Surprise! We-Vibe has 3 Amazing Vibrators

November 2013: See the Update at the end of this post!

We-vibe has created newer versions of the Tango and Touch that have improvements upon the originals. The Salsa has been discontinued. Check out my review of the updated (as of March 2014) Touch and Tango.

We-Vibe has done what I didn’t think was truly possible: Created a rechargeable clitoral/external vibrator that is powerful and rumbly – and I truly do covet a good, rumbly vibrator. And they didn’t just make one, they made three. The combination of lower RPMs with a powerful motor leads to vibrations that go way beyond a tickling surface buzz. With the high speed having 4800 RPM (compare this to the We-Vibe couple’s vibrators whose high speeds are 5500 RPM and while they are decent, they lack the power/rumbly I need), the We-Vibe Salsa, Tango and Touch are all rumbly sweet goodness. I’ve talked a lot about why I love and need rumbly vibrations; my clitoris needs stimulation past the surface level, it needs something that’ll rattle the legs that go deep inside me. The Salsa and Tango can provide that; I’ve even been able to orgasm when the charge is dying or the vibration is on setting 2 or 3. That really speaks to the sweet-spot these vibrations hit, and shows that it can go way beyond just “moar power”. Find yourself the right type of vibration and you may not need something as mind-blowing and hand-numbing as the Hitachi Magic Wand.

The We-Vibe Salsa and Tango are probably a lot smaller than you’d expect. I won myself a back-up copy of the Salsa at Dirty Bingo during MomentunCon and I immediately took it out of the box to show off to my table. Everyone who hadn’t seen it was surprised at the small size. These mini vibes are just about exactly the size of my slightly-plump-and-short middle finger. The We Vibe Touch however is more substantial in size but it is still an external-only vibrator.

Salsa and Tango are nearly identical – the only difference is that Salsa’s tip is bullet-pointed and Tango’s tip is lipstick-pointed (slanted tip with a flat surface). Salsa comes in red, black or white and Tango comes in light blue, pink or purple. I don’t quite understand why the Salsa is the only item in the We-Vibe catalog that has deviated so far from their normal color scheme or why the Salsa seems to come in colors usually deemed “masculine” while the Tango is more “feminine” – either way, I don’t care much, but I will admit that I prefer the red/white/black over the very-overused purple/pink/blue. The Salsa and Tango are also hard plastic. This is, for me, their winning feature over the somewhat more ergonomic Touch¹. Touch has the same exact motor but it is surrounded by a lot of silicone. For women who don’t like a lot of power, this would be the better choice because it dampens the vibrations on contact. If you just turn on any of these vibes and touch the tip of your nose you might be a bit afraid – but since these are rechargeable they’re more susceptible to the power decrease that seems typical in most rechargeable vibes. As soon as pressure is applied the vibrations are dampened to various degrees. Pressure doesn’t have to mean how hard you press the vibrator to your skin; it can also mean how you hold it, or how much flesh is surrounding it (women with fleshy outer labia will notice this). The Salsa and Tango do experience some of this decrease but not even half as much as the Touch. I can nestle the Salsa in between my labia while sitting at my desk (it’s then held in place by my body and my underwear) and still feel a lot of powerful, rumbly vibrations. The moment I do this with the Touch I’m disappointed. For the Touch to get me off I have to make sure I hold it as far away from the motor as possible and spread my labia to expose as much of my clitoris as possible. I also can’t apply much pressure (which for me then the whole design of the Touch is pointless because I can’t cup my clitoris with it, that’ll dampen it too much). 

None of the products feature a vibration-lock function; it only requires a normal push of the button to turn things on. It can turn on accidentally during travel so I recommend that you find a pvc/leather small pouch just for the toy itself to help prevent nearby items from pushing up against the button. You could keep the charger base attached to it for travel to help ward off accidental button-pushings. The charger for these is a bit ridiculous, I’ll admit. It attaches magnetically so you do need to be careful that the contacts are lined up and such. The portion of the charger that touches the toy is not permanently attached to the cord that goes to the wall and I don’t understand it. There’s the bulky head of the outlet plug attached to the cord which ends in a jack-style plug and then that plugs into the tiny charging base. What does this mean for people like me? I could potentially lose the charging base if it gets unplugged. This design doesn’t make the charger any more travel-friendly because the outlet plug is still so large and you do need that for recharging on the go. The manual/site lists 2-hour run time; I’ve actually found it to be more like 1 hour or a little more but I do run it on the highest steady vibration setting 90% of the time.

All the vibes have a single push-style button at the base, where the charger attaches. This base glows a faint orange color and will pulse if you have it on a pulse setting. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to turn it on or change settings but yet it isn’t overly sensitive, either. All the vibes also have the same exact vibration settings. For some reason I first assumed that there were only 3 different steady-vibration settings; I kept thinking that the button just wasn’t working well. I’m not sure which two settings are the ones I couldn’t really distinguish from each other but that ended up being the reason.

Fun Fact: We-Vibe Salsa is nearly the same size as the RO-80mm bullet & Tantus’s N1 Bullet

Why does this matter at all? Because the RO-80mm bullet, and ones that look just like it,  is used to power a number of high quality, silicone sex toys. Top dogs on that list include anything made by Rocks Off LTD (Rock Chick, Bad Boy, etc) and any vibrator from Tantus. I’m not a fan of the RO-80mm bullet for numerous reasons; the first is the battery type it takes and the second is the surface-buzzy vibrations that don’t travel well through dense silicone (and are also of the “itchy” variety). I own a few of the Tantus Little Secret vibrators (basically a silicone sleeve over their N1 bullet) and I don’t love them because the vibrations are meh – not exactly un-powerful but they’re not rumbly like I need. Replace the bullet with the Salsa? Newfound love!! I’m really excited to try out the Tantus Panty Play now, simply because of the Salsa. The only downfall of course is that all that silicone tightly surrounding the bullet does tend to take down the intensity of it a bit and it might contribute to the charge draining a little faster. I’m hesitant to say that only the Salsa will work here because it mimics the pointed-tip bullet shape; the Tango has the lipstick-shaped head with the flat, angled look to it but it’s the exact same dimensions as the Salsa so it likely will work unless it’s a really tight squeeze in the particular toy you want to pair it with. Salsa is not a 100% perfect match though to the RO-80mm / N1 bullet: while it is 80mm in length the 80mm on the RO bullet is including the protruding push button; also the Salsa is about 2mm wider in the body. I’ve not run into any problems though swapping out the Salsa for the RO-80mm – just add a tiny dab of lube before sliding it in the toy. RO-80mm & N1 bullets take an LR1 size battery which can cost you anywhere from $1-$3 per battery depending on your area/availability. Given how quickly you’ll run through batteries the cost in getting a Salsa merely to upgrade an RO-80 compatible toy suddenly seems more plausible. As for the Tantus vibrators that take the smaller, single speed bullet that uses LR44 cell batteries? The Salsa will stick out the base more but is still the same width enough that it can be used as a replacement.

Regardless of the few minor downfalls to the Salsa, Tango and Touch I would still recommend them highly. If you want the most powerful vibe possible, then choose the Salsa or Tango. If you prefer the  subtler side of vibrations, choose the Touch. Yes they all carry a high price tag and that will deter some. After all, you can buy a bullet of any type for much less or a cheap pocket rocket for less than $15. I’ve only had one pocket rocket last me more than 6 months (It’s actually one of the first sex toys I bought so that is an amazing feat); these We Vibe products come with a good warranty and will last you a lot longer than the cheap-o jobs. This is the motor that I wish ALL rechargeable vibrators had; too many of them are moderate and most of them are surface-buzzy. If the Lelo Mia had this motor I would be in love with it because of the USB-recharge option. The Salsa/Tango are powerful and/or with more pleasing (rumbly, deep) vibrations than: Lelo Mia, Lily or Nea, Je Joue Mimi (dulls down too much with pressure), JimmyJane Form 2 or Form 3, anything from Bswish, RO-80mm bullet, Layaspot, Extase Liberte, any of the Tantus Little Secret line, and any cell/N-size battery operated bullet.

UPDATE: November 2013:  Over the last year, I should have updated this, but I grew lazy. The Salsa has been discontinued. I know that I said in this review that I highly preferred the Salsa, and I still do for the replacement reason and the colors. But truly, the motors are identical. I get off just as well, and just as easily, with the Tango.  The Salsa/Tango are my go-to vibes now. For the last year I’ve used little else, they continually rock my world. 99% of my sex toy collection is collecting dust, because these little vibes are the only thing I need. My listing the price as a con? NO NO. I take it back. I’d happily pay that price for these vibrations. They’re worth it.  Crappy storage bag? No travel lock? SHUT UP LILLY THIS IS THE BEST VIBRATOR EVER. FULL STOP. GO HOME. Ahem. I’ve yet to find another external vibrator that matches (much less exceeds) the rumbly goodness of the vibrations coming from this little powerhouse. It’s astonishing.

Check out the cleaning guide for Plastic and Silicone Vibrators for more details.