The Zalo Bess was my surprise favourite toy from 2021, and has since become the toy I use most when I’m masturbating for recreational (rather than review related) reasons. I actually wasn’t aware that there was an updated version of it until HoneySx (who sent me my original Bess) reached out to me, but I was excited the moment I heard about it. While sequels to sex toys don’t always go right, they can also be really positive— take the Tango X for example.
Turns out, it’s not even just that it seems like a pointless upgrade. I straight up prefer the original Zalo Bess.
A Overview Of The Bess-es
I discuss the original Bess a ton in my original review, and a lot of what I have to say about the Bess also applies to the Bess 2, so I’d recommend giving that a read. However, if you don’t want to read two reviews (or have already read the Bess review and just want a quick recap), here goes.
Zalo are a brand I’ve known of for a while, but that have also had a reputation for form over function. In particular, their motors have been criticised, as they tend towards less powerful and more ‘buzzy’ vibrations. I’ve reviewed a handful of toys from their Ancient Egyptian inspired Legend series, and was pleasantly surprised by both the original Bess and the Kyro wand vibrator. However, I’ve also had a miss from that line in the form of the Aya underwear vibrator.
The Bess is a ‘toothbrush’ shaped vibrator, with a very pinpointy head. It comes with a silicone covered body (in jewel tones— normally I’ve gone for green from this line, but asked for the Bess 2 in black to tell it apart more easily) with gold coloured ABS plastic edging/detailing. For some reason, both Bess vibrators have a motor in their silicone covered handle as well, theoretically allowing it to be used penetratively. I say ‘theoretically’ because the motor is weak, it’s difficult to get any kind of deep penetration, and inserting the handle leaves both the buttons inaccessible and covers the magnetic charging points in vag gunk.
Useless handle aside, I do really like the shape of my Bess. The long handle makes it easy to use one handed (for when I’m watching porn or reading erotica), or to fit between two bodies more easily.
What’s Changed From The Bess to The Bess 2?
First, before evaluating if the changes to the Bess 2 make it worth buying over the original Bess, what actually are the changes that have been made?
The most obvious change is that the Bess 2 comes with an additional attachment compared to the Bess 1. As well as a ball-shaped silicone attachment, a petal shaped one, and a g-spot attachment, the Bess 2 also comes with a butt-plug like attachment.
Another change is the inclusion of a heating function for the handle part of the Bess. Sex toys being cold is genuinely something that’s never bothered me, but if it’s an issue for you, the Bess 2 gives you the opportunity to preheat the handle up to 107 degrees Fahrenheit.
A third—and one I actually didn’t see documented—is a change in the motor. It’s this that makes the biggest difference between the Bess and Bess 2 for me. But I’ll talk more on that later.
Finally, the Bess 2 has a slightly larger price tag than the original Bess, with HoneySx selling it for $109.99 rather than the $96.99 of the original.
The Anal Attachment & Heating Function
The Bess 2 was actually released for Anal August, and the big addition here is the anal-plug like attachment. I was actually a little nervous about if it would be anal safe. While it does have a flared based, the silicone is quite thin to allow it to fit onto the Bess 2’s body, and folds under a little pressure. This and the potential risk of it being tugged off the Bess made me nervous.
However, in practice, I’ve found it stays in place very well (and can even be difficult to remove when I do want to tug it off). Anal play isn’t for everyone, but as a big fan of it, I had a lot of fun with the new attachment. The vibrations are muffled a little by the silicone, just as they are with the other attachments, but my butthole is a lot more forgiving about muffled vibrations than my vulva is. I still prefer vibrating anal toys with an inbuilt-motor, but for an attachment it’s good. I honestly wish that Zalo just sold the attachment on its own, so I could get a green coloured one to match my Bess 1.
When it comes to the heating function, I feel like it’s pretty obvious I was not going to be one of the people that appealed to. I don’t personally think heating functions do anything for me at the best of times, and the heating function only applies to the handle (which imo is useless and a waste of a motor) anyway. I’ve criticised some of Zalo’s other products—particularly the Aya—for having a bit of a ‘throw everything at the wall and see what sticks’ approach to design, and the inclusion of a heating function feels like the result of that philosophy. It feels like a feature for a feature’s sake.
The Motor Change
This is where my opinion on the Bess 2 goes from ‘adds another feature that few people (if anyone) will use, and an attachment that I like but is a niche taste’ to ‘oh, this is actually worse than the original’. It took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what the cause of it was, but I could tell a difference between the Zalo Bess and Zalo Bess 2’s vibrations the moment I got them both out to compare.
In fairness, I don’t know if this is a change strictly to the Bess 2 or if it’ll also apply to newer Bess-es (I’ll try to get my hands on a newer Bess 1 to compared), but the vibrations feel slightly different. Not enough that I think I would have noticed if I hadn’t compared them back-to-back, but enough that I find the Bess 2 to be a significantly worse experience. The vibrations are slower on the Bess 2, and lower frequency. While this does make them rumblier, it also means I don’t get the intensity I do with the Bess 1. In fact, I sometimes actually have to push myself to orgasm with the Bess 2 in a way I never have with the Bess 1. It still feels good, but it’s not the easy <60 second orgasms I can have with the Bess 1.
A caveat I will give is this motor change has also seemed to make the patterns on the Bess 2 smoother than that of the Bess 1. But a thing I’ve always been very vocal about on this blog is my dislike of patterns on vibrators, so this isn’t really a redeeming factor for me.
Overall
I am a little nervous that the motor change has been rolled out to all Bess models, and not just those sold as the Bess 2. If it weren’t for the motor change, I’d be happy to call the Bess 2 ‘basically the same as the original Bess, with an extra feature that’s not worth it, and an attachment that’s worth it if you like anal’. But with that, it’s not just ‘probably not worth it’, but a straight up poorer experience than my original Bess.
The Zalo Bess 2 was sent to me by HoneySx, in exchange for a fair and impartial review. As a head’s up, they do gender their toy categories and carry some white label toys with dubious material safety.
No affiliate links were used in this review.
