Lube and Toy Cleaner Review: Getting Slippery with Frolic & Swiss Navy!

By Tizzy Wall, June 6th, 2013

Thanks to Stockroom, I had the pleasure of testing both Swiss Navy’s All Natural Water Based Lube, and Frolic’s Sex Toy Lubricant for Women (added bonus: Swiss Navy’s Toy and Body Cleaner). Do you know how hard it can be to conduct a lube test? While, of course, using it during sex is ideal (two birds, one stone, etc.), the heat of the moment can get in the way of a evaluating a lube properly. How can you concentrate on the details when the, uh, test run is going distractingly well? It is too easy to fall into the what thing feels good where instead of focusing on consistency and texture!

Swiss Navy’s biggest selling point for this lubricant is that it is all natural, as well as glycerin, paraben, and sugar free. Swiss Navy has smart packaging that I absolutely loved; the lube has a locking pump that dispenses the lube quickly, easily, and tidily. All you need is one available hand to get what you need!

Unfortunately, none of those positive qualities could compensate the texture of the lube itself, which was thin and extremely runny. When using it with the iRide, it dissolved far too quickly, leaving me without the extra lubrication I wanted (especially when I was struggling to get comfortable with a complicated toy). The swift absorption didn’t affect much when I was using it with a partner, fortunately, but the mess it made was huge! The Swiss Navy lube is a big sloppy mess that doesn’t have any stick at all.

Although I do have sensitive skin, I haven’t had any problems with most of the lubes I’ve tried in the past. As long as they don’t have a disastrous “massage heat” element to them, the soft parts of me are just fine. That said, perhaps the Swiss Navy lube would be better suited to someone who has a history of sensitivity toward other types of water based lube; I could see what I perceive as major downsides being less important for someone who has fewer lubricant options overall.

For as disappointed as I was with Swiss Navy’s All Natural Water-Based Lube, their toy and body cleaner is divine. It’s anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral. Like the lube, it comes in a delightfully simple, attractive package that makes the product easy to use. Perhaps this is TMI (is there such a thing in a sex toy review?), but I used it to clean a toy of mine after being on my period, and it worked quickly to leave my toy clean, fresh, and new.

I also had the opportunity to try out Frolic’s Specialty Toy Lubricant for Women. Although this lube is guilty of a somewhat infuriating marketing tactic (Whenever I encounter a product that is “specifically for women,” I find it immediately suspicious, especially in cases where it seems genital specific…I mean, hello, not all women have vaginas and not all vagina owners are women), I found it to be far more to my liking.

Frolic not only has the same easy pump as Swiss Navy, but has a nifty little cap that fits over the spout, and is also a water based, glycerin free lubricant. The texture is wonderfully silky, and it held up well when using it both on the iRide and with a partner. There was no issue at all in terms of lasting power, unlike the Swiss Navy lube. Naturally, it was absorbed with use, but since it didn’t start off quite so thin, it wasn’t devastatingly noticeable. Frolic also has mastered that wonderful balance between thick and slick; the lube is not runny, but just sticky enough to stay where I needed it to be.

While the Swiss Navy lube is being relegated to the runner up position, Frolic has become a new favorite, and now lives beside my bed. If you are looking for a silky water based lube, Frolic is worth a shot. If there are those of you out there who have tried the Swiss Navy lube and felt differently about it, I’d love to hear from you in the comments! Whenever I am dissatisfied with a product, especially for reasons that seem fussy, I am always interested in hearing about others’ experiences.

Even though National Masturbation Month is over, there is still plenty of time to get wet and frolic freely, so buy one of these babies and get on it! [And don’t forget to pick up Swiss Navy’s Toy and Body Cleaner for quick and easy clean up!]

About the Author: Tizzy Wall is an Oakland-based sex worker, product reviewer, writer, and general Jane-of-all-Trades in the sex industry. After working as a California certified domestic violence counselor for two years, she left the world of non-profits to pursue a life that is equal parts intellectual and salacious. Her writing can be found on various blogs over the years, and she was recently published in Glitter: Real Stories from Real Women About Sexual Desire. She also recently spoke about how to be an ally to sex workers at Catalyst Con East and West. She is currently writing for Slixa, a new advertising platform for sex workers, as well as serving as a junior editrix for The Glitterhood, and constantly reviewing sex toys.