Hot Octopuss - Pulse 4 Duo Review

Design and quality

As a lover of electronic toys that target the frenulum and glans of the penis, I couldn't wait to try out the Hot Octopus Pulse 4 Duo due to its seemingly giant massage plate...and oh boy what a difference the oversized massager made, it had me cumming EVERY...SINGLE...TIME!!! Anyway I'm excited and getting ahead of myself, lets start with a bit of an overview first...

The Hot Octopuss - Pulse 4 Duo is (courtesy of the duo in its name) actually a couples vibrator and has been designed to be used both as a solo toy and also for couples who want to spice up their foreplay or are unable to have penetrative sex. To achieve such a wide array of uses the toy has multiple vibration points which aim to stimulate both the penis and part the vulva simultaneously. Its worth pointing out that the version I reviewed is the newer 2025 model which has been completely redesigned compared to the earlier Pulse Duo 3.

What's new in the 2025 version?

• Size: It’s 40% smaller and slightly lighter than the original.

• The shape has been redesigned to make parting the vulva easier and overall making it more grindable.

• A stronger motor that delivers more power than the earlier versions.

• 4-Button Remote: allowing control of the overall intensity, and turbo mode (to increase vibrations to the partner side).

In hand feel:

Although I do not have the older version to compare the new version of the Pulse with, overall I was pretty impressed with the feel of the Pulse 4 Duo. The exterior surface is covered in a blue coloured silicone that is soft to the touch and the size felt great, it's not overly large or cumbersome fitting into the palm of your hand nicely.

The unit has four buttons (two on each side) which are easily operated when in use, they are tactile and offer a nice click when pressed. On the right hand side there are simple up and down buttons that control the intensity level and on the left there is the power and settings buttons. Note there is no way to control the boost mode via the unit which is disappointing, and this must be controlled via the remote.

One thing I was disappointed in was the visible seam that runs around the perimeter of the toy. It seems to be relatively watertight, however I think there may be a risk of some water or lube becoming trapped here as it is not easily cleanable. And although Hot Octopus note the toy as being waterproof, I do wonder if this is an access point for moisture.

Remote:

This was easily the worst part of the experience. While it feels nice in the hand, the remote itself was buggy, unresponsive and all around bad. From a looks perspective its nice enough, the buttons were clicky and the entire unit sits in its own little silicone sleeve which was a nice touch, but this was let down by the fact that it was incredibly temperamental, buttons would be unresponsive or would only work after mashing them continuously. It was unbelievably irritating and not what you want to be concentrating on in the heat of the moment.

Okay, but what about the motors?

As mentioned above the pulse duo has a pair of motors so that it can be used for partners play. Compared to the solo versions that only provides the single pulse plate for the penis.

• Vibration point 1 - For solo use a large pulsing plate targets the penis head. It's much larger than any other toy I have used measuring about 2.5cm across and easily stimulates the entire underside. Its less of a targeted vibration, and more of a whoa this thing is intense kind of feeling.

• Vibration point 2 - On the opposite side the Pulse features an additional vibration point on the opposite side which is designed to spread the vulva and allows your partner to grid away on the toys ridge.

• The wings - while not exactly a vibration point in themselves, I need to note that the wings do a pretty good job of keeping the Pulse in place if you wanted to use it hands free and while not perfect they did an okay job during foreplay keeping the unit in place.

Charging:

Charging the unit is straightforward although keeping track of another proprietary cable is becoming tiresome and I wish there was a standard that made all charging of all toys the same...but that's a side issue. Overall battery life is fairly standard for a stepper motor with three hours of charge giving only one hour of battery life. While I only once had it stop mid use, so long as you remember to charge it, it should be good to last most sessions.

Product specification summary:

• Material: Silicone, ABS

• Material (Remote): Silicone, ABS

• Colour: Blue

• Function: 9 Speed Oscillator, 7 vibration modes with adjustable frequency

• Function (Remote): 3 speed settings

• Partner motor on reverse side offers 8 speeds and 7 patterns, controlled via the wireless remote

• Partner motor also offers Turbo Mode via the Crown logo button on the remote

• Motor: 3.6V Precision Microdrives

• Battery: Rechargeable Li-ion 3.7V 420mAh

• Battery (Remote): CR2032 included

• Noise Level: < 59dB

• Running Time: up to 1 Hour

• Charging: USB Cable

• Charging Time: 3h

• Waterproof: Yes

Experience and performance - This little unit will make you cum.

Overview & solo use:

Its intense and I loved it!...

The pulse plate of the Pulse 4 Duo is quite possibly the most intense toy I've tested so far. So much so that on the highest setting it felt like it was going to get me off in what seemed like only a few minutes and was significantly stronger than both the Fun factory Manta and Lovense Gush 2. If you are after something intense then this may be the way to go, however for longer play sessions, you may want to look elsewhere as even on the lowest setting the Pulse was still incredibly powerful. Personally...for solo use I wouldn't change a thing and I really enjoyed the extra power the Pulse offered!

As mentioned in my design portion of the review, controlling the unit was very easy and the buttons were in intuitive locations. I was able to change the intensity of the vibrations even when used in the dark however as the controls are on both sides, changing vibration patterns required operation with my opposite hand, or choosing a vibration pattern before use.

Partnered Use:

I gave this a whirl with a friend for scientific reasons...and unfortunately we both came to the same conclusion...Partnered use wasn't nearly as enjoyable as solo!

While we could see the appeal, it just didn't work all that well. From my perspective the pressure felt on the groin wasn't all that pleasurable and the toy during use wanted to push down and squish the penis which was a definite mood killer. Additionally unlike in solo use, it was difficult to keep the pulsing plate in the same location to achieve enough stimulation for orgasm.

For her, the vibrations were just okay, but we found it difficult to keep the toy in one place. As you can imagine, the toy wants to move independently from both users and when one person shifts it moves the toy away from the other persons erogenous areas. It all became a bit tiresome trying to get it in the right position for it to work effectively.

Additionally the remote was ultimately useless. In theory this would have worked well, however the buttons were unresponsive and slow and even more perplexing, the remote is the only way you can control the vibrations of the top of the unit! And trust me, no one wants to be fumbling around with a remote in the heat of the moment while you try and increase or decrease vibration patterns. Furthermore the only way to control the (female only) boost mode is through the remote, while the vibrations were definitely stronger, we were able to get this to work only intermittently despite multiple attempts.

For personal use, I would definitely look into the 'solo only' options. Unless you are both incredibly fit and nimble maybe leave the Duo models on the shelf.

Materials and care

Cleaning the Hot Octopuss Pulse 4 Duo is simple. The unit is waterproof and after use can be cleaned with any toy safe cleaner or mild soap and then rinsed. Better yet, use it in the shower for a fast and simple clean off! Then simply dry it off and put it back into the included storage bag.

Again, I'm going to reiterate it again here, there is a seam that runs around the outside of the toy. This is not sealed and can be split apart. Moisture can potentially work its way into this seam if it is split while cleaning or used in a wet area. It's just something to be mindful of regarding the longevity of your toys.

Packaging

Overall the packaging for the Pulse was generally of a good quality, the glossy outer box despite being constructed of a thinner cardboard, held up well to shipping with only come minor creasing. The inner packaging is more robust consisting of a thicker cardboard sleeve that securely housed the toy, remote, screwdriver and storage bag.

My one complaint with the packaging is that the internal sleeve left a substantial amount of lint over the toy, not a huge deal (you should always wash your toys before use) but it did give the unboxing experience a less than stellar feel.

Box contents

• 1 x PULSE 4 DUO

• 1 x Travel pouch

• 1 x Instruction booklet

• 1 x Charging cable

• 1 x Remote control

• 1 x Warranty sheet

• 1 x Screwdriver

Price - Given the high cost this may not be worth it for you.

Lets get this out of the way - The Pulse 4 Duo is an expensive bit of kit coming in at around $200 AUD and unfortunately although it possesses a strong (and enjoyable) motor there is little else here to justify the price increase above the standard solo model which comes in at around $130. I thought the additional Duo motor was really not not enough to justify the price increase and amounted to minimal gain.

Additionally the Boost mode is switched to the female side, and while I could get behind this if it all worked perfectly, in practice I found the toy was uncomfortable to use partnered and the remote to operate this specific feature was less that useless.

For solo use and adding a little spice to the bedroom, this may be a good investment. But if you are looking for something to use as a replacement for intercourse, you may need to look elsewhere. If you are looking for something intense to use solo however - the cheaper Pulse Solo is a much better investment.