Review: Atom Plus Lux by Hot Octopuss

Allllllrighty then – let’s take a look at Hot Octopuss’ latest incarnation of their cock ring toy, the Atom Plus Lux. This is a vibrating cock ring that is designed to fit around both the balls and penis shaft. The thing that makes this version “Lux” is its physical remote control. I previously reviewed the shaft-only version of this cock ring and liked it a lot, so I’m very excited to be reviewing the dual vibrator version of that toy. Continue on for my review of the Atom Plus Lux!

The Atom Plus Lux was sent to me for free by the wonderful folks at Hot Octopuss, in return for an honest review. This page contains affiliate links and if you use them it costs you nothing but it supports the writing I do on this website, so thanks to those of you who do use the links!

Wait… I have to push my balls through it?!

I’ll be completely honest, I was a little worried about the Atom Plus Lux. You see, while I tend to really like simple non-vibrating silicone cock rings that fit around the balls, the vibrating versions tend to be rigid in design, which makes putting them on awkward. For example the Lovense Diamo and We-Vibe Verge make me pull faces when I have to attempt pushing my balls through them. In this case (with the Atom Plus Lux), I’m happy to announce that Hot Octopuss has thought this design through WAY more and has come up with something that works better!

My first impression of the Atom Plus Lux was a sigh of relief. Unlike other toys of a similar design, the Atom Plus Lux’s silicone is still quite stretchy despite it having a vibration motor at both ends of the cock ring. It’s something I’d really like to say “well done” on to Hot Octopuss, because this design makes it far less likely that one will suffer a panic attack while trying to push balls through the cock ring. Unlike the other two toys I mentioned above, the Atom Plus Lux can be put on while erect, which is another nice aspect.

Just to clarify, the reason why the Atom Plus Lux is more comfortable to put on than either the Diamo or Verge is because those other toys are VERY rigid. You can’t stretch them at all, so if the space you have to push your balls through isn’t ideal – you have to grin and bare it. With the Atom Plus Lux, the stretchiness of the toy allows me to push my balls through in a calm and happy state of mind – and my girlfriend doesn’t need to look at me pulling horrible faces. Overall, this toy is worth it just for that alone.

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s still better to put the Atom Plus Lux on while you’re still flaccid. My penis is quite girthy and when I tried to put the cock ring on with an erection, it took me a few moments and it was admittedly a bit uncomfortable to push my balls through. When putting the cock ring on while flaccid however, I get no such discomfort, which is again more than I can say for either the Verge or Diamo that I mentioned above.

See it at the official shop

Which button do I press damn it?

Upon wielding the Atom Plus Lux upon my member for the first time, I proudly clicked a button on the side of it. Nothing happened. Then I found another button at the other side, but again nothing. I reached for the remote control but it dropped on the floor and I saw it bounce under the bed… so no remote control for us that evening.

“Ahhhhh, did you charge it?” asked Eve.

I assured Eve that I had indeed charged it and that it simply wasn’t working. She suggested I take it off but I sort of didn’t want to. I faffed around a bit more with the first two buttons I found, then finally I found a third button on the underside of the toy that turned it on.

Long story short – too many buttons. I rarely read instruction manuals before I use things, because I am what you’d call a “classic” style consumer. If I’ve got to read the instruction manual, it either means I’m a bit stupid or the toy wasn’t intuitive. I’ll leave that for you to decide dear reader but it isn’t too marvellous for me either way.

I will say though, when one realises where the buttons are, the Atom Plus Lux is pretty easy to control, even without the remote control.

Bzzzzzzz… what are the vibes of the Atom Plus Lux like?

The Atom Plus Lux (much like the original Atom) is more on the medium mark if I’m describing whether it’s buzzy or rumbly. It is more rumbly than buzzy though – it doesn’t make me numb at all (and doesn’t make my partner numb either). Personally, I would prefer juuuuust a little bit more rumble, however these vibrations are more than pleasurable for me and my partner. They’re strong, they make my girlfriend orgasm and they help bring me to the edge too.

Even on its lowest intensity, the Atom Plus Lux packs a bit of a punch. I expect nothing less of a British vibration motor. The vibrations of this are reminiscent of those that I enjoyed from the simpler version of the Atom, which I reviewed here.

The difference with the Atom Plus Lux is that I have TWO vibration motors instead of one… and let’s face it, two is usually better than one. In this case, the largest motor is at the top of the toy (where it stimulates both my penis and my girlfriend’s clit) and the smaller motor is on the underneath of the toy, where it mainly stimulates my perineum and balls. It doesn’t vibrate the balls directly though – it’s more of a subtle effect, so fear not the wrath of Hot Octopuss’ powerful vibration motor.

The overall intensity of the Atom Plus Lux is more impressive for me than the standard Atom, simply because of the extra vibration motor and the fact that the silicone band stretches all the way around my balls too. As for Eve, she said that the vibrations are a little more intense for her too. She feels the second vibration motor on her butt sometimes and she has the impression that my penis vibrates more with this Plus Lux version of the toy.

The remote control of the Atom Plus Lux… why no wrist-strap?

The much welcomed feature of the Atom Plus Lux is its inclusion of a physical remote control. I really prefer physical remotes to phone apps, so I was particularly happy that the Atom Plus Lux came with one. The thing is, I really enjoyed using the remote controls of the Pulse Duo Lux, which I reviewed here. The Atom Plus Lux remote is the same design, except for one thing – no wrist strap.

As I mentioned above, I dropped the remote and lost it under my bed the first time I tried to use the Atom Plus Lux. While I can’t blame Hot Octopuss for my clumsiness, I have to say, I really wish that the remote of the Atom Plus Lux came with a silicone wrist strap like the Pulse Duo lux remotes did. Having that silicone wrist strap makes it really easy to control the toy during usage and it makes handling the remote easier even without actually wearing the wrist strap.

If the idea is that this toy’s remote isn’t worn around wrist, I believe that the remote itself needs to be reshaped a little bit to make it easier to hold. The thing is, it’s very small and easy to slip through my fingers, particularly because I’ll usually have lube on them.

See it at the official shop

The remote functionality of the Atom Plus Lux – works like a charm!

So I’ve had my bit of a moan about there being no wrist strap – that shouldn’t take away from the fact that this remote works really well though. When I finally managed to find the remote from under my bed, I used it during myself second session with the Atom Plus Lux and have to say, it makes changing vibration modes a bit easier.

I wouldn’t particularly be interested in using it during sex myself to be honest, purely because I can just as easily reach down and click the buttons on the physical toy. For my girlfriend though, it’s way easier for her to control this cock ring with the remote control. She often doesn’t want to press the buttons on cock rings I wear because she’s afraid of hurting me. While she needn’t worry about that, she still feels far more comfortable controlling my cock rings with remotes. For that, the Atom Plus Lux’s remote works great.

The remote of the Atom Plus Lux also means that you could have some fun public play with the toy. Eve and I aren’t super-duper into public play but I’d certainly be able to wear the Atom Plus Lux underneath my clothes for some time. All I’d say is if you plan to use it for public play in this way, make sure you test the cock ring out a few times at home first, for 20 minutes at a time. Usually, cock rings of this design in silicone shouldn’t cut off the circulation too much. As I mentioned, I’m quite girthy and it’s fine for me. Just to be on the safe side though – always try cock rings out for limited periods of time before wearing them for a long time.

What about the battery and all that stuff?

The battery of the Atom Plus Lux lasts around 40 minutes depending on the settings used and it takes two hours to charge back up. That running time is a little bit short if I compare it to certain other toys in this price point but to be honest, 40 minutes is more than long enough for most sex sessions. The real issue will be if you forget to charge it a few times and then realise on the third or fourth attempt that it has no battery left. But… to be honest, I think this is a bit of a trivial complaint. All that to say anyway that I’d prefer the battery to have at least an hour long capacity. It wouldn’t be enough of a drawback for me to not buy the toy though.

One thing I’m not so sure about with the marketing is that it “charges in a flash”. I don’t call two hours a flash. If it charged in one hour, that would be pretty impressive. As it is, a two hour charging time is good enough for most people’s patience – though to call that a flash is a bit of a stretch.

The Atom Plus Lux (like the original Atom I tested) is waterproof, so you can use it happily in the bath, shower, hot-tub, or swimming pool if that kinda thing is to your fancy. Myself, I just like the waterproof thing because it means that the toy is way easier to clean. If I don’t have to worry about water getting into places that aren’t waterproof, it always means cleaning is easier. Just know that the separate remote control of the Atom Plus Lux is NOT waterproof, so don’t wash that in your sink.

The main body of the toy is made from silicone and the hard control unit areas are made from ABS plastic. Needless to say perhaps but those materials are all 100% body-safe.

The Atom Plus Lux is a thick cock ring though…

When I asked Eve what she thought of the Atom Plus Lux, she said the vibrations felt really good but she also commented on how thick the ring is. According to her, the Atom Plus Lux is so thick that it makes my penis feel slightly shorter than usual. She doesn’t consider it a big problem in our case but if you’re already concerned about your size, maybe the regular version of the cock ring will be better for you (it isn’t quite as bulky).

What about the noise? How noisy is the Atom Plus Lux?

The Atom Plus Lux has pretty powerful vibration motors inside it and as a result, it isn’t the most silent toy in the world. The noise level is good for its power though. I wouldn’t use it when someone is in the next room for example but if someone was at the far corner of my apartment, they wouldn’t hear it. Here’s a quick video below to show you the sound it makes (bare in mind I have it right in front of the camera).

Concluding my review of the Atom Plus Lux

As I mentioned in the opening of my review, usually I like vibrating cock rings to fit only around my shaft. Manufacturers often make the vibrating rings that fit around one’s balls too rigid and make putting it on an ordeal. The Atom Plus Lux is comfortable to put on, can be stretched to fit around my Crown Jewels etc, so I don’t mind saying that it’s my favourite cock ring of this particular style (vibrating cock ring that goes around both balls and shaft).

As for whether I prefer it to the original Atom… I’m not sure. The thing is, as easy as it is for me to put the Atom Plus Lux on, it’s still easier to put the shaft only Atom model of the toy on during sex. If we’re talking purely from a sensation point of view then yes, of course the Atom Plus Lux is the better toy, because it has more vibration motors and delivers more stimulation. If I had to pick between sensation vs practicality in this case though, I’d probably go for the practicality of the original Atom.

Don’t get me wrong, if you already own a very good vibrating ring that fits around the shaft or indeed, if you already own the original Atom – then the Atom Plus Lux will be an excellent new addition to your toy box. I’m overjoyed to have it honestly because this is the first cock ring of this design that actually works for me well. All I meant with thing I said about practicality is that I think if you’re a beginner to cock rings or you haven’t tried them much before – and if you’re on the fence – I’d recommend you get the original Atom before getting this larger one.

Can a beginner still enjoy the Atom Plus Lux though? Absolutely! If you want that extra amount of stimulation and you don’t mind the extra little bit of time it will take to put the cock ring on, I say go for it. Whether you get the original Atom or the Atom Plus Lux – in my opinion that’s money well spent and some good nights under the sheets.

Thanks again to Hot Octopuss for sending me the Atom Plus Lux! You can visit their shop by clicking the button below.

Buy the Atom Plus Lux

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