Basket Case: What to Buy at Fleshlight, According to Our Editors

Welcome to Basket Case, wherein your trusty VICE editors scour the proverbial aisles of our favorite online retailers to bring you a smorgasbord of the absolute best things to buy. In this installment, we're playing Supermarket Sweep at the iconic male sex toy brand Fleshlight, bringing you everything from penis strokers to shower mounts.

Few sex toys have sucked as much as Fleshlights—and we do, of course, mean that literally. Known for its oral-simulating strokers, Fleshlight has made a major mark on the world of sex toys for people with penises. Next to household names such as The Magic Wand, Womanizer, and Satisfyer, Fleshlight is one of those sex toy brands whose name alone has become a shorthand for orgasmic excellence, whether you’ve never owned a sex toy in your life, or keep a buffet of orgasmic accessories on-hand. 

Who made the first Fleshlight? As with traveler’s checks and gnocchi, we can’t quite remember when we first heard about the male-focused sex toy company, only that its polymer ‘vaginas’ have set the standard for the best male sex toys that are easy to clean. For the uninitiated [baptizes with lube]: a traditional Fleshlight model is essentially a flashlight-shaped tube designed to hug, stroke, and bring your penis to climax through its textured interior. Sometimes, they even vibrate.

The Founding Father of Fleshlight is Steve Shubin, whose 1997 patent filing for the sex toy was described as a “device for discreet sperm collection.” In a VICE article about Shubin’s journey, we learn that the former SWAT-team-member-turned-inventor invested $50,000 in the idea after being disappointed by the quality of men's sex toys at adult stores. Today, the valuation of Fleshlight’s global net sales is over $71 million. There are over 54,000 members of the Fleshlight subreddit, where impassioned ‘bators share tips and tricks for getting off, edging, or keeping a coveted “40 day streak”; there are Fleshlight pornstar collaborations, penis pumps, and more Fleshlight-inspired fantasy strokers than we can count. The devil works hard, but this A Bug’s Life–inspired stroker works harder. 

Today, the humble Fleshlight has transcended its utilitarian purpose to become a horny, peak-Internet™ cultural mainstay. Wading through The Flesh can feel a little daunting for first-timers and hot, lazy people alike, so we have whipped-up a guide to the best sex toys from Fleshlight for every kind of master ‘bater. 

It doesn’t get more iconic than this, folks. Fleshlight’s Pink Lady is one of the brand’s most legendary penis stroker models, beloved for its tight, ribbed inner canal and anatomical vulva design. It has a 4.7-star average rating from over 300 reviews at Lovehoney, where users write that the textured, soft plastic interior is the perfect, peak-edging blend of stimulating and gentle. 

When Cole Porter sang, “I get no kick from Champagne/ I get a kick out of [my vibrating Pink Lady Fleshlight],” he meant it. The vibrating edition of the OG Pink Lady, known as the Vibro Lady, uses vibrations to bring your penis even more stimulation, with pulses transferred to each of the concentric fingers along the length of the shaft.  

A bestseller on Lovehoney, the Flight Pilot Fleshlight is lauded as a great first timer’s stroker by reviewers. The inner tube is made out of the brand’s signature soft plastic and lined with dozens of stimulating bumps, while suction can be controlled via the screw cap base. As one fan writes, “You can use it inside or outside the container, [and] heat it up with warm water for a better feel. [It’s] surprisingly easy to clean.”

If you grew up tempted to slide your penis into one of those clear water wiggle tube toys, Fleshlight’s high-rated, crystal clear stroker model will bring a tear to your eye and an orgasm to your nethers. It has a 4-star average rating on Amazon from over 1,900 ratings, including one stan who writes, “A Fleshlight fit for a king! O, what joy 'tis to find such a pleasure!”  

Fleshlight’s pornstar collabs

Hands-down, ass-up, Fleshlight’s pornstar collabs have been one of the brand’s most ingenious ideas. The brand has made molds of talented adult stars’ most celebrated holes and paired them with its high-tech designs to deliver them to the boudoirs of the people. You can peruse the entire Fleshlight Girls and, more recently, Fleshjack Boys lines on the brand’s site to find the fit for you, but we’re partial to Riley Reid’s vulva-clone, which is a bestseller on Lovehoney, and the high-rated model tube of Brent Corrigan’s butthole. As one Amazon reviewer writes about the latter, “This thing is insane! I’m calling it evil, because, MAN! It made me cum twelve times in a row.”  

… Speaking of butt play, Fleshlight has loads upon hot, sticky loads of anal models for all of your gender preferences. We’ll always have a soft spot for this one, dubbed “CLASSIC PINK BUTT” by the Amazon item description poets, because it packs a “super tight hole” (to quote one reviewer) and the same soft plastic interior as its vulva toys. 

Fleshlight understands that you are a high-powered, on-the-go citizen of the world. That’s why it makes a Quickshot travel-sized Fleshlight that can discreetly fit into your carry-on. The internal length is just under 4 inches, and the open-ended design makes for even easier clean-up. 

Lube, lube, lube is one of the most important Fleshlight credos, because it’s what makes your spank sesh with the toy run so smoothly. Luckily, Fleshlight has curated a care package of its lubes, which includes its hypo-allergenic Fleshlube Water (a water-based lube), Fleshlube Fire (a warming, water-based lube), and Fleshlube Ice (a tingling, cooling water-based lube) tubes. The bundle is out of stock on Amazon, so cop it while it’s available—and on sale—from Fleshlight. 

Don’t turn your Fleshlight into a petri dish, mate. Care and maintenance of your new sidekick is essential and easy with the brand’s Care Pack, which includes an antibacterial toy cleaner and gentle Renewing Powder, which keeps it fresh as a daisy (that has been covered in your cum). 

We’re going to speculate that James Cameron loves this shower mount for Fleshlights, which will have you moaning “ABYSS!” in pleasure as you take your morning douche.  

Here’s to celebrating the Light of the Flesh that lives in us all.

The Rec Room staff independently selected all of the stuff featured in this story. Want more reviews, recommendations, and red-hot deals? Sign up for our newsletter.