Review: Le Wand Die Cast Vibrating Massager

Wand vibrators are a sex toy staple, a classic addition to anyone’s bedside table. They have a storied history, and since the original Hitachi Magic Wand hit store shelves in 1968, the design hasn’t changed much. Look in the wand category of any sex shop (or even Amazon), and you’ll see how similar they all look.

The Le Wand Die Cast Rechargeable Vibrating Massager follows in these well-worn footsteps and serves as proof that you don’t need to reinvent the wand to make a great sex toy.

Strong Vibes

Before I even unboxed this Le Wand, it was already making its first impression. The box was surprisingly heavy. I wondered if maybe there were some accessories inside or maybe multiple toys, but nope. It’s just the die-cast metal Le Wand, and it’s just that heavy. At roughly 1.15 pounds, it's just slightly lighter than a full-size Maglite flashlight (with batteries). This is probably the heftiest sex toy I’ve ever encountered, let alone tested.

There is something satisfying about the weight, though. A product’s weight often influences how we perceive its quality, importance, or durability, and that’s definitely at work here. Even when I was testing other products, I found myself favoring the Le Wand over other similar models because it felt so good in my hand. The aluminum exterior is pleasantly cold to the touch, a nice contrast against the softer silicone on the head.

Photograph: Le Wand

The Le Wand is a full-size wand, so it’s also one of the biggest wands I’ve tested at 11.42 inches long. The size can make it awkward to use solo, depending on where you’re trying to reach with it, and the weight can make for some tired wrists. Most of the time, though, the added length is an asset, and the weight keeps the wand from vibrating your hands too much. Sometimes unibody wands and sex toys can feel like they’re vibrating your hands more than they’re vibrating anything else, but that’s not the case here. You can feel the vibrations in your hands, but it’s minimal—a good trait for anyone with carpal tunnel.

It should be no surprise that the Le Wand is not a toy that concerns itself with discretion or subtlety. As soon as you turn it on, the wand practically roars, its engine leaping to life so hard it practically bucks against your grip. Even on the lowest of its 10 vibration settings, it’s strong enough to provide a surprising degree of stimulation through clothes.

Like the original Magic Wand, this is a toy that’s best enjoyed through indirect stimulation, which makes its vibration intensity a welcome quality. Using it around erogenous zones like the clitoris, you can feel the vibrations penetrating deep below your skin to all those internal nerves and erogenous structures.

Short on Battery

The vibration patterns are another area where the Le Wand distinguishes itself. There are 20 in total, and they’re all relatively distinct from one another. The only downside to having so many is having to cycle through all of them to find your favorites—and you’ll definitely have more than one. The patterns are laid out visually in the Le Wand’s manual to give you an idea of what sensations you can expect.

The button layout is familiar—the standard choices you get on most wand vibrators, which is a good thing. There are buttons to increase and decrease vibration intensity, and one button in the middle to cycle through the vibration patterns. You turn it on by holding the increase-intensity button for a couple of seconds, and turn it off by pressing the decrease-intensity button for a few seconds. No deviations from the norm here, which means there won’t be any confusion when you’re trying to feel for the buttons in the dark.

Photograph: Le Wand

The Le Wand’s rechargeable battery provides about 70 to 90 minutes of continuous use on a single charge, depending on the intensity and patterns you’re using. It’s a little lower than I expected considering the toy's size—usually the bigger a toy is, the more battery power it packs. I regularly get about two to two and a half hours on a single charge out of the Magic Wand Mini, and it’s slightly smaller (9.6 inches) and significantly lighter (0.6 pounds). The Le Wand is more powerful overall, though; the Magic Wand Mini’s maximum intensity feels roughly equivalent to the Le Wand’s sixth or seventh intensity level.

Classic and Elevated

In an increasingly crowded market, the Le Wand does distinguish itself from the crowd. Not by bringing new features or design elements to redefine the wand as a category, but rather by taking what we love about the wand form and giving us more of it. More intensity levels, more power, more vibration patterns, and a bigger capacity for indirect stimulation (even through clothes). It falls short in battery life, and it's only splashproof for the shower but not submersible in the bath, but these are excusable flaws because it does those other things so darn well.

This is a wand for the discerning wand connoisseur. It’s not what I’d suggest for someone’s first vibrator or first wand vibrator—if it were a wine, the sommelier might call it a bit challenging or complex. But if you’re used to the ins and outs of magic wands and want something that’ll (maybe literally) knock your socks off, the Le Wand Die Cast Massager would be at the top of my list.