The Lelo Hugo is a wearable prostate massager with a unique control and very strong vibration motors. It sounds like an interesting offer, but will it be any good? Let’s find out in my Lelo Hugo review!
The Lelo Hugo was sent to me for free by Lelo in return for an honest review. This page contains affiliate links and if you use them it costs you nothing but it helps support this website! My choice to review this toy doesn’t mean I support Charlie Sheen or Hex condoms.
First Impressions of the Lelo Hugo
I anticipated the Lelo Hugo to be as good as another toy of theirs I tried before, the Loki Wave. The remote control of the Lelo Hugo immediately caught my attention because it really is flashy and has a round shape, which is an unusual choice.
My Lelo Hugo is black which if you know me and my writing by now, is my least favourite colour for silicone sex toys. I have to admit that the form of the Hugo looks really sleek though and I looked forward to putting it to the test. It’s also worth noting that the Hugo comes in a nicer colour too – blue/turquoise.
It has two vibration motors in it and six preprogrammed vibration patterns. There are also two Sensemotion controls available via the remote control, which I’ll talk about further below too. The vibration motors are fairly strong and I’ll get more into specifics about that sensation later on.
When the Hugo arrives, it comes in a discrete black box and in the image above you’ll also see what is included with it; the toy, the remote, 2x AA batteries, a charging cable and a small satin pouch to keep it all in.
The Hugo has a diameter of 1.27 inches (3.22 cm), which is going to feel very full to a beginner. I do still recommend it to beginners though because this is the sort of size it wouldn’t take very long to build up to. Just make sure you use plenty of lube and perhaps buy a smaller cheap silicone butt plug to warm up with.
The battery life of the Hugo is 2 hours, which is decently long. The toy is completely waterproof so the way that the charging works is via a little silicone flap that you lift up off the charging port (as in the image above).
The Lelo Hugo’s remote is SO fun
Out of all the physical remote controls I’ve tried, the Lelo Hugo’s is the most fun to use. It can work like a standard remote and simply cycle through vibration patterns, however the unique thing with the Hugo’s remote is that it can go into gyroscope mode (called Sensemotion mode 1 by Lelo). What I mean by gyroscope mode is that it is possible to control the intensity of the Hugo’s vibration by simply tilting the remote control itself. It’s seriously fun to use a remote in that way!
There is also accelerometer style mode called Sensemotion 2, which enables me to control the Hugo by moving the remote control in any direction I like. Faster movements mean the toy gets more intense. Again, a really fun way to use the toy, though I still prefer the rotation based Sensemotion 1!
Often, I’ve found the sliding controls in some Sex toy apps to be fun because I can ascend and descend the vibration intensity with the movement of my finger. The Lelo Hugo DOES NOT have an app, yet it let’s me have the same fun with vibration intensity. Despite me reviewing a lot of smart sex toys, I always prefer it when I don’t have to go through an app to use my toy. The Lelo Hugo’s remote has this exactly right… I wish more sex toy controls were like this.
There has been a bit of a problem with my remote though…
If the remote becomes desynced… there aren’t enough controls
It happened to me on two occasions that the remote of the Lelo Hugo became desynced from the prostate toy itself. I don’t know what happened in these two cases but nothing I pressed, no button combination seemed to work. Only time seemed to make them sync back together again. Very strange!
Anyway, when the Lelo Hugo’s remote becomes desynced from the toy and I’m forced to use the control on the toy itself only, I realise how limited that one button is. On the Hugo, there is just one single button that turns the toy on and cycles through its six pre-programmed vibration modes. The Hugo has very strong vibration motors in it, so when it first comes on, it’s INTENSE. Too intense for me at the start of play actually. What I’d like to have been able to do is control the vibration intensity on the toy itself but that isn’t possible without the remote. A blind spot in this toy’s design in my opinion, because as I mentioned, it is very strong.
There are vibration patterns that I enjoy using without the remote, such as the roller-coaster style mode that mounts and descends in intensity. I still think that it’s a shame that some of the vibration modes cannot be adjusted in intensity via the toy alone.
From a different angle too, the fact that the remote sometimes becomes desynced from the Hugo is slightly annoying. I couldn’t tell what the problem was and even re-read the instructional guide a few times to see if I could figure out what was wrong. I didn’t find any info on that anywhere, so this is the main area where the toy falls down for me.
The remote of the Hugo vibrates too!
The remote control of the Lelo Hugo is one of its best features in my opinion, though it could be better. The other really nice thing about it, other than what I already mentioned above is the fact that it vibrates in the same patterns as the toy. So when the remote and toy are synced, they both vibrate. Eve found this very useful when remote controlling the toy on me (more on that further down).
What is a little bit of a shame is that the vibration motor inside the remote control is a bit weak. It’s kind of a missed opportunity I think, because if it was stronger, Eve would be able to use it on her clit or I’d be able to use it on my penis head. Using the toy in either way is possible but the intensity of the remote’s vibrations aren’t enough to give me or Eve orgasms. So the vibrations that come from the remote control itself are more indicators to me of what’s going on with the toy than a stimulation benefit in and of itself. If Lelo ever bring out a Hugo 2, I’d like to see the remote control’s vibration motor increase in intensity. To clarify, I’m talking about the vibration motor IN the remote and not the one inside the toy, which is very intense.
The reason the remote doesn’t vibrate very strongly is perhaps to do with its power source, AA batteries. The remote control takes two AA batteries and while that’s fine, if the remote was to vibrate more than it does, it would probably empty the batteries faster. Nevertheless, if Lelo ever does another version of this toy, I’d like some more power in that remote control vibration!
The Hugo isn’t as intense as the other toy by Lelo I tried
The Lelo Hugo has very intense vibration motors, some of the most intense I’ve had in a prostate toy, however my pleasure waves and orgasms weren’t quite as intense with the Hugo when compared to my experience with the Loki Wave. The Loki Wave vibrates and moves up and down in a come hither motion, which is the main reason why I prefer that toy. I also prefer the Loki Wave’s more rumbly vibrations. The Hugo’s vibrations aren’t numbing but they aren’t as deep and rumbly as the other toy.
I also prefer the vibration modes of the Loki Wave, however the Loki Wave has two problems that the Hugo doesn’t have. The Loki Wave feels far bigger than the Hugo (it is 0.33 inches bigger) and it also can’t be worn. By contrast, it’s very easy to keep the Hugo in during sex and its size isn’t really an issue.
The Lelo Hugo’s vibration motors are strong!
While I didn’t find the Lelo Hugo’s vibration motors as rumbly as either the We Vibe Vector or Lovense Edge 2, its motors are still very strong. The motors are more powerful than those in the Vector and perhaps on par with those in the Edge 2. The vibrations are by no means buzzy and penetrate nicely into the anus and prostate without causing numbness.
The downside of the Hugo’s strong vibration motors is that they’re LOUD. Like really loud… I think this is the loudest prostate vibrator I own at the moment. Not a huge problem if you don’t need to worry about it but for example, I wouldn’t use the Hugo while people were in the next room to me, I’m also a bit worried that my downstairs neighbours might hear it if I sit on the sofa, because these vibes do rumble quite loudly.
Video demo of the Lelo Hugo and the noise it makes
As I already mentioned, the Lelo Hugo is quite a loud prostate toy. In this unboxing and demo, you’ll hear the noise it makes. You can ignore the noise it makes rattling on the hard surface though, towards the end of the video I show what it sounds like with the toy in my hand vibrating.
Having a partner control the Lelo Hugo during sex
Like the other Lelo toys I tried so far, the Hugo doesn’t have any kind of app control, which is a little bit of a shame for some people who might want long distance control. For me personally it isn’t a biggie because Eve and I are rarely away from home for long amounts of time anymore.
My girlfriend really enjoyed using the Hugo’s remote on me during sex actually. The two different Sensemotion controls were a big novelty for her because she didn’t have to press anything or do much guesswork. The fact that the remote control vibrates in roughly the same way as the toy itself does is an advantage in this situation because she can feel the same vibration that she’s giving me. She told me several times how sexy it was to be able to feel what was going on inside me in her hand.
So as far as physical remote control designs go, we’re both fans of the Hugo. The only thing that lets it down, like I mentioned further above, is that sometimes the remote control becomes inexplicably de-synced from the toy.
The Lelo Hugo isn’t super flexible
I can’t help but compare the Lelo Hugo to the Lovense Edge 2 and We-Vibe Vector, because they’re all very similar designs. Like the other two prostate toys, the Lelo Hugo is a wearable style prostate vibrator. Unlike the other two, it doesn’t have a flexible neck, so the insertable bit doesn’t bend very much from the base.
When I first got the Vector and read about the neck being flexible, I remember I didn’t really think too much of it “yeah whatever”. It was the same when I got the Edge 2. It’s only now that I go back to a similarly sized prostate toy WITHOUT a flexible neck (the Hugo), that I realise how important the flexibility is.
The Lelo Hugo is quite comfortable, so don’t let this persuade you that it isn’t. My point here though is that I think by not putting a flexible neck on the toy, Lelo has missed another opportunity with the toy. The flexible neck would give the wiggle room for the Hugo to hit exactly the right spot and really flex with the body. As it is, it doesn’t do that and so it feels quite rigid and present. It’s not exactly a problem, but in turms of luxury and comfort I do prefer the neck to be more flexible than this.
The Lelo Hugo doesn’t stay in place well for me
Although I had a lot of fun with the Lelo Hugo and it gave me some nice orgasms, I noticed that it slips out of my body quite a lot. I don’t know if that is because the neck is inflexible or whether it’s just because the design of the toy’s insertable arm is too straight but whatever it is, it just doesn’t stay in place very well.
The Hugo will stay in rather well if I’m laying down on my back with my legs in a closed position. Whenever I’m having sex with my girlfriend in doggy style or missionary positions though, the Hugo WILL NOT stay in place. It’s the same when I walk around my apartment (another test I did). The Hugo wiggles its way out of my body very quickly. I think that’s a shame and something Lelo could look to improve on in future wearable prostate toys.
Cleaning the Lelo Hugo
The Lelo Hugo is waterproof and its remote also has some water resistance (just don’t submerge it), the toy is therefore very easy to clean. Just some warm water, soap and some drying will suffice. You can use a sex toy cleaner if it makes you feel like your toy is cleaner after using that (I know my girlfriend prefers using sprays afterwards too).
I’m going to have to say the same thing about the Hugo as I do with all black silicone toys though – dust magnet. When dust sticks to black silicone, it’s very visible. For that reason, I recommend you get the blue/turquoise colour Hugo rather than the black one I reviewed here!
In conclusion of my Lelo Hugo review
So should you buy the Lelo Hugo? I’m in two minds with this toy honestly. It has some very good ideas and I really do love the remote control design. I haven’t myself had a toy with a remote like this before, so for that it’s a joy to use. I also had good orgasms as a result of using the Hugo (albeit not the full hands free variety). The reason I’m in two minds is because for all its merits, the Hugo has quite a few missed opportunities. It doesn’t stay in place well, its remote control sometimes desyncs for no reason and on the body toy there aren’t buttons to control intensity.
I could also add to the list of missed opportunities the fact that I want the remote control’s vibration motor to be more intense but that would be nitpicking a little too much seeing as that’s such a rare design choice anyway. What holds the Hugo back a little bit though is its lack of app controls. Although I didn’t need app controls or have the desire to use them, I recognise that some people do like using those controls and that the Hugo has too many good competitors with that functionality.
So it’s a mixed bag for me with the Lelo Hugo. Is it a good toy? Yes, it is. Is it the best of its kind? Not yet. For me, I’d still buy the Loki Wave from Lelo before the Hugo. I had amazing orgasms from the Loki Wave and still enjoy using it months after writing my review. The Loki Wave really blew my mind… it set the bar really high. The Hugo didn’t live up to that other toy, so I have to recommend the Loki Wave more strongly as a result!
Thanks Lelo for sending this toy in for review! If our readers want to buy the Hugo or any other of their toys, you can do so from their official website.
Lelo Hugo
Score: 6.5 / 10
Reviewer: Adam Rouge
Performance Scoring
Intensity
8 / 10
Pleasure
7 / 10
Design and efficacy
6 / 10
Noise
4 / 10
Functionality
6 / 10
Desire to use again
6 / 10
Prices
These prices may be very slightly different by the time you visit the shop. This is just to give you an idea of the cost 😉
The button above and below the price table will send you to the correct shop for your country!
Prices last updated on: 28/11/2021
United States | $219 | |
Europe | €199 | |
United Kingdom | £169 |
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