both those with some anal play under their belts, as well as for folks who are old hands at its pleasures. Extremely high quality materials, powerful but not too-powerful motors, good controls offering a great array of patterns and vibrational intensities, a superb and best of all comfortable design, plus being easy to clean, makes the Cinco easy to recommend and well worth the cost. In short, this is a toy that could easily become a welcome and exciting addition to your playtime activities - it will definitely be part of mine!
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M. Christian
M.Christian is an author who has been published in science fiction, fantasy, horror, thrillers, and even nonfiction, but it is in erotica that M.Christian has become an acknowledged master, with stories in such anthologies as Best American Erotica, Best Gay Erotica, Best Lesbian Erotica, Best Bisexual Erotica, Best Fetish Erotica, and in fact too many anthologies, magazines, and sites to name. M.Christian's short fiction has been collected in many bestselling books in a wide variety of genres, including the Lambda Award finalist Dirty Words and other queer collections like Filthy Boys and BodyWork. They also have published collections of non-fiction (Welcome to Weirdsville, Pornotopia, and How to Write and Sell Erotica); science fiction, fantasy, and horror (Love Without Gun Control); and erotic science fiction including Rude Mechanicals, Technorotica, Better Than the Real Thing, the acclaimed The Bachelor Machine, and its follow-up, Skin Effect. As a novelist, M.Christian has shown their monumental versatility with books such as the queer vamp novels Running Dry and The Very Bloody Marys; the erotic romance Brushes; the science fiction erotic novel Painted Doll; and the rather controversial gay horror/thrillers Finger's Breadth and Me2. In addition to writing, M.Christian is a respected sex and BDSM educator, having taught classes on everything from polyamory to tit torture for venues such as the SF Citadel, Good Vibrations, COPE (in Columbus, Ohio), Beat Me In St. Louis, Winter Fire, Floating World, Sin In The City (Las Vegas), Dark Odyssey, and many others.
