Sex Toy Review: Dame Arc

The Product: Dame Arc

The Verdict: (out of five)

Welcome to the latest addition to the Dame product line: the Dame Arc! An insertable vibrator, this rechargeable sex toy features a noticeably deep curve that's perfect for hitting that g-spot. Equipped with five vibration intensities and five different patterns, this waterproof vibrator takes it even further with a travel lock and a three-year warranty.

The Dame Arc is actually Dame's first dip into insertable toys. Dame has previously put out the Dame Pillo (a lovely positioning aid), the Dame Eva (a hands-free intercourse vibrator), as well as the Kip, Fin, and Pom which are all clitoral vibrators.

Compared to other g-spot toys, the Dame Arc is on the lower-end of the price scale. It's joined at that price point by similar-looking g-spot vibrators including the asymmetrical We-Vibe Rave, the bullet-vibrator-powered We-Vibe Pleasure Mate Collection, the Kama Sutra Dandiya, and the LELO Gigi 2.

How Did You Use It?

The Dame Arc is designed for g-spot pleasure, and that's exactly where this toy was going to end up. My favorite g-spot toy has a similar curvature to the Dame Arc, and as someone with a deeper g-spot that requires more extreme curves from my vibrators, the Dame Arc seemed like a great fit.

And that it was. Its extreme curve easily slipped into the body, and it pretty much slipped into the g-spot like it was zoned into it. The "hooked" design snuggled this g-spot vibrator into the exact spot pretty much instantly, and it stayed there perfectly. The physical design of the Dame Arc is amazing; it exceeded all of my expectations.

Button placement is always a common complaint with almost all vibrators. After all, who wants to stop their pleasure to try to "hunt down" the button to press to get more sensation? Even worse, there are even some toy designs where the buttons disappear into the vagina/butt when inserted.

The Dame Arc was clearly cognizant of this issue and placed the buttons right at the base of the g-spot vibrator - exactly where my thumb falls.

While this is insanely convenient, it's also insanely frustrating. As the Dame Arc's design clearly lends itself well to a rocking movement up against the g-spot, this means I need to apply downward pressure to handle of the vibrator while it's inside me.

I, personally, do this through a combination of pressure. Some supporting pressure from the base of the vibrator and some downward pressure with my thumb on the top of the vibrator. My thumb, while necessary to get the rocking motion I need, now happens to hit EXACTLY on top of the power/pattern button.

That button, (the one the button that controls the patterns) which was designed for easy-pressing for easy control of the Dame Arc, becomes a button that gets hit constantly while just trying to enjoy the vibrator. The increase and decrease intensity buttons happily happen to steer clear of my dangerous thumb-pressing ways.

On the bright side, unless you press-and-hold the pattern button, the Dame Arc doesn't turn itself off. So while you'll be dealing with a constant merry-go-round of different vibration patterns, it will never turn itself off. So that's a plus. It's almost like having a vibrator that wants to keep the experience "fresh" for you.

After that experience, I handed the Dame Arc off to my partner to use on me. (Hey, a girl's allowed to be lazy sometimes). From this different angle, the button issue was even more prominent.

Since my partner was between my legs (instead of the angle my own arms achieve), in order to make the vibrator rock upwards against the g-spot, he had to apply downward pressure to the top of the vibrator's handle - which is exactly where that pesky button is located. I was hoping it was just a solo-use problem, but my partner had the exact same issue - and even more constantly.

On the bright side, that built-in g-spot-honing design of the Dame Arc worked perfectly for someone else as well, and the tip of this vibrator ended up in the perfect g-spot area without any communication from me.

My body really doesn't require vibrations for g-spot pleasure, so the fact that the Dame Arc is equipped with vibrations is just icing on the cake. Most of the time, a toy that looks like the 8" Glass Ribbed G-Spot is my g-spot toy of choice.

So while this button issue is surprising (mostly because I'm astounded no one caught that in testing; maybe it's my thumb length? Maybe my g-spot is deeper than others' which means that I'm holding a part of the handle that was never intended to be held?), it isn't a deal-breaker for me. I actually like to pretend it's a high-end function of the Dame Arc.

After all, a lot of vibrator companies are working on pseudo-AI designs that will allow the AI mode to randomly switch up the patterns and vibrations for you for an experience that keeps you guessing. It sorta feels like the Dame Arc already has that built-in because of the button issue.

How Else Could It Be Used?

I think you might have an entirely different experience if you aren't a plus-sized individual with a deep g-spot. It's much more likely that the vibrator wouldn't need to slip as deeply into you—which would make it much more natural to hold the vibrator up the shaft and away from the buttons that are causing me issues.

Aside from its g-spot use, the tip of the Dame Arc vibrator is targeted enough to function as a clitoral vibrator as well. Due to the vibrator's lack of a flared base, it should never be used anally.

Alternatively, if you use the vibrator's equipped travel lock to prevent the vibrations from turning on at all, you can easily use the Dame Arc as a non-vibrating g-spot dildo as well. The size and design is more-than-amazing for g-spot pleasure—regardless of the vibrations. As Amy from Coffee & Kink said,

"The shape of this toy is fantastic! It curves in exactly the right way to get that delicious come-hither motion against my G-spot, and the bulbed head is firm but not too hard."

Product Details

Before we delve into the nitty-gritty, let's talk about vibrations. The vibrations on the Dame Arc aren't particularly powerful. For a lot of people, this will be a-okay. For most, the g-spot responds better to pressure and constant movement than vibrations. For others, who love powerful vibrations on their g-spot, this might be a let-down.

The Dame Arc's vibrations are not strong enough for a clitoral orgasm - even on the strongest setting. I could easily grind against it and achieve orgasm that way (loving that rigid design!), but if you're someone who requires above-average vibrations, the Dame Arc isn't providing. That said, not everyone is trying to pack a Magic Wand into a g-spot vibrator, and if you find most vibrators to be aggravatingly too strong for your sensitive self, the Dame Arc could be your new-found friend.

The bright side to the softer vibrations is the softer sound. The Dame Arc is particularly quiet, and once it's in the body, you only get a gentle humming sound from it. It's not loud, it doesn't drag you out of your headspace, and it's actually a bit like a sensual white noise.

You get more noise from the Dame Arc if you use it clitorally, but if you're using it on the g-spot, it's even harder to hear in the same room.

The Dame Arc is covered in a luxurious silicone. Until you've felt a silicone material like this, it's hard to entirely describe it. It's silky-smooth, and your fingers will glide over its surface.

When new partners encounter some of my silicone toys like this, there is definitely a couple of minutes spent "petting" the toy before it ever gets used. It's a lovely-feeling material, and I absolutely love its choice for the Dame Arc.

The silicone layer seems to cover an interior body made of plastic. This internal plastic works great for me. It makes the Dame Arc a very rigid vibrator - which is perfect for the constant pressure needed for g-spot sensation.

It also means that the 1.4" diameter of this g-spot vibe feels exactly like a 1.4" diameter. This felt like a very comfortable size (as someone who hates vaginal stretching), and it felt on-par with what I'd expect from a biological penis.

The head is the widest part, so if it's feeling a bit tight during insertion, have a bit of patience to allow your body to slowly adjust to the thickest point (the head).

For the hard-and-fast facts, the Dame Arc is 7.5" in length with a width of 1.4".

How It Works

The Dame Arc has three buttons near the base of the handle. These buttons are perfectly assigned to their tasks, and it makes it easy to control the vibrator. Each button presses down with a satisfying "click", though in the case of the button placement, this easy-press situation can actually be a bit of a frustrating aspect (see above).

The button closest to the base of the vibrator is the power and pattern button. Hold the button down to turn on the vibrator - or to turn it back off. While the Dame Arc is on, a single press of this button will cycle through each of the five different patterns.

Using the two buttons above the power button allows you to increase or decrease the vibration intensity. You can switch up the intensity of the base, steady vibration settings, but the Dame Arc also allows you to control the intensity of each one of the patterned settings as well.

Materials and Care

As a high-quality toy made from a high-end company, the Dame Arc is made from silicone. It feels like a layer of silicone over-top of a plastic interior and I have no complaints about that! The plastic transfers vibrations better, so you get the best of both worlds: a silicone toy while also having the strongest vibrations possible. As you can imagine, this means that the Dame Arc is made from a pretty rigid, non-plushy but still silky silicone.

I highly recommend using a lubricant with any insertable silicone toy. I, personally, find that going without lube causes some uncomfortable drag - and why bother with that when the solution is so simple? When using lube, you'll want to use water-based lubricant. Other lubricant bases may harm the material of your Dame Arc.

Being made from medical-grade silicone with a waterproof design has its perks. Mainly, the Dame Arc is fantastically easy to clean - even if this is the first sex toy you've ever bought. Warm water and mild soap will clean up the Dame Arc easily, and since it doesn't have any crevices or tough-to-reach spots, you pretty much just shove this g-spot toy under running water, add some mild soap, scrub-a-dub-dub, and you're good to go! It's very simple to clean.

When you're done cleaning the toy, make sure to towel it entirely dry before you place this vibrating g-spot toy onto the charger. Simple to charge, the Dame Arc has two magnetic contact points on the backside of the toy. The magnetic charger will only charge one-way (thankfully!), so it's impossible to put the charger on wrong. The charger snaps on really easily, and while it isn't powerful enough to hold up the Dame Arc's weight all on its own, it's strong enough to keep the toy from rolling or moving around and easily losing its connection.

Have any issues? Kinkly Shop will take care of you within 30 days of product receipt (to help handle those products that are defective off-the-lot), and past that, the Dame Arc has a 3-year warranty that protects you from any defects in materials or workmanship that starts from the date of purchase. (Keep your receipt!) Three years is an impressive manufacturer's warranty!

The Packaging

The Dame Arc comes in a very sturdy cardboard box - which, of course, is packaged very discreetly from Kinkly Shop. There's never any mention of kink or anything else on the outer box. (And I actually had mistaken my Kinkly Shop package for a box of macaroni I'd been expecting).

The Dame Arc packaging itself is thorough and functional. Inside a thin, cardboard slipcover sleeve, there's a much-sturdier, barely-marked, sturdy cardboard box. The lid of this cardboard box lifts off to display the Dame Arc in a plastic display tray. Underneath this tray (and the vibrator), you'll find everything else that comes with the Dame Arc.

And what else comes with this silicone vibrator? That would be:

• The magnetic charging cable.
• A brown drawstring bag.
• A simplistic fold-out instruction manual.
• A sticker of Dame's logo (which is an "O-face" smiley).

The Verdict: 4/5

I absolutely love the Dame Arc design itself, but the button placement drives me a bit nuts sometimes. If you're using the Dame Arc for added pleasure and don't require this silicone vibrator to stay at a constant vibration speed, you'll probably love the Dame Arc.

The vibrations are very targeted, the rigid design hits the g-spot perfectly, and the entire toy feels luxurious. As long as you aren't invested in having the exact-same sensation and the exact-same vibrations at all times in order to climb to orgasm, the button issue will be a minor frustration.

Other Options

Want stronger vibrations at the same price point? Welcome to the We-Vibe Rave. It's a well-loved vibe that has vibrations that are strong enough to double as a clitoral vibe. It doesn't have a curve as extreme as the Dame Arc, but if vibrations are important, the We-Vibe is a great choice. (It's worth noting that the We-Vibe Rave IS noticeably thicker, though. Make sure to compare the diameters.)

If you're willing to forego vibrations, the 8" Glass Ribbed G-Spot or LELO Ella has a very-similar design at a lower price point. Both are extremely rigid for g-spot sensation. If you're attached to the silicone, I'd definitely lean towards the LELO Ella, but I love how easily and smooth the 8" Glass Ribbed G-Spot slides in (pretty much no lube required; at least for me).

Want to upgrade to the full experience? Consider the LELO Mona Wave. Instead of doing all of that rocking and thrusting yourself, lay back and let this self-stroking vibrator do it for you. The shaft of the Mona Wave provides the "come hither" motion all on its own. All you have to do is lay back and enjoy the g-spot sensations.

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