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[tapar]

I have not seen much about the Rends A10 Piston yet so I thought I would post some first impressions.  I have not had it for very long so I can't do a full review.   I will start off with some history so it will be easier to know where I am coming from and then get into it.

I have owned a few fleshlights, I liked them but mostly they inspired me to look for even better experiences.  I tried one of the spingasm machines to spice it up a bit.  I actually enjoyed that quite a bit, but the motors were not particularly robust and my first one burned out.  It got replaced under the warranty but that one lasted even less time so I gave up on it.

I eventually graduated to trying a RealTouch device.  It was expensive and annoyingly bulky but I really enjoyed using it and was mostly content.   The motor that drives the belts rusted to a halt.  I enjoyed the machine so much I ordered a replacement.  The replacement eventually also had the motor rust out.  I distinctly remembered getting it wet while cleaning so I took the blame on that one and ordered a second replacement.  I was extremely careful with the replacement and it also rusted to a halt, but this time it was still in warranty and was replaced pretty hassle free.   Unfortunately the replacement has a leaky lube reservoir.   I really enjoy the RealTouch, especially after realising how different the encoding was between videos and finding ones I liked.  I decided not to replace it again and to see if I could find something a bit more durable and less expensive.   I also didn't want to find out I was missing out on something even better.

I wound up ordering a HEPS Fantastic next.  I was seriously impressed with it, especially after I used it and realized how functional the case is.  The HEPS developed some small tears on the first use, but the effectiveness of the toy was not impacted.   I loved the roof of mouth/teeth texture and really enjoyed how easy it was to enter.  With most toys I have had to get fully excited before I start using it, the HEPS was unique that I could start in only partially excited with no trouble.  I think that worked so well because the case lets you vary the pressure and it is easy to open the mouth wide or squeeze it closed.   It was also really easy to clean which was nice.   It lasted with the small tears for about two months, then the tears had grown to a point where I would get scraped/pinched by the hard case.  I value my precious willy so with large amounts of regret I retired the HEPS Fantastic.   I really want to buy a replacement but I still feel a bit burned by all the cash thrown at the realtouch device and didn't want to repeat that mistake.  I decided that I should hold out and try something new.

I ordered the Meiki Zhang Xiao Yu even though I am very wary about onaholes.   I am a chubby dude and I tend to end up in a half sitting up/twisting position to get a good grip when no toys are involved.  It always looked like it would be difficult to maintain a good grip on a flippity floppity jiggly onahole for me.  It wasn't as big an issue as I feared but it wasn't as easy to handle/maneuver as I would like.   I really enjoyed the inner texture though so I wanted to find a solution.   I used a microfiber dish towel as an ona-wrap and that increased the girth enough for me to slide it into a 34 oz insulated mug.  The mug's handle and solid structure drastically increased the ease of use for me.   I am really enjoying this onahole and am very glad that I ordered it!

Whew, now we finally get to the A10 Piston.  I ordered the Meiki because I heard such great things about it and the reviews/videos convinced me that it was worth the risk.   I ordered the A10 Piston that same day even with no reviews and little information because I liked the concept so much.   It is a bit expensive, especially if you factor in you need to buy the R1 Starter Kit too.  I can see how keeping the R1 remote a separate purchase is beneficial if you already own one.  Logically that makes sense, but emotionally it feels lame spending $60 on a wired remote.  I had planned to wait for a few reviews and to hear more information about it, but alas my will power failed and I ordered anyway.

The packaging was good, nice nondescript box from the fed-ex guy.  It was easy to get into the packaging and the A10 Piston came dis-assembled.  It comes with a ribbed Sm/Med inner cup.  I also ordered a ribbed Med/Lg inner cup because I wasn't sure what my preference would be.  I unpacked the Piston and the R1 Starter kit.  The A10 Piston was a bit larger and thicker than I expected.   I did some comparisons with the fleshlight and the A10 Piston is an inch or two longer than the fleshlight.  It is also a little bit thicker than the front cap of the fleshlight.   The A10 is smooth and mostly rounded with one flat side and small neck that narrows and then widens again near the front.

The front twists a little and then comes off.  That part has the snap open/closed plastic ring that is hinged.   It also has the ability to extend/retract so you can adjust the depth of the unit.   The hinge is pretty critical to the whole unit as that is what holds the insert in place.  I was a bit nervous opening it because I didn't want to force/break anything.  It is working as intended but the tab that holds the plastic ring closed is something I intend to keep an eye on and to try and be gentle with.  It feels fragile even if it is not.

After you take off the front, the main body of the A10 Piston is ready to accept the screw in inner cup.  The inner cups have a ribbed soft plastic sleeve surrounded by what looks like styrofoam.  It looks like the thickness of that styrofoam is what makes up the difference between the Sm/Med cup and the Med/Lg cup.  The rubbery plastic sleeve tube opens into what becomes the entrance, it is flat and loose before you lock it in place.   You need to open the hard plastic ring at the entrance and stretch the rubbery plastic tube thing from the inner cup over the entrance and then lock it in place with the hard plastic ring.   That is actually somewhat difficult to do.  It took me a few tries and eventually I discovered that it helped to pull the rubbery entrance part up by inserting a couple of fingers to kind of hook the material and make the flat rubbery part more level.

Then you are almost ready to go!  All you need to do is plug in the wall wart AC adapter, and connect the R1 Remote.  The mini-USB cable that plugs into the remote is hard wired to the A10 Piston.  That cable is about 3' long, which is kind of a short leash when you are actually using the unit.   It isn't a major complaint but it did limit where I could set the remote down a couple of times.   

I tend to prefer to looser fit toys so I went with the Med/Lg cup.  I plugged everything in...figured out how to turn on the remote, added in some tenga lube...and got into a comfortable-ish position...and then I tried to figure out how on earth you are supposed to hold this thing.  It is thicker than the base of a fleshlight and rounded with little grip so it doesn't fit nicely in your hand.  Where you want to grab it on the bottom is right where the wires are plugged in.   It is too thick to effectively grab in a Darth Vader force choke move.   I eventually grabbed it by the area with the wires and concentrated on not touching the wires.   I didn't want to put pressure on the wires and possibly damage them.    Part of the problem is that you do not need to just hold the unit in place left to right, you also have to apply an amount of downward pressure too.   The goal is to get the machine to stroke your penis with the ribbed rubber texture.  If you don't apply pressure to hold the machine stationary, a portion of that "stroke" goes to moving the machine rather than to your penis.   You want the machine to move the cup over you rather than have the cup move the machine while you happen to be inserted.   I found it a bit difficult to hold the unit and apply enough pressure to hold it in place, especially with it being such a large device.

The directions also happen to be in Japanese.   That was all fine until I tried to decipher the settings available via the R1 Remote.  I know the various dots control various patterns and speeds...but I have not fully worked out the correlations.   Some settings are too fast, some too slow, and some almost just right but not quite...and then some patterns seem great but are too slow or two fast.   I still have tons of combos to figure out but so far my favorite setting is the top row, third from the left and the bottom row all the way to the left.   There are times I want it to go just a tiny bit faster, but it seems like the next pattern over has it going MUCH faster.    I thought the bottom row set the speed of the pattern and the top row selected the pattern...but I think I have that backwards.   In any event I definitely need to experiment more with that to find the ideal pattern/speed for me.   I stopped experimenting when I found a combo that was pretty good.

I used it for a while and enjoyed it but the texture wasn't that vigorous and while I found a speed/pattern that was good...it wasn't quite enough.   It would let things build, but then wouldn't increase the pace to finish things off, especially when combined with my arm being in a weird position and pressing the machine down.   I gave up after a while and switched over to the Meiki.    I was impressed by the strength of the motor, it didn't seem to have a problem doing it's thing.   

I thought about the situation some and wanted to try and find a better way to use the device.  I had a neoprene cover that I slipped over the A10 Piston.  I used painters tape to cinch it in place at the dip in the neck area.  Then I used tape to attach a wood handle to the A10 over the neoprene cover.  The neoprene doesn't add anything other than to avoid taping the handle directly to the A10 while I am experimenting with how to best use it.  The handle worked well and helped make holding it in place much less of an issue.  I was able to hold it steady with much less effort.   I got a lot more pleasure out of it that time.   I still didn't have a lock on how the power and mode settings worked. The one setting I liked was really good for getting me going but not intense enough to finish me off.  I knew there are settings that are much more intense too, I just need to find the right combo of settings via experimentation.  I just checked the toydemon info on the piston and discovered that I had things backwards.   The top row of lights indicates power.  The bottom row of lights indicates the mode.   That will make experimenting more systematic.

I am actually quite pleased with the unit so far.  I really think it has the potential to be what I am looking for.  I need to experiment more and perhaps try the Sm/Med inner cup.  I am looking forward to seeing how it matures as a device and an experience, I don't feel like I have tapped it's full potential yet.  I will try to post a more full review after I have used it for a while and fully explored it's features.

[Agent_OhOhOh]

@tapar
Got to add to yr props for very informative post. Over 1200 reads, not much Love.    Maybe some people don't have patience for all of it, but it usually helps to know where a reviewer is coming from.

Too bad about low power problem, but it says right on controller, to go low speed you are going lower power. Not sure its even motor's fault as it's operating at very reduced current. What can you do with low current? This has been only way to get low speed since caveman made first piston-action jacker decades ago. How many dozens have come & gone, same basic problem unsolved. Use a bigger, more powerful motor? OK, but now you are using more current even at low speed, so when you want full speed you have maybe 2X the current, which could be a handful & maybe noisy. Micro-electronics has answer for many things, but not this.

I am now very tempted by TD discount on A10 but as you say, add in controller + M/L sleeve, you are back over $200.

I will try to post a more full review after I have used it for a while and fully explored it's features.

Please do,

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[Universal]

Excellent review for a often wondered about product. Mad respect for going through all its use intricacies.

Yeah, if ever a thread deserved more propage, this is it.

I did my part. Hope others that found it prop worthy remember to do so as well. 

[tapar]

Thanks, I had planned to revisit this and post more about using it over time.  I have not actually use it very much since I posted the first impressions.  That isn't so much because I don't want to use the A10 Piston, but more because I have been really enjoying the Meiki Zhang Xiao Yu.   The Meiki has really surprised me with how much I like it, I didn't expect the experience to be so different from a fleshlight.

It has proven difficult to get motivated to try and unlock the potential in the A10 Piston.  It still feels like the A10 Piston could be a really amazing experience after everything is dialed in a bit more.  I think I am just going to have to force myself to take the time and try and figure this out, even if it is so easy to be satisfied with the Meiki.   

I have thought about it a bit and I think one of the key ingredients is going to be finding the ideal lube and the correct amount of lube.  The piston moves the cup in and out a set stroke distance, if you hold the unit stationary you would expect to feel the inner texture of the cup move that same stroke distance.   The thing is, the inner "tube" of the cup is made of a very stretchy material.   It does not always slide along your penis like a more rigid material (for example a fleshlight), rather I would describe it as though the material stretches and slides only a little bit compared to the motion of the cup itself.   It felt to me like it did more stretching and less sliding at the lower power settings...then at the higher power settings it did more sliding but was in jackrabbit mode and a bit "too fast" for my taste.   If the goal is to get more sensation via more motion of the textured inner tube of the cup, but with slower speeds...I think the key might be in using a slipperier lube.  It could just be the nature of the design of the cup too.