I’m not gonna lie: I was scared the first time I held the Slubb in my hands. It looked like it had the ability to chop my partner’s dick off, or at least sand it down. And I like their dick, so I really didn’t want to do that. But when I turned the hulking silver-and-black device on and slipped the black rubber loop at the end of it onto their shaft, I realized: This wasn’t going to hurt them. It was just going to make them come — a lot. And before too long, it did exactly that.
The Slubb is, quite literally, a power tool for pleasure. It was invented by Michael and Sandro Strobel, two German brothers who work as roofing contractors. One day in 2016, they were experimenting with holding the non-lethal end of an oscillating, vibrating saw against their butts and groins — don’t ask me how they were brave enough to do this, because I’ll never know — when they realized that the super-strong motor felt amazingly good there. Visions of a boner-quaking sex toy arose in their heads, and they began the process of inventing the Slubb: an adjustable rubber loop that goes around the penis, and transmits jarringly strong vibrations from an “oscillating multi-tool” the likes of which you might find in the aisles of Home Depot.
The attachment was the first part of the Slubb that the Strobel brothers prototyped. It basically looks like the type of belt you’d use to hold your pants up, but much shorter and made of rubber. You can adjust the size of the loop it makes around your dick — it’s meant to fit very loosely, to prevent skin irritation and overstimulation from the vibrations.
When Michael finished the attachment prototype, he affixed it to a saw blade like he was about to star in a solo snuff film. “You all cannot even begin to imagine how nervous I was as I was about to bring the running saw with the attachment to my manhood,” he recounts on the Slubb website. But as it turns out, the only thing that got snuffed out was any lingering doubt he may have had about the sexual possibilities of this new device. “It did not take even 60 seconds, and it happened. My first orgasm with a multi-tool, the first ever,” he recalls. “Unbelievable!”
By far, though, the most time-consuming part of the Slubb’s invention process was sourcing the right power tool for the job. That first one Michael had used wasn’t quite right, and neither were many others he tried with the Slubb attachment. He needed a battery-powered multi-tool that wasn’t so strong as to be painful or dangerous when used on sensitive anatomy; he also needed it to be quiet enough that using it could be sexy, rather than just terrifying.
It took three years — during which time the Strobels also patented their design, secured financing for the project and sourced materials for the attachment — but eventually they found a multi-tool suitable for their experimental new sex toy. They now sell it and its attachment together as one unit, so you don’t have to BYO power tool to get off with this toy. They called it the Slubb because it’s a “sling” that “rubs.” It’s not the sexiest name, if you ask me — but when you use a vibrator that has this much power, you’ll hardly remember your own name, let alone the name of the product pressing against your junk.
I got to try a Slubb myself after being contacted by Neil Chasan, the CEO of Slubb USA. Chasan, formerly a physical therapist who worked with athletes, signed on to run U.S. distribution of the Slubb after hearing its praises sung by a pro domme he interviewed on his kink podcast. “I asked her, ‘Do you ever give your clients pleasure?’ and she said, ‘Well, yeah, but not in the way you think. I use this tool called a Slubb. It gives them intense pleasure and it doesn’t let them off the hook.’ I was like, ‘Oh, say more about that,’” he tells me.
Chasan was so intrigued that he reached out to the Slubb founders and eventually headed up the stateside branch of their company, which now sells the Slubb base unit and attachment online for $235.
He’s also how I got my hands on one, as he was kind enough to send a unit to my partner. We’re long-distance, so our first Slubb session together happened over FaceTime — me in Toronto, them in New York. As per the instructions, they lubed up their dick with a silicone-based lube (Uberlube), slid the rubber loop onto their shaft and adjusted it to fit loosely. Then they turned the Slubb on.
The first thing we both noticed — it would have been impossible for us not to notice it — was the noise level. Yes, this multi-tool was chosen by the inventors specifically because, among other reasons, it’s much quieter than your average power tool, but compared to your average sex toy, it’s really fucking loud. I’ve since measured the decibels with the Noise app on my Apple Watch (which, to be fair, isn’t the most accurate way to do so, but I’m not a sound scientist), and the lowest of the Slubb’s six settings emits 64 decibels of noise, or about as much as a dishwasher or vacuum cleaner. The highest setting tops out around 95 decibels, or approximately as loud as a lawnmower. That’s absurdly loud for a vibrator.
That said, with the Slubb being as powerful as it is, let’s just say it’s unlikely you’d need to use its higher speeds. Vibration intensity is measured in revolutions per minute (RPM). The Magic Wand (formerly known as the Hitachi Magic Wand) gets up to 6,300 RPM at its highest setting. Meanwhile, the Slubb’s lowest setting is 5,000 RPM, and when you crank it all the way up to the sixth and highest speed, it can reach 19,000 RPM.
But trust me, you almost certainly won’t. The first time we tried the Slubb over video-call, my partner only got to midway between settings 1 and 2 before coming. It took just a couple of minutes of moving the Slubb’s rubber loop up and down over their shaft, and frankly, it would have taken even less time if they weren’t testing the toy for journalistic purposes at the insistence of their sex-toy reviewer wife.
A few weeks later, we were able to see each other in person, and trying the Slubb IRL was high on our to-do list. Our testing sessions never lasted longer than four or five minutes — it really is a very stimulating toy — but I learned more about techniques that work well with the Slubb. Strong vibrations can sometimes cause irritation or temporary numbness, and in my experience as a frequent vibrator user myself, the best way to address this problem is to move the vibe around rather than keeping it one place. If the rubber loop of the Slubb is loose enough and well-lubed, it’s easy to stroke it up and down the shaft of a dick freely. I imagine it sort of feels like getting jerked off by a jet engine.
Chasan says that the outsized power of this device makes it perfect for power-exchange games between dominant and submissive partners, hence its popularity with pro dommes (that’s a PornHub link; you’ve been warned). “Forcing” an orgasm out of someone, or “milking” the cum out of their cock, can be fun for people who get off on taking the lead sexually and causing uncontrollable sensations. It’s also strong enough to be used through a chastity cage, if you’re into that.
Beyond its kinky uses, though, this device also has potential medical applications for people who struggle with erectile dysfunction, delayed ejaculation or other forms of ejaculatory dysfunction. The medical community has investigated vibrators’ potential uses for treating various sexual dysfunctions in people with vulvas, and Chasan says he’s spoken with some urologists who are intrigued by the medical possibilities of the Slubb for people with penises, too.
By the way, the Slubb isn’t just for dicks; Chasan says there are other attachments in the works that would allow it to stimulate vulvas and prostates as well. I found that even just holding the Slubb’s rubber belt against my clit felt good, though honestly, I’ve only done so through at least one layer of clothing, because I’m just not brave enough to apply a power tool directly to my junk even if it’s safe.
And according to the creators and distributor, it is safe. Chasan tells me that the main risk of the Slubb is skin irritation, especially if the strap is tightened too much or you don’t use enough lube. I’d also be worried about the loudness, which was sufficient at the highest setting that I got an Apple Watch alert warning me that more than 10 minutes of that noise level could cause temporary hearing loss — though, as mentioned, I find it doubtful that anyone would use the highest speed of the Slubb for more than a minute at a time, let alone 10. My arms also get a little tired after moving the 2.2-pound Slubb up and down over my partner’s dick for a while, but I’m a weakling, so your mileage may vary.
While I doubt I’ll reach for the Slubb very often, it’s a good toy to have in my arsenal for times when I want to take decisive control in the bedroom — or just give my partner a lot of pleasure, very quickly. “It’s an opportunity to really think differently about yourself as a sexual creature,” Chasan explains. “It doesn’t even have to be kinky and BDSM-y. It could just be like, ‘We’re gonna do this to you now. You just get to lay there and relax.’”
The Slubb isn’t the sleekest or most sophisticated sex toy in the world; it’s certainly not the quietest, subtlest or most ergonomic, either. But it just might be the only power tool you can apply to your dick without fear. Or at least, if you do feel fear, it’ll be the exciting kind that melts away when, a few short minutes later, you’re lying in a puddle of your own cum wondering what the hell just happened.
Kate Sloan
Kate Sloan is the author of the books '101 Kinky Things Even You Can Do' and '200 Words to Help You Talk About Sexuality & Gender,' and has reviewed over 300 sex toys on her blog at GirlyJuice.net, to the chagrin of her high school guidance counselor. She also cohosts the podcasts 'The Dildorks' and 'Question Box.'
