At this point, I still consider myself relatively ‘new’ to sex toys. Sure, i’ve been using them for almost 5 years, but my collection has stayed generally quite small. My first big purchase was a Fleshjack, and for a long time, it was the cornerstone of my collection.
It was on sale for £25, and after lusting after one ever since seeing a Fleshlight on the Graham Norton show many moons ago, I knew I had to have one. It did me well for a few years. But it soon fell to the wayside, purely because it was quite big and bulky, and an absolute pain the arse to clean. But I couldn’t deny that the sensations it gave me were knee trembling, and we both had great fun using it on each other.
I had always hoped that one day, they would consider making it lighter, or just a bit smaller so it wasn’t so much a ball ache to use/clean. And it’s almost as if they heard my prayers, because I found out they were releasing the FLIGHT range of Fleshlights. These were smaller, more ergonomically designed and much lighter. Hurrah, I thought! About bloody time. And Lovehoney were kind enough to send me one of the models, the Instructor, for review.
First Impressions
Inside the box, you will find the Flight, a leaflet detailing other products and a small sachet of water-based Fleshlube. The redesigned unit looks pretty impressive. It doesn’t feel like I’m holding onto a sex toy at all. The little ‘golf-ball’ dimples all over the outer-case gives it a very technical chic feel. The thinner and lighter case feels incredibly comfortable in the hand, and it no longer feels bulky or cumbersome – which is the main reason why I no longer have the larger fleshlight. It just felt far too big in the hand. When you take off the cap, you see the nondescript ‘flight’ orifice, which reminds me of a jet engine (deliberate?). Inside the canal, are a series of bumps which stop about a third of the way from the bottom.
The internal texture is made from ‘SuperSkin’ – designed to feel like the real thing. This means that you can warm it up to body temperature by placing it in some warm water before you play for even more ‘realistic’ sensations. The composition of the material is to be debated, but it’s a gel composite that is poured into a mold and then cured. With that in mind, it’s really important to make sure you use the right lube – and with something like the Fleshlight – you should play it safe and stick with a WATER-BASED lube. This will ensure that you get the best from your new toy, as Silicone/hybrid lubes could deteriorate the material, and with the price-tag you normally get on a fleshlight – you don’t want to be doing that!
In Use
Fleshlights are so ridiculously easy to use. When you are ready to play, you unscrew the top cap to reveal your orifice. Apply lube to both yourself and the toy, and then slide your way inside. At the bottom of the unit, there is a smaller cap which can be twisted. This controls the suction. When this is closed, the suction is the strongest. The more you open it up, the less it becomes.
I personally prefer to use it with the lid completely closed – the textures on the internal sleeve feel so much more pronounced. So, after lubing up, I slipped inside the Flight. It didn’t feel all that tight. It didn’t feel too loose, but at the same time, after getting in – I could already feel myself thinking “Oh I wish this was a bit tighter…”. However the length of the toy was good – at a modest 6 inches, very almost reached the bottom (which does wonders for your ego) – but those who are blessed, may want to stick with the original fleshlights.
Anyway, I had got myself into a good rhythm when I noticed something. I was really annoyed that the bumped texture doesn’t continue all the way down the length of the internal canal. They stop a third of the way down, meaning as I’m thrusting, it’s the lower part of my penis that’s getting all the stimulation, not the most important part! Combined with the fact that the canal was actually fairly wide as well – I didn’t feel that it was really doing anything special for me. Don’t get me wrong – it felt “nice”. But it wasn’t making me clutch the bedsheets or curl my toes.
On further sessions with the Flight, I found that putting a couple of elastic bands around the sleeve really helped improve the lacklustre texture. By making it feel even tighter, you start to feel every lump and bump, and even though the bumps aren’t stimulating the whole length of the penis, the tightness makes up for that. It’s a shame when you have to resort to DIY to get the best out of your toys, but hey ho! Now the Flight was giving me some serious orgasms.
I noticed with the original fleshlight, that after a good session, I would have an ache in my wrist, most probably down to the fact the original units are behemoths and after prolonged use, can tire your wrist out! But not with the Flight. This is definitely once of those cases where smaller is actually better. So remember, when everyone tells you that SIZE MATTERS… they are lying. Now, the worst part about owning a Fleshlight, is the clean-up routine. With great power (and orgasms) comes great responsibility – and the Flight needs to be pampered after play time.
Clean-up and Maintenance
Once you are finished, remove the sleeve from the case (just pull it out) and then rinse under the tap and spritz with some cleaner. You can also rinse the casing as well. You can remove the suction lid as well to ensure it is all completely clean. You will need to leave the internal sleeve to air-dry. Now, once it’s ‘dried’, you will notice that when you pick it up – it feels VERY sticky. Quite frankly, it feels gross. What you need to do then, is to carefully dust the sleeve with cornstarch (cornflour). Use it sparingly, but rub it all over the sleeve until it no longer feels sticky – it should feel nice and smooth. Then you just need to pop the sleeve back in the case, put the lids on and then you can store it away for next time. Just remember, that when you do take it out for next time, you might want to just give it a little wipe to remove any excess cornstarch before use – nothing worse than when Lube and Cornstarch mix!
Summary
I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it. If you have NEVER used a Fleshlight before, this wouldn’t be a bad place to start. The smaller discreet design is perfect, and as it’s smaller, it’s easier to take away with you when travelling. The clean-up process for a fleshlight is a bit of a pain, but it has to be done to keep it in good condition.
The sensation is OK, but I expected something a bit more from Fleshlight, and although I could improve it with a little bit of DIY, that’s not really the point. However, it’s not all bad – it’s smaller size does come with a smaller price tag, and I have been informed that the Flight Case will support the ‘Sex-in-a-Can’ sleeves, and there is now a shower mount that is compatible with the case.
So aside from the lacklustre texture and the long-winded clean-up routine, the Flight does tick some of the boxes. Would I recommend it? Yes, I would – only to those who have never used a Fleshlight before. I don’t think there is anything new here that you can’t get better from the original. Unless you want something smaller…
Where to buy
The Instructor Model appears to be discontinued; but you can pick up the ‘Pilot’ model from Lovehoney.
The Fleshlight Flight Instructor was kindly sent to me by Lovehoney in exchange for an honest review. This does not in anyway affect or sway my opinions of this product. All thoughts and experiences represented in this review are 100% genuine and my own. Affiliate links have been used within this post.
