Sex Toy Review: Sili Saddle

Let’s start my new blogging venture–recommendations for some of my favorite toys–with this unique and memorably named bumper pad.

I think “sili” stands for silicone, which it’s made of, and I pronounce it “silly,” to my partner’s initial confusion. But silly name aside, I’m reviewing this piece first because, from the moment I first tried it, the Sili Saddle has become my most-used toy.

Without further ado–

First impressions:

• The Sili Saddle is shaped a bit like a flat, wide Viking longship.
• It comes in a variety of colors, including a plain “frosted” white. I picked a more colorful blue and purple so that it’s eye-catching and hard to misplace.
• Being soft silicone, it’s a bit of a “dust magnet” as I was warned in another review, so I wasn’t troubled to find it speckled upon opening.
  • It comes in a nice box for storage, and that does help keep down the dust some.
  • The rest is eliminated when the toy is wiped down before and after use with a wet wipe (SheVibes, the store where I get my toys–and to which my links are affiliate ones–offers a number of different cleaners, although I’m doing just fine with a bulk supply of ‘baby’ wipes from Costco).

A word on the texture: it’s described as “a soft silicone” and it is. Almost unsettlingly soft when I first picked it up. Growing up, my sister had this toy soldier that was made of super soft, stretchy rubber that still wigs me out just in memory. The Sili Saddle is nowhere near that bad, but first holding it reminded me how much floppy rubber is not my thing. The good news is, that immediately stops being a problem once the toy is in use–even if I’m still cupping it in my hand (and the bottom side is already more rigid than the top), the texture in my hand is *not* what I’m most aware of.

The soft, flexible silicone feels very very good where the rubber hits the road…I mean, on the business side of things. Those two “prows” to our Sili Viking longboat? They’re both meant to stimulate the clit, and I’ve also had a bit of luck just using that long ridge down the middle, which I believe is designed to slip easily between the labia. The softness is really a plus in this location, avoiding any hard “poking” feeling in place of a cushiony but firm caress. It’s, um, very good at that.

Correction: it’s fucking amazing at that.

Because of antidepressants (which are so very worth it for other reasons), my orgasms are not as easy to reach or as intense as they used to be. But when I use the Sili Saddle, an orgasm is

1. more or less guaranteed (especially when using my preferred position for manual stimulation)–at least half again as easy to reach
2. super intense. The kind where I’m lying wiped-out, blissed-out, breathing heavily, eyelids fluttering, surrounded by stars and rose-scented clouds…damn, they’re good.

It sounds like I’m promising a lot. Of course, your results may vary. But there is a reason this is my most-used toy and will probably continue to be.

And a reason both my partner and I have discussed writing about it in our future erotica efforts.

The saddle can be cupped in the hand, or slipped into underwear, or attached to the base of my dildo inside my harness (see pictures below), or rested on my partner’s skin for me to grind against. It’s amazingly versatile–it can be used in penetrative sex or frottage, masturbation or with a partner. Additional possibilities suggest themselves: the pad might cushion a bullet vibe to prevent “numbing out,” or avoid overly intense stimulation when the vibe is being run against an especially sensitive setup, for instance, the base of an inserted NJoy plug…

(Reviews of the Five strap-on, Theo harness, and NJoy plug are all forthcoming, BTW. And a review of that bullet vibe…for better or worse.)

For strap-on play and frottage, the pad is great to reduce pressure against the pubic mound. Other reviews have suggested it can provide a helpful cushion over the mons in PIV sex as well. If you have untrimmed pubic hair, though, do be careful of catching it (hasn’t been a terrible issue, but my partner is very understanding if I need to pause to shift the position of the saddle until it’s perfect).

Overall rating: 9.5 out of 10, has changed my sex life for the better, solves the problem of pressure/discomfort during strap-on play, opens up numerous other fun possibilities.

Alternative products:

According to some reviewers, the Bumpher, an alternative strap-on cushion, feels even better than the Sili Saddle. It seems to be made of a somewhat firmer silicone. It stretches to fit around the base of the dildo rather than simply adhering to it by the power of silicone stickiness, as the Sili Saddle does. The Bumpher is still on my wishlist, but the Sili Saddle seems more versatile overall and quicker to attach to the strap-on (to be honest, I already find the process of getting “in harness” fussy and didn’t want the added step of trying to fit the base into the Bumpher, at least not until I gain more hands-on experience). That made the Sili Saddle my first choice, and I’m already blown away, so who knows what “even better” could feel like…?

Wet for Her, maker of my beloved Five, also makes a variation known as the Fusion with an ergonomically designed base that includes clit stimulation. That’ll probably be my next strap-on toy purchase.

And when I do get either or both of those, you can look forward to my review here.