The new frontier of men’s luxury? LELO thinks it might be sexual wellness
With its new F2S Double Sonic, the Swedish brand is applying the principles of luxury design and intelligent technology to one of the most private corners of a man’s life.
- Words by: Gentleman's Journal
With its new F2S Double Sonic, the Swedish brand is applying the principles of luxury design and intelligent technology to one of the most private corners of a man’s life.
There was a time when the idea of ‘men’s wellness’ extended little further than a decent razor and perhaps the occasional trip to the gym. How things have changed. Today, we think nothing of spending considerable sums on sleep trackers, massage guns, supplements, skincare and increasingly sophisticated fitness technology. So, perhaps inevitably, attention has turned to one of the last areas of a gentleman’s life to receive the luxury treatment: sexual wellness.
LELO has been operating in this world for more than two decades. Founded in Stockholm in 2003, the company has built its reputation by approaching adult toys for men with the same considerations traditionally reserved for luxury accessories: materials, engineering, discretion and, crucially, design. Its latest creation, the F2S Double Sonic, is perhaps the clearest expression yet of where the category is heading, a male masturbator that feels more like a piece of considered technology than a conventional sex toy.
At first glance, there is very little about it that resembles the rather less sophisticated products historically associated with the sector. Finished in body-safe silicone, ABS and aluminium alloy, its minimalist form feels closer to something you might find emerging from a particularly ambitious Silicon Valley design studio. As a sex toy for men, discretion is clearly part of the appeal.
But it is what is happening beneath the surface that makes things interesting. The F2S Double Sonic is, technically speaking, a vibrating stroker, with two motors powering sonic stimulators at either end of the device. LELO’s SmoothRise technology allows users to move progressively through 16 intensity levels. There are 13 different modes in total, eight built into the device and another five available through LELO’s accompanying app.
That connectivity also extends to LELO’s Love Bridge feature, which allows the device to be controlled remotely through the LELO app. It is another example of the brand attempting to make technology an integral, rather than incidental, part of the experience.
And, because apparently no corner of modern life can escape artificial intelligence, there is AI here, too. A built-in sensor allows the stroker to respond to the user’s rhythm, automatically adjusting its output accordingly. LELO has also introduced what it calls ‘Humanize’ mode, which deliberately introduces subtle variations in timing and intensity in an attempt to make the technology feel less, well, technological. The result is a male vibrator that is considerably more intelligent than its discreet exterior might suggest.
Perhaps more interesting is the inclusion of dedicated stamina training, including guided Kegel exercises. It is a small detail, but one that says rather a lot about the changing conversation around men’s sexual health. What might once have been regarded purely as a masturbator is increasingly being positioned within a broader world of wellbeing and personal performance. That shift feels significant.
Luxury, after all, has always been about improving the everyday through better materials, better design and obsessive attention to detail. We have watches that measure our blood oxygen, mattresses that monitor our sleep and bathrooms that would have bewildered our grandparents. Why should our most private lives remain resolutely analogue?
The F2S Double Sonic may not be the sort of object you leave prominently displayed on the bedside table. But perhaps that is precisely the point. The most interesting luxury is often the luxury nobody else needs to know about.
Gentleman’s Journal readers can use code TGJ20 for a stackable 20% discount on the LELO F2S Double Sonic.
