ZOLO Tornado Review

Personal Experience

First Impressions

Testing it Out

Design

There is no denying that the ZOLO Tornado is a good-looking device. Its sleek matte black outer case with glossy accents and blue backlit window gives it a premium look out of the box. Once out of the box though the glossy part of the outer case quickly becomes a fingerprint magnet, and the window scratches extremely easily. The rubberized outer case makes it easier to grip, which is good, because the included suction cup mount is pretty much useless. The clear sleeve is anatomical with a tight opening, though the beaded interior widens out after the initial hole.

Ease of Use

The Tornado is pretty easy to use. A long press of the power button turns the device on and off, and a short press cycles through the various modes. The plus and minus buttons change the speed. The buttons are mounted flush to the case which makes them hard to find and press when you’re not looking, but that’s a minor complaint. My biggest complaint is that the included mount can’t hold the weight of the device. I tried it on my glass coffee table and on a tile wall, and both detached and dropped the device after a minute or two.

Quality

The quality of the Tornado is questionable at best. The mount is not strong enough to hold the device. When dropped from a height of about foot and a half after the mount failed, the Tornado separated at the seams. It went back together, but a small drop shouldn’t cause that kind of damage. The construction feels cheap and it is showing nicks and scratches after only a couple of uses. Additionally, the clear TPU sleeve got cloudy after the first wash. No amount of sex toy cleaner could get it clear again. Disappointing for a device at this price point.

Price

At the time of this writing, the Tornado is selling for $189 on the ZOLO site, with additional sleeves retailing for $29. For reference, that makes it only $10 less than The Handy and the Lovense Solace Pro, and more expensive than the Kiiroo Keon. Considering that those devices support features like remote control, custom patterns and interactive content, the Zolo Tornado feels vastly overpriced. When you factor in the cheap construction, the unusable mount, and the week sensation it becomes hard to justify the high price tag. In this case you just don’t get what you paid for.

Performance

The Tornado had mixed results in my performance testing. Battery life is decent, though charging does take longer than the advertised 3.5 hours. In my testing it was closer to four hours. The charging light on the front is bright and blinks rapidly while charging which can be annoying. The motor noticeably strained when I inserted myself, even more so when I pushed in deeper. It also got quite warm after only 30 minutes of use. I’m right around average when it comes to size so I would question whether it could handle anyone above average girth or length.

Packaging

The Tornado comes in a thick black cardboard box with blue cardboard on the interior. The box shows a picture of the device and lists some of its feature. Once the tape is removed, the box latches magnetically which was a nice touch. Unfortunately, the box tore easily even though I opened it gently. Other than that, though it was nicely packaged and had a premium feel. Inside the box is: The Tornado outer casing with cap, the clear TPU sleeve, an instruction manual, a magnetic charging cable, a suction cup mount, and a storage bag.

Materials and care

While ZOLO doesn’t list the materials on their site, it felt like pretty standard ABS plastic with a TPU sleeve. The window looks to be made of acrylic plastic which is prone to scratches. The glossy parts of the outer case scratch easily and collect fingerprints. As far as cleaning goes, the sleeve is removeable and reversible for easy cleaning. The outer case can be wiped down with a damp microfiber cloth. No matter how well I cleaned it, though it never really felt clean. The clear sleeve clouded almost immediately, and the outer case seems to showcase dust and dirt.

Special feature

The Tornado has a sound function that plays noises of a woman moaning. You can use either the built in speaker, or the headphone jack to play the sounds. Its essentially a loop of the same couple of noises. While the sound quality isn’t great, and it feels more like a gimmick than a feature, I could see this being useful if you’d prefer to use your imagination rather than playing with a partner or watching content.