You may remember Dame Products from their viral crowdfunding campaign in 2014. Although crowdfunding campaigns for sex toys are relatively common now, they were definitely not in the mid-2010s. That original product, Eva, was met with mixed response; some folks loved it, others wished it were more flexible and fit their anatomy better. 

Since that crowdfunding campaign, Dame has grown significantly. The Eva was redesigned and is now available as the Eva II and they’ve added several more products to their line, including the Pom, Kip, Fin, Zee, Pillo, Alu lubricant, and the product I’m reviewing today, Arc. 

Dame now runs a product prototyping lab in an effort to bring truly great products to the market, and honestly, they’re succeeding. Read on for a review of the Arc vibrator by Dame Products. 

(Note: This review contains affiliate links throughout, so if you make a purchase using one of those links, I may receive a small commission. I wasn’t paid to write this review, though I did receive Arc for free from Dame in exchange for an honest review.)

How Arc is Advertised

Category

Arc is different from every other vibrator that has joined Dame’s line-up up until this point. Until Arc was released, every single one of Dame’s products was designed primarily for clitoral use. Arc, on the other hand, is a versatile vibrator. 

It’s designed for g-zone stimulation (hence the name and shape) but can also be used for clitoral stimulation. It doesn’t have a flared base, so you should never try to use it anally (though you could use it to massage the perineum). 

Price

Dame’s toys sit in the lower end of the luxury market. Arc is priced at $115, which is pretty average for a rechargeable, waterproof, silicone, internal vibrator. It’s their second most expensive product behind the Eva II. 

That being said, Dame is one of the only companies around that will actually accept returns. So, if you don’t like a toy you buy directly from them, you can return it within 60 days and get store credit. It’s important to note that that policy only applies if you originally purchased your item directly from Dame; if you got it from another toy shop, it may not be eligible for return.

Materials & Design

Arc is completely covered in silicone, except for the area where the magnetic charger attaches. That small section is ABS plastic. 

The slimmest insertable part of the toy measures 1 inch in diameter, which is considered slim for the insertables market. But the largest insertable part of the toy (the head of it) measures in at 1.5 inches in diameter, which is considered average. For context, if you hold up your index and middle fingers together, they probably measure about 1.5” from left to right. 

When laying a soft measuring tape along the back of the toy, the insertable portion measures at 5.5 inches long. If you simply measure along the side of it in a straight line, it comes in closer to 4.75 inches. 

The thing to note is that toys designed for g-zone use aren’t generally designed for deep penetration. The bulk of the motor’s power is going to be felt in the first 3.5 inches of the toy (when measuring along the back, factoring in the curve). You’ll still feel vibrations after that, but they’ll be less intense. 

Arc’s design makes it pretty easy to grip, even with a light grip. If you’re using it clitorally, you could also hold it in place between your legs. It only weighs 3.7 ounces, which is very light compared to the motor’s strength. 

Arc is rechargeable (it uses a super-strong magnetic charger) and it’s worth noting that Dame’s magnetic charger design is truly the best I’ve seen on the market. It holds in place firmly, even when placed in precarious positions. That means you’re much less likely to reach for your toy thinking it’s fully charged and end up disappointed. I left mine in its toy bag charging for a week in a high-traffic area of my house where it would get jostled a lot. It never disconnected.

It’s also fully waterproof, so you can use it in the shower and you don’t need to worry about avoiding the electrical components when you clean it. Arc comes in two colors, Ice (a light gray-blue) and Berry (a muted raspberry). 

Arc has 5 patterns and 5 intensity settings and its vibrations are strong and rumbly-ish  There are times when they felt buzzy to me, and times when they felt rumbly. 

How Arc Performed

I won’t lie, I really wanted the Berry version of Arc, but I received the Ice color. I know some people are done with pink and pink-ish shades, but I love them (especially when they’re jewel tones). The ice color is actually very soothing to look at, and if you like your toys to follow design trends, then the blue-grey color definitely does. More and more toys are being released in muted neutrals, and Ice falls into that category, while the rest of Dame’s toys are either brights or jewel tones.

My second reaction was “goddamn, I love Dame’s packaging.” Every drawer in my desk is organized with empty Dame toy boxes — they’re perfectly shaped and honestly, they’re just simple. One thing that I really dislike is when companies package their toys in things that you can only ever throw away because they’re simply not useful for anything else. But Dame’s packaging is perfect, especially if you take the Marie Kondo approach to organizing drawers.  

Obviously the quality of the box that Arc comes in is hugely important to you too, right? (Let me have this one.) 

If you skipped the materials & design section above, go back up and read about the magnetic charger, because it would be bonkers to wax poetic about it again. The charger is great. 

Because Arc is advertised as a g-zone vibrator, I did a quick warmup and then inserted it. While Arc’s vibrations felt strong on my clit, they didn’t feel as strong once I inserted it. There are more nerve-endings on the outside of your body than on the inside, so regardless of the toy you’re using, it’s normal for the vibration intensity to feel less strong when used vaginally than clitorally. 

When using Arc clitorally on a halfway-charged battery (hey, I aim for realism, folks—charge your sex toys.) I was able to orgasm from the lowest setting. But when I used it internally during that same session, I had to turn it to the highest setting in order for it to feel enjoyable to me. 

My pubic bone protrudes quite a bit, which can make inserting toys (especially toys with a significant bend in them, like Arc) sometimes uncomfortable. Because Arc is on the average-slim end of the insertable toy spectrum, insertion was fairly easy, despite my pubic bone trying to play guardian. However, folks with vaginismus would likely not be able to insert Arc because the head protrudes so much. 

Your g-zone is located within your vagina about two knuckles deep, on the front wall (toward your belly). That’s part of why g-zone toys are generally designed for shallow stimulation; if you’re wanting to focus most of your attention on that area, you’re not going to be going super deep. I actually found Arc to be the most (internally) pleasurable when I used it primarily on the first 1 inch of my vagiinal canal and vaginal opening (remember, there are more nerve-endings there). 

I can’t reach orgasm from vaginal stimulation alone, even when vibrations are involved. I need direct clitoral stimulation to cum, so when using Arc internally, I didn’t expect to reach orgasm. And…I didn’t. 

However. Arc’s virtue lies in its versatility; namely, the fact that it makes a really good clitoral vibrator. 

The first time I tried Arc (this time with full-strength battery), I came hard and fast when using it on a low setting on my clit. The second time I tried Arc clitorally (a few weeks later at a half-charge), it took me a little bit longer to reach orgasm, but I still did. 

Any new toy that you get is going to have a bit of a learning curve, and that’s especially true of toys designed for the g-zone. It’s worth taking the time to figure out what is going to feel good for your body, what types of movements you enjoy, the depth that feels best to you, and the intensity or patterns that feel best to you. But, ultimately, internal stimulation toys aren’t for everyone. 

I would recommend the Arc by Dame to folks who are looking for a versatile toy that can be used internally or externally without any modification or add-on pieces. It makes a great clitoral vibrator and a solid internal vibrator, and runs on the slimmer range of g-zone toys.

If you want to purchase the Arc by Dame for yourself, you can do that directly from Dame here.

Want to learn more about sex toys? Watch the recording of my Sex Toys 101 workshop.