Fun Factory is a German sex toy company that’s put out a lot of high-quality, interesting products in the past. I remember trying the original head-teasing Cobra Libre many years ago, and thought the thrusting Stronic Drei pulsating dildo – with its rippled curved shaft – was a wild invention. Peepshow Toys asked me to try one of Fun Factory’s newest toys: The Manta.
The Manta is billed as both “A Men’s Toy for Couples” and a vibrating stroker. At first glance, it has a very similar appearance to most of Fun Factory’s vibrating toys. A sleek black handle with raised touch controls, and a silicone-coated shaft. In the case of Manta, the shaft ends in a molded pair of curved flaps that are designed to fit around a penis. The motor is encased in the solid shaft of the toy and the vibrations travel into these bendy wings to directly stimulate the penis. Let’s take a closer look at the Manta and see how it feels during use.
Out of the package, the Manta vibrator measures a little over 7 inches in length. The diameter of the opening between the wings is 1.8 inches, but the silicone – while quite firm – is easily movable, to accommodate cocks of all sizes. Since the toy is open-ended and flexible, you can use the Manta while flaccid, as well as erect. The flaps are soft enough to move as your cock thickens and hardens.
Fun Factory Manta – in Moss Green
Like other Fun Factory vibrators, the Manta is powered by a rechargeable battery. Included is a USB-style charging cable with a magnetic “Click-N-Charge” connection. It couldn’t be easier to charge. Insert the plug into a USB port and simply join the two round nubs at the end of the cord to the corresponding metal nubs at the base of the toy. It’ll easily click into place (hence the name). There’s a red light on the end of the cable to let you know it’s receiving power, and a pulsing white light on the toy’s controller tells you it’s charging. Once the light stops pulsing, the Manta is ready to use. Fun Factory estimates an initial charge will take between 6 and 8 hours and a fully-charged On one charge, Manta can last from 40 minutes, all the way up to 2 hours. Perfect for those who like long, slow masturbation sessions.
Once it was ready to use, it was a little tricky discovering how to turn the Manta’s vibrator on. Press and hold the red FUN button until the vibrator hums to life, then release. Like many vibrators, the Manta starts out with a rumbly vibration in a steady pattern. It’s pretty intense on this initial setting, so you can dial down the intensity by clicking the – button. Three clicks and you’re at the lowest setting, which is a quiet low vibration. Want something more intense right out of the gate? Click the + button and the motor revs up even more. There are 6 settings for the vibrator, so you can easily choose the one that feels right in the moment. Prefer a pattern? The Manta is equipped with 6 different patterns, like slow-to-pounding revs, slow pulsing, fast pulsing, heavy bursts, high-speed jangling, and an alternating steady vibe and high-speed jangling. Fun Factory touts “12 unique vibration patterns provide for diverse pleasures, because the vibration intensities are infinitely adjustable via touch buttons.” This is a little misleading, based on my experience with the Manta. The vibrator starts with the medium-speed steady rumble, which can be adjusted up or down in intensity. This feature is nice. But when I tried to lower or raise the intensity on any of the six pattern settings, clicking the – button simply returned the vibrator to its default setting (medium-speed steady rumble). Unless I am missing something, this doesn’t make the vibrator “infinitely adjustable.”
How exactly does it feel while using it? Since the Manta’s business end is flexible and open-ended, you can use it while soft or hard. This is a nice feature, especially if you want to use a toy with a soft cock, or you experience erection problems. Like other Fun Factory vibrating toys I’ve tried, the motor on this toy is very intense. As I said before, the vibrator starts on medium and can be adjusted up and down. If you prefer to start with a low setting, make sure you turn the toy on and cycle it down before placing your penis between the flaps.
Fun Factory Manta – in Deep Sea Blue
The inner aspect of the flaps are designed with a ribbed texture, to offer additional stimulation. If you decide to lube the Manta, the grooves will help hold the lube in place. In the center of the toy is a crevice that opens up slightly to offer extra stimulation to the the shaft and frenulum. I tried the Manta without lube first.
With my frenulum laying directly over the vibrating portion of the toy, I clicked the motor on and started my jack off session. As I mentioned before, the initial vibe setting (medium steady) is a powerfully rumbly sensation, and – being a lover of frenulum stimulation – it felt great the second I clicked the vibrator on. I definitely don’t like to get too much stimulation too quickly, so I cycled the vibe down ( – button) to its lowest setting. On Low, the vibes are way less intense, but still pleasant. It’s nice when a toy has something on the lower spectrum, for when a guy wants to ease back and enjoy the sensations, but not have to pull the toy away or shut it off completely. Not only does the inner ridge vibrate nicely, but the wings on either side flutter away when the toy is turned on, especially on the higher settings. Here’s a little animated image I made showing the movement of the flaps while the toy is purring away on Medium power.
Nice, huh? You can keep your cock out of the crook and aim the quivering flaps right where you want them. Of course I tried them for sweet spot/frenulum stimulation, and it felt pretty good. The rapid movement of the wing tips makes it a bit of an intense sensation (I personally like things to feel a little softer), but it still felt nice, especially on the lower steady settings. Direct the flaps to other erogenous zones, too. I tried the Manta on my balls, my taint, the head of my cock (not my favorite!), and even on my nipples. During a subsequent session, I even teased my dick with the Manta while wearing underwear. Sounds weird, but actually the fabric created a buffer layer and gave the vibrations an entirely different feel. I liked it! The quivering tips definitely deliver some strong sensations.
Diagrams with the toy show a “suggested use” of placing the wings around the base of the shaft, leaving the upper portion of the penis free for manual stimulation or even oral pleasures. I confess (in the interest of thoroughness) I asked a playmate to try this out. Even wrapped around the root of his dick, the Manta turned his entire rod into a vibrating prong. It felt a little odd to suck on it while it was quivering in my mouth, but he really enjoyed the added sensations it gave his cock and balls.
It’s fun to position it at the root of your cock for solo play, too, holding the vibrating part at the base of your penis while using your free hand to masturbate the top. Take care with the toy if you use oil-based or silicone lubes (including hybrids) to jack off, because Fun Factory cautions against using anything other than water-based lubes with the Manta. (I like Sassy from Sliquid).
If you’re actually using the Manta to stroke up and down on your shaft, using lube will make a big difference. Same with frenulum play. Like most silicone toys, there’s a bit of “grab” when you try to move it (even a little), and the lubrication helps things slide easier. I’m not a huge fan of water-based lube on stroker toys, because it constantly need reapplying, but be sure to try the Manta with lube, because it does make for a different experience.
One thing I really like about the Manta is the way you can maneuver it. The fact that it’s designed like one of Fun Factory’s dildos means you can hold it at various angles and swiftly shift the toy in different directions. It feels nice to hold the toy under my dick with the wings cradling my sweet spot, but twisting the handle around so the vibrating aspect stimulates the back of my shaft (a part of my dick that typically never gets much direct stimulation) is an interesting new way of teasing myself. The length of the silicone shaft comes in handy if you want to push down on the handle like a lever and use the entire length as a vibrating wand against your shaft and there were times when it seemed like having the wings run vertically along either side of the shaft would have felt nice, stimulating more of the cock at one time. Even a raised texture on the silicone (maybe a different one on either side?) would have offered a little something extra. Still, with the flaps at the tip, you have the option of going for the tickle by grazing the exact spot you want to tease with the tips of the fluttering wings.
As I mentioned before, keeping your underwear (or even shorts/other clothes) on while rubbing yourself with the Manta can be a very pleasing experience. Not only does the long handle give you something to grasp, but there’s a hollow loop built right in, so ease a finger or two through this opening; it’ll help you hold the vibrator and make it a snap for maneuvering it during use. This will also help keep your fingers away from the control buttons, where an accidental bump might shift the vibe’s gears when you least want it.
The silicone means it’s easy to clean if you make it messy with lube or other fluids, and the entire toy is waterproof, so go ahead and experiment with it in the shower, bath or pool. Fun Factory touts the smaller size (compared with bulky fuckable masturbators) as making it more discreet for travel. In essence, this is true, but it still looks like a vibrator of some sort. If you decide to pack it in the bag, Fun Factory has outfitted the Manta with a cool travel lock. Hold the Fun button and – button at the same time and the toy locks. It won’t suddenly rev to life until you press the Fun button simultaneously with the + button. Like I said, cool feature if you want to keep it from turning on accidentally.
The biggest drawback to the Manta is, unfortunately, the price. A lot of premium masturbators come with a hefty price tag, and this puts them out of reach of many potential buyers, including masturbation enthusiasts on a budget and/or only casual users. The Fun Factory Manta retails for about $139, which makes it even more expensive than other luxury vibes and strokers. Still, if you take into account the powerful vibe, the materials, and the durable construction, many users won’t mind paying more for a sex toy that is built to last for years.
Bottom line: Fun Factory’s Manta is a whole lot of fun, but not my favorite vibrating stroker. For me, the Manta worked better as a foreplay toy, both during solo use and when using it with a friend. I think it’s a lot of fun when used with a playmate: to warm a guy up, or add some extra stimulation to a blowjob. There’s no doubt Fun Factory makes high quality toys with intense vibrators, but the Manta could use a couple tweaks to make me cum harder (varying intensities on the patterns; maybe longer, vertically-aligned ribbed flaps), to make the $139 price tag more worth it.
Thanks to Peepshow Toys for sending the Manta to me to test drive. They stock the Manta vibrator in both moss green and deep sea blue. Ready to add the Manta to your own sex toy collection? Get one from Peepshow Toys by using the link below:
- Fun Factory Manta Vibrating Stroker – (2 colors)
Be sure to shop Peepshow Toys for other masturbators (everything they stock is made of silicone or body safe materials) and other fun toys. They carry lots of prostate massagers and other anal toys, cock rings, dildos, and lubricants. You can use the coupon code allmalesextoys when you’re checking out to save 10% off your order. Check out the other reviews I’ve written for Peepshow Toys products.
Product images (except where noted) from Fun Factory
FTC Disclaimer: This product was provided free of charge by Peepshow Toys in exchange for an unbiased review.
