Review: Freely Custom Dildo

When I talk about custom sex toys, usually I’m referring to dildos designed by independent makers who allow you to choose your own colours, and if you’re lucky, maybe even the density. I suppose if you really wanted to fully customise your toy, you could get in touch with a store and try to organise a quote for something one-of-a-kind, but it is definitely not the norm, nor is it always an option. But that’s exactly where newcomer Freely comes in, who are looking to change all that. Because for the very first time, they’re offering truly custom sex toys that are both accessible and permanently available. While the Canadian small business does feature a small collection of their own semi-customisable designs, as well as influencer collaborations, the thing that makes this brand really special is their online 3D builder, which allows you to fully design your very own silicone dildo from scratch. Of course, I was over the moon when they approached me to try my hand at it, and quickly got to work planning my dream toy.

Typically my reviews are fully focused on the product itself. My experience using it is what is most important and will determine my final recommendation. However, this week we’re doing things a little differently. Whilst I will briefly go over the toy, since this is my own creation and cannot be purchased, there is little point in discussing it to the level I usually do. Rather, it is Freely’s online builder and the overall customer experience I had with the company, going from my initial concept to the finalised product received, that I will be reviewing.

The Brand

Freely is a Montreal-based small business started by four friends who realised the difficulties people face when trying to find suitable sex toys. After surveying 500 people in 2021, they uncovered that a whopping 85% are not satisfied with their toy, and set out to fix things. Launching their website in mid-2022 after almost a year long development period, their online toy builder is looking to revolutionise the way people shop for toys, and bring a level of personalisation that simply makes sense for such an intimate product. Not only can you customise their range of templates to the usual level you’d expect, with colour, firmness, size and base all being up to you, but Freely take things one step further by allowing you to alter the shape as well, in a public builder they call akin to The Sims creator. Once complete, they can then 3D print your design, create a mould, and pour in their body-safe silicone to create your very own dildo. In addition to this, they also recently launched a new collection of pre-designed toys that, while still customisable, can be purchased at a lower price point. Plus, if you do go the route of a fully custom toy, you’ll not only receive a lifetime warranty, but a 40% discount if you choose to purchase it again in a different colour and/or firmness!

Initial Plan

After Freely got in touch with me and explained what they were doing, I immediately started planning my dream toy. I obviously wanted to take the opportunity to create something unlike any dildo I had tried before, whilst still aiming for something I think I’d enjoy. My thoughts went to my recent review of the Uncover Creations Tentacle Grinder II, a semi-penetrable toy that I thoroughly enjoyed the tapered nature of. And on that train of thought, I also considered classic fantasy styles I’ve never tried before, such as a unicorn horn and traditional tentacle. In addition, sizing was on my mind a lot. One of the biggest things I’ve learned about myself since starting this blog is that girthy toys do not agree with me, and even after almost ten years, the biggest toy I’ve ever inserted was only 4.65cm / 1.83″, a size some would consider small. It limits my options greatly when looking at dildos, with most of the offerings in my preferred range being “realistic” toys and featuring little to no size variation. Plus, even when I do find a larger dildo I can enjoy, I always need to slowly build up to it with smaller toys first. So, after considering all of this, I knew what I wanted…

I started off by drawing my design on paper. The biggest attribute I wanted was a slow ramp up of girth, all the way from a pointed tip to my known maximum diameter of roughly 4.57cm / 1.8″, before thinning back down before the base. In this way, the toy is similar to a vaginal plug or knotted dildo. The gradual size increase is also similar to a tentacle or unicorn horn dildo, just without any of those textural elements (as Freely’s builder is not yet capable of that sort of thing). My hope with this design is that it would mimic the teasing tip of the Tentacle Grinder II, before allowing me to enjoy a filling girth without any prior warming up, as the in-built gradual size increase will instead play that role. And, if it worked, it could become my new warm up toy, and provide a launch point for me to potentially try even bigger dildos. As for the tip, a concave curve, similar to the nipple of a baby’s bottle, was chosen so that the toy doesn’t take too long to ramp up to an adequate size. And, lastly, for the length I was aiming for at least 17.8cm / 7″.

Using Freely’s Online Builder

When I sat down to create my design in Freely’s online builder, I figured it would take me maybe 30 minutes maximum, but likely less since I knew exactly what I wanted. Unfortunately, however, this was not my experience. Initially I started with the Simple & True template, which is Freely’s “blank canvas” option. Since I have a degree in 3D modelling, I didn’t think I’d have any issues, and this belief was further reinforced when I saw the builder uses a system that is practically identical to Adobe’s pen tool, which I use professionally all the time. Yet I seriously struggled to get the builder to cooperate with me, and after only a short time using the tool I experienced a number of glitches, which basically boiled down to the program telling me that my design had “impossible toy geometry”. It seemed one of the biggest things it took issue with was my measurements, seeming to constantly try and upsize everything I did. For instance, if I sized the toy down, in an attempt to get it to my desired length, it would instead make the toy longer. And this would happen so frequently that I would regularly be adjusting the shape of it, only to notice the model had grown to a ridiculous size on its own, and to fix it would mean ruining whatever else I was doing. Another recurring issue was every now and then when I zoomed in to see something better, the model would instantly become tiny on the screen, and the only way to fix this would be to close the window and come back into it (which is only an option since the website saves your work). Plus, whenever I tried to shape my desired tip, it would just error out and say it wasn’t possible. For those interested, I have some videos of a few of the glitches at my Instagram Story.

After an hour of trying my best to replicate my design with Freely’s Simple & True template, I gave up. I decided I might be better off choosing a template that was closer to my design, and so I started from scratch with the Neptune template. I spent a further hour with this before getting a model I was mostly happy with, although unfortunately in the process I realised I would have to abandon the original idea for my tip, and instead gave it a far more rounded style that thins out before starting the toy’s gradual ramp up. The final measurements were a total length of 18.3cm / 7.2″, an insertable length of 16.3cm / 6.4″, and a maximum girth of 4.57cm / 1.8″. I used Freely’s soft 00-30 density, their lazy sky (blue) shimmering colour, and did not include a suction cup. Part of the reason I made the final two choices was to keep the costs down, as I didn’t want to add any extra fees on top, and between this and the “small” size of my product, you could probably say my design is one of the cheapest custom dildos Freely offers. Despite this, it cost $152 CAD ($174.39 AUD / $112.27 USD), and shipping, GST and QST was an additional $63.36 CAD ($72.69 AUD / $46.80 USD) on top of that, making the total a whopping $215.36 CAD ($247.08 AUD / $159.07 USD). Even without that extremely high shipping, that is a wild amount of money for a dildo and my second most expensive fully silicone toy ever (with the premium Vixen Creations VixSkin Mustang just beating it out). Of course, you aren’t just paying for the toy though, but rather the ability to design your own, and I can’t even begin to imagine the amount of work that must be going on behind the scenes at Freely to make this happen.

After I had ordered my toy, but before it arrived, Freely reached out to me regarding the issues I’d spoken about regarding their online builder on social media. They let me know they’ve since fixed many of the bugs I’d experienced, and that my struggle had inspired them to create a tutorial to help people better understand the builder. They also let me know that it is definitely possible to create my design with their program, and even shared a link to their version to prove it. Whilst none of this helps me now, it is good to know Freely have already made so many improvements since I used the builder.

Receiving The Toy

I placed my order with Freely on the 7th of July, and after turning my creation into a reality, they shipped it on the 12th. Unfortunately, no tracking number was available, which gave me a stressful wait! But finally on the 28th, the toy arrived safe and sound in a discreet box, which I thought was a great turnaround for a fully custom toy coming from Canada to Australia. Inside of this I found the toy, contained within a large drawstring bag, as well as a care guide, a sticker, a silicone logo, and a small silicone squishya term for a small sculpture. Both the squishy and the sticker were of a hippo character, and I absolutely adore them. Plus, I love that both silicone additions match the colour of my toy.

First Impressions

Seeing my Freely custom dildo for the first time was a very special experience. It really does look exactly like my creation in the online builder, and so for that I can give Freely nothing but praise. In fact, I think it looks even better than it did online, not because it is physically any different, but because the curves seem more smoothed out and the size in context looks more like what I had in mind. The silicone is very tacky, which is a downside, but on the flip side it is also super squishy, making it ideal for what I designed it for. While the quality is great, I do feel like the blue shimmer I selected gets lost, with the toy generally looking more like a flat blue. Plus, there are plenty of indentations and scratches all over the surface, including 3D printer marks on the base, which are all likely from the manufacturing process. However, none of these actually cut into the toy, so they are nothing more than a minor visual downside, and even then they can only be seen in certain lights.

My Experience

I might be a professional sex toy reviewer, but would that help me design my own sex toy? Using my Freely custom dildo put that idea to the test like never before, and whilst I can think of improvements, overall I am extremely pleased. Inserting the toy is easy due to its thin tip, and whilst it may not be as pointed as the Uncover Creations Tentacle Grinder II, I still get some of that tentacle-like sensation when stroking it outside my entrance. Once inserted, I can then get to thrusting it as much as I want since my vagina will naturally stop at whatever girth it’s not ready for, and I am able to just enjoy it and the slow progression of size rather than needing to worry about switching over to progressively larger toys to achieve the same effect. In fact, reaching the maximum diameter with this toy actually doesn’t take that long, easily being the quickest and easiest I have taken such a girth, and it’s so great to see the proof that my idea worked. Once fully inserted, I can then either leave my Freely custom dildo in like a vaginal plug, or I can keep thrusting it, and doing this with such a wide girth is truly unreal, and unlike any experience I’ve had with a dildo before.

Changes?

My Freely custom dildo is pretty much perfect, but since I designed it, it’s hard not to consider changes I would make if I was going to do it all over again. Whilst I’m happy with the sizes I chose, I would work on changing the tip slightly, as I feel the portion of it that has no size variation goes to waste. An even more tapered head that starts the gradual ramp up from that point would work better I believe, and with this in mind I decided to once again try my hand at the online builder to see what this would look like. Unfortunately, many of the glitches I previously spoke about are still present, particularly the zoom glitch and inability to alter the tip of the toy, and so for the second time I could not use the builder to create my vision. After speaking to Freely, they were also surprised to see the issues return, and hope to get them fixed as soon as possible.

Cleaning & Care

Being fully silicone and waterproof, cleaning the Freely custom dildo is easy. Simply place it in some warm soapy water after use, and then rinse it and leave to air dry. After this you can then return it to its zip-lock bag for storage, as the silicone it is made of does attract lint. Additionally, for a more complete clean, or when switching the toy between orifices or partners, you can sterilise it by soaking it in a 10% bleach solution or boiling it. Finally, do not use silicone based lubricant with your Freely custom dildo, as it may damage the silicone it is made of.

Final Thoughts

I’m very happy with my Freely custom dildo. But, as I said at the start of this review, my thoughts on my unique one-of-a-kind toy matter little. What is important is how well I was able to use Freely’s website in order to achieve my vision. Now, I’ve gotta admit that the start was a little rocky. A big concern I had when I first sketched out my idea was that it was too simple, and that I would need to further stress test the online builder after creating my design for this review. But, of course, I didn’t need to do that, because even my “simple” design was enough to show the cracks. And to think that, despite having every advantage in terms of my ability to use the program, it took me two hours to end up with a model that doesn’t even fully resemble my initial idea. The good news is that Freely is constantly working to improve the builder, and even though most of the issues I ran into are still present, they seem committed to fixing them. Plus, because the program is free to use online, you can always try building your dream toy now, and if there are issues, you can simply message Freely about them or wait a few weeks till they probably address the problem anyway. And even though I did struggle, what I ended up with I am more than pleased with, and it is all the more special having been my own creation. With this in mind, the only real downside a Freely custom is the price, which is far higher than your regular dildo. But, considering this isn’t a regular dildo, I think it’s a pretty good deal.

You can get your own custom dildo directly from Freely starting at just $132 AUD / $85 USD!

Last updated: 17/9/23

Price at the time of writing: $132 AUD / $85 USD

This post was sponsored by Freely, but as always, all opinions are my own.