The Dark Angel

Earth Angel and Dark Angel Vibes

Green is the new Black.

Spring has sprung and I thought what better way to celebrate than do a series of green, eco-friendly sex toy reviews.  I’m a bit of a David Suzuki girl and believe if there is any cause I can really get behind, it is helping to lower our carbon footprint on the Earth.  After all, you can’t fight hunger, war and disease if you have no planet to live on.

I recycle, I eat local, I buy natural.  But, when it comes to sex toys, there are few choices that are truly green.  In fact, the majority of sex toys made and sold worldwide still have yucky chemicals and are not very body safe.  It stands to reason then that they are not very safe for the environment either.

Enter the Dark Angel from Caden Enterprises in Ireland.  When I first heard of the Earth Angel I was intrigued by the design.  The Earth Angel is the Dark Angel’s prototype sister, and the very first hand-cranked vibrator.  The Dark Angel is similar in design to the Earth Angel, and still requires you to hand crank it, but is black instead of white and comes with a clear, textured TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer) sleeve that is phthalate-free.

The Dark Angel is made from 100% recycled plastics and materials. It comes in a cardboard tube that is very practical, can be recycled and is biodegradable.  One of my pet peeves about the sex toy industry is the superfluous packaging, usually plastic clamshells, that are way more than is required to package a toy.  Because the Dark Angel is hand-cranked, it requires no batteries to use up and throw away.  Caden Enterprises says, “The impact of batteries on our environment is very damaging.  Each sextoy uses approx 2 if not more batteries to operate and need replacing quiet often.  These used batteries then make their way to our landfills around the world where they sit and dispel toxic gases into the air and acid into the soil which eventually seeps into our waters.”  So, although batteries may seem like a “small” problem, it is really not.

So how does this hand-cranked vibrator work?  Well, the little crank hand pulls out from the base so you can crank it to power it up.  Crank it for 4 minutes for 30 minutes of play and for 8 minutes to fully change it for an hour.  It powers up “using a serious of cogs and a patented powercore, power is generated by the cranking motion and stored for later use.”  Each vibe also has a USB port so you could charge it from your laptop or computer as well.  A red indicator light comes on to let you know the vibe is charging.  Once cranked the required amount of time, it is time to play.  See how it is cranked here in this Babeland video.

The Dark Angel turns on by pressing a button and has three speeds, from mild to moderate on full power.  I removed the sleeve, because I hate the texture of it.  On high speed I used the vibe both clitorally and for vaginal penetration.  It felt quite nice, especially when used for penetration.  However, I’ve become very used to my Fairy Wand (which is like a mini Hitachi on steroids), so found the Dark Angel could not bring me to climax.

If I were to offer two suggestions to improve on the design of this vibe it would be:

1. To have a more powerful motor for more powerful vibrations.
2. And, to lose the sleeve either by getting rid of it all together or by replacing it with a nicer silicone sleeve.

Overall, I would rate the Dark Angel very high for innovation and for being a green sex toy.  A hand-cranked sex toy is a great idea and I would love to see Caden Enterprises continue to improve on the toy’s design.  I definitely think there is a market for this product.

You can purchase the Dark Angel on their EarthAngel website via PayPal or at Babeland.com