Show Kateryna and Vera Some Love! My Zelex 170 and 172 Review and Photos

[desastre]

Any news on the arrival of Vera? I'm curious as to how the heads of the two new dolls feel.

[Adventurer]

Yes! She arrived - she's gorgeous! I wrote an unboxing chapter but I can't get back to the draft right now for some reason. I'll post it as soon as I can! Fingers crossed that my draft still exists somewhere!

[bbc3]

Congrats and great review! Nice to see som Inspiration love among the SLE hype.

[Adventurer]

Thanks bbc3! I have both now and while I haven't yet had the chance to be intimate with the SLE girl I can see a place for Inspiration Series ladies in the lineup. There are some differences to be sure but Inspiration Series remain great dolls. I look forward to getting into the weeds on this one!

[Adventurer]

Chapter 6: Vera Arrives

Vera, my new Zelex 172C lover arrived and I am eager to share her with the world!

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While I'm not the first or the best reviewer of SLE dolls, I am excited to be part of a small but growing community of doll owners who have taken the plunge on this new material type and line of sex dolls. Trust me, brothers and sisters, I solemnly volunteer to put SLE through its paces, whatever it takes. All in the name of science, of course

Ok, but for real...

SLE launched a week or two after I placed my order for Kateryna, and because I wanted all the newest and best the doll world had to offer, I was a bit jealous of the folks who got their hands on SLE dolls even as I waited for Kateryna to arrive. Luckily, I was able to join the SLE club shortly thereafter because, well obsession being what it is...

When I ordered Vera, an SLE 172 with a 201 head, I knew I wanted to write a comparative review of the two dolls. I've been beaten to it by other reviewers who have put forth work that I cannot hope to match. Nevertheless, I still want to answer one burning question for myself: in a world where SLE technology exists, is there still a reason to buy traditional silicone dolls or does this new material entirely eclipse the old?

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I hope that in the months to come, I'll be able to answer that question more thoroughly.
So let's go forth and check out all that SLE has to offer and unbox Kateryna's sister doll, Vera!



Unboxing Vera

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SLE, being a softer material whose properties are not yet well understood, I was a bit more apprehensive about what might go wrong in the shipping process. My anxiety grew substantially as Vera's journey endured many days of additional shipping delays due to holiday traffic. Thankfully, Vera came excellently packed, maybe even more so than Kateryna.

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One noticeable upgrade was the addition of well-inflated arm "floaties" that protected the hands and forearms. It's another genius-level packaging innovation that ensures that your silicone lover arrives flawlessly, which in my case, she most certainly did. Not a scuff, dent, scratch, compression mark, or anything ill to be found, even on a doll that's potentially more vulnerable to damage. Vera's 201 head was likewise packaged with extreme care. It was slotted into a little styrofoam cubby snugly fit between the legs, wrapped in a cloth bag, and with the delicate eyes and eyelashes protected by a dense foam cover built especially for the purpose. She suffered a bent lower eyelash, but a little pressure applied to them seems to have sorted it out.

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Hats off to Zelex for another perfect delivery! Vera is the best-packaged doll I've ever received. Beyond preventing damage, this level of care ensures that you start on the right foot with your expensive and emotionally significant product. There's no replacement for the feeling of owning something that someone cared enough to package this well. What's more, is that the unboxing itself unfolds like a good story, as one proceeds through layers of stylish boxes, confidence-boosting foam and cloth, and ultimately revealing the ultra-sexy doll beneath all the form and function of the packaging. It means the world, truly.

Here she is, fresh out of the box:

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First Impressions

While I intend to do a full comparative review, I think it's worth noting a few of the things right out of the box - perhaps as a bit of a preview of what's to come if my first impressions hold. Here are my notes:

Even just sitting her body up in the box, I was struck by the softness of Vera's skin, the incredible jiggle and bounce of her breasts, and her lovely tan skin tone and texture. By the time I clicked her head into place, I was already infatuated. Honestly, the unboxing was a deeply erotic experience. I felt downright teased right from the get-go. Unboxing this doll was like a little light foreplay in itself - building anticipation for all the pleasurable memories to come.

There are perhaps a few upgrades to the feel of this doll in terms of softness and touch sensation, though it's not so incredibly different than the 170c's feel. Softer yes, but not at all TPE soft in most places - which is very much a good thing. TPE dolls are great fun, but after handling a silicone doll, they feel like jello on a skeleton to me now. Certainly, I'll have lots to say on this soon.

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This is certainly subjective but in my opinion, the 201 head is a masterpiece. This work of art achieved a youthful look with a vivacious and expressive face giving the impression of a sweet and sultry California girl in her early 20s. Vera's skin details are insanely great and the overall impression from the overall appearance to the tinest micro details is a feeling of instant connection. She exudes a world of possibility for photography, connection, and of course erotic play. What's more, the expressive range of the face is excellent. It's easy to change the tone of her expression from sultry, to sassy, to sweet. She has an excellent visage suitable for a variety of photography styles.

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I felt quite confident standing Vera upright given the excellent protected foot pegs, which is a nice change as I don't fully trust the hard silicone pegless feet of the 170c. Standing Vera up came with another powerful realization - this doll is TALL. I haven't yet measured her but she has to be taller than 172 cm. I'm 5'9 and she feels as tall as me when wearing flats. I knew she'd be a tall girl, but I still couldn't help but be surprised by this. She is crazy tall. Her height helps with the overall fantasy vibe of the doll and lends itself well to the next observation.

The sculpt of the 172 SLE body itself is incredible if you're looking for a particular style of doll. Nowhere near as realistic as the 170c, the 172 SLE scratches an entirely different itch, despite both being tall girls with medium breasts (for sex dolls anyway).

So look, I've always wondered why no manufacturer has gone ahead and made a life-size Barbie doll. I mean, what perverted doll lover hasn't lusted over that classic Barbie doll at one point in their life, right? I know I have, and I'm not ashamed to say it! It's long, and I mean very long, been a dream of mine to have a life-size Barbie to play with and now I don't have to wait any longer - Vera is a life-size Barbie doll through and through. Long, skinny-ish but still shapely legs, thin arms, small feet, hour-glass torso, supermodel shoulders, perfect fantasy doll-like breasts, and her insanely tall physique come together to produce that unmistakable sensation of being in the presence of what is for many of us, the ultimate fantasy doll come true. For me, it's breathtaking. If you're looking for a true my-sized Barbie, look no further than the Zelex 172 SLE.

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That's where I'll leave this chapter for now! In all, the 172 SLE is a very exciting doll that shows immense promise. I'm already beginning to see some of the advantages and disadvantages of both the SLE technology and Zelex's more traditional offerings, but that will take more time and experience, all of which I will happily share with you here.

Much more is yet to come! Stay tuned!

[ColColt]

Wow...just wow. I'm speechless. What a gorgeous lady! I am green with envy. I would have that lipstick smeared all over her face by now...what lips!

[Cameramike]

Nice both dolls but the 172….. romantic…..intoxicating…. More and more….

[KKFun]

Excellent reviews, I really enjoy it, great photos and very informative, congrats.

Happy New Year!

[Adventurer]

Chapter 7: A Touch of Vera - some thoughts on this newfangled SLE material

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Vera, my 172 SLE has been with me for only a few days but I'm already quite impressed by her. So today's review update will continue with a few preliminary observations about the SLE material. The TL;DR is that SLE silicone seems like a very nice choice of materials for a quite wide range of activities, especially for the price.

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SLE as a material is quite easy on the senses. It's soft of course, roughly comparable to ultra-soft silicones from at least one manufacturer that I'm familiar with, but it seems to come with far fewer compromises than other silicone blends. Naturally, my experience with silicone being what it is, I'd recommend deferring to the opinion of those with more exposure to silicone dolls if you have your concerns.

In my (limited) experience and from what I gather poking around this forum, softer silicone also typically means far less durable silicone. It seems to be one of the major points of compromise or balance points in doll technology these days. Some blends seem to get this balance within a sensible range, choosing durability over touch or touch over durability but all within reason. Other manufacturers fail to achieve a decent balance in this regard.



One super silicone soft doll I owned was so fragile that it was prone to splitting under its own weight. She was a gorgeous doll, and I miss her for many reasons, but the truth is I spent far more time repairing her than playing, photographing, or anything else. She was just that fragile.

This particular doll also needed constant powdering because she'd develop an unrealistic sheen about every 20 minutes or so because she was so incredibly oily. These sorts of makeup and powder interruptions get pretty frustrating when you're in the middle of an extended photo session, but oiliness seems to be a byproduct of softness in so many cases.

Vera does not significantly suffer from either of these issues. So far, she's proven to be far more resistant to splitting than my other super soft silicone doll. She's sustained no damage from either intimate play or posing or... well... um... dropping.

I clumsily dropped Vera and Kateryna simultaneously during a photoshoot today. They lost balance while standing, tumbled face-first into a piece of furniture, and then flopped on the ground with tremendous force. I was mortified, thinking they'd both be split, marred, have wrecked hands, and so on. Thankfully the damage was minimal on both girls. Vera suffered a crease in her forehead and a finger poke. I was most concerned about her forehead of course. Thankfully, I found that some vigorous stretching and massaging of the area caused the dent to almost entirely recede. The SLE bounded back into place exceptionally well and earned some points for durability in this particular "drop test." Of course, these observations are based on a short-term perspective and from my own mishaps, so perhaps I will need to revisit this aspect in the future. Longevity certainly matters and there's only one test that will ultimately prove value in this area; time.

Vera's overall feel is quite good. To the touch, SLE is a very satisfying level of softness. It's not as soft as most TPE blends although it is certainly far softer than some, including Zelex's TPE blend. SLE is a fairly squishy material but offers some decent resistance to squeezing. Honestly not extremely different in feel from Kateryna's blend, perhaps a few degrees softer, but Zelex's traditional silicone blend needs some credit in this category as well.

As far as my personal opinion goes, I think there is such a thing as a too-soft doll. Super soft dolls may be great for sex, assuming they can withstand it, but they don't feel particularly realistic around the rest of the body. I tend to appreciate firmer torsos, extremities, and even heads, all to a point of course, because having a variety of densities enhances so much of the experience.

Between the two, Kateryna (a 170c) has a better feel around areas where you'd want less softness (e.g. the extremities) while Vera feels a bit nicer around the squishy bits. Frankly, Vera's ass is the best and most realistic I've felt on any doll ever. Her breasts are soft, but not appreciably softer than Kateryna's, but Vera's arms, hands, feet, etc. are a bit too soft to feel real and are perhaps overly squishy. It's a trade-off. I imagine most buyers will be more interested in softness in the bits most relevant to sexual play, and Vera emphatically checks that box.

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The 172 SLE also does vary firmness generally quite well across the body. The ribs are quite firm, the hands and feet are at least a little harder, her head feels great, thighs are somewhat hard but feel a bit like tensed muscle. Overall, it feels like Vera's engineers were quite cognizant of the importance of not simply producing a blob of jiggle loosely attached to a metal frame. Instead, they used a variety of techniques and materials beneath the surface to produce a much more realistic effect, which in my view far surpasses the body feel of most if not all TPE dolls.


One suggestion I'll throw out there is to extend the range of the harder silicone blend that makes up the hands to further up the arm so that the forearms especially have a denser feel. It's a tiny nitpicky thing, but it could work, maybe.

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As for SLE's oil content, I did have to apply powder to Vera shortly after opening the box. Since that one application, I have not had to repeat that to tamp down her sheen since then. If I had to guess, powdering is probably an optional part of a weekly or bi-weekly maintenance schedule if you want to maintain a matte look to the skin of and SLE doll. Overall, I'd say that's a major positive development in soft silicone materials.

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Staining too seems about as rare as other silicones I've experienced, but it's too early for me to tell.

What's truly mind-boggling here is the price of this material. Zelex's prices are good across the board if you find the right vendor, but at significantly under 2k, this material is a steal. Stronger, more durable, and has a better overall feel than TPE for just a smidge more than TPE costs. There might be a case to make for TPE dolls that you're going to take out, fuck vigorously, and then put back in the closet, but if you're interested in a bit more than that, say you want better skin detail, more options for dress up, or even a more realistic feel overall, then SLE seems to be the way to go.

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Soon(ish) I'd like to go into greater depth comparing the SLE blend to Zelex's traditional silicone because I think there's a fair amount to say about that, but this post has already grown beyond my original intent so that will have to wait.

Thanks for sticking with this review so far. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying putting it together! Please let me know if there's any aspect of either of these two dolls you're curious about and would like me to comment on!

[Adventurer]

Just a quick shot I took earlier… Vera’s looking sharp today!

[what_is_this]

Absolutely a great write up, cheers! I have my eye on the 172E as a first buy, just on the fence due to the weight though.

[Slam71]

Chapter 7: A Touch of Vera - some thoughts on this newfangled SLE material


DSC_0332-1.jpg


Vera, my 172 SLE has been with me for only a few days but I'm already quite impressed by her. So today's review update will continue with a few preliminary observations about the SLE material. The TL;DR is that SLE silicone seems like a very nice choice of materials for a quite wide range of activities, especially for the price.


DSC_0338-1.jpg


SLE as a material is quite easy on the senses. It's soft of course, roughly comparable to ultra-soft silicones from at least one manufacturer that I'm familiar with, but it seems to come with far fewer compromises than other silicone blends. Naturally, my experience with silicone being what it is, I'd recommend deferring to the opinion of those with more exposure to silicone dolls if you have your concerns.

In my (limited) experience and from what I gather poking around this forum, softer silicone also typically means far less durable silicone. It seems to be one of the major points of compromise or balance points in doll technology these days. Some blends seem to get this balance within a sensible range, choosing durability over touch or touch over durability but all within reason. Other manufacturers fail to achieve a decent balance in this regard.



One super silicone soft doll I owned was so fragile that it was prone to splitting under its own weight. She was a gorgeous doll, and I miss her for many reasons, but the truth is I spent far more time repairing her than playing, photographing, or anything else. She was just that fragile.

This particular doll also needed constant powdering because she'd develop an unrealistic sheen about every 20 minutes or so because she was so incredibly oily. These sorts of makeup and powder interruptions get pretty frustrating when you're in the middle of an extended photo session, but oiliness seems to be a byproduct of softness in so many cases.

Vera does not significantly suffer from either of these issues. So far, she's proven to be far more resistant to splitting than my other super soft silicone doll. She's sustained no damage from either intimate play or posing or... well... um... dropping.

I clumsily dropped Vera and Kateryna simultaneously during a photoshoot today. They lost balance while standing, tumbled face-first into a piece of furniture, and then flopped on the ground with tremendous force. I was mortified, thinking they'd both be split, marred, have wrecked hands, and so on. Thankfully the damage was minimal on both girls. Vera suffered a crease in her forehead and a finger poke. I was most concerned about her forehead of course. Thankfully, I found that some vigorous stretching and massaging of the area caused the dent to almost entirely recede. The SLE bounded back into place exceptionally well and earned some points for durability in this particular "drop test." Of course, these observations are based on a short-term perspective and from my own mishaps, so perhaps I will need to revisit this aspect in the future. Longevity certainly matters and there's only one test that will ultimately prove value in this area; time.

Vera's overall feel is quite good. To the touch, SLE is a very satisfying level of softness. It's not as soft as most TPE blends although it is certainly far softer than some, including Zelex's TPE blend. SLE is a fairly squishy material but offers some decent resistance to squeezing. Honestly not extremely different in feel from Kateryna's blend, perhaps a few degrees softer, but Zelex's traditional silicone blend needs some credit in this category as well.

As far as my personal opinion goes, I think there is such a thing as a too-soft doll. Super soft dolls may be great for sex, assuming they can withstand it, but they don't feel particularly realistic around the rest of the body. I tend to appreciate firmer torsos, extremities, and even heads, all to a point of course, because having a variety of densities enhances so much of the experience.

Between the two, Kateryna (a 170c) has a better feel around areas where you'd want less softness (e.g. the extremities) while Vera feels a bit nicer around the squishy bits. Frankly, Vera's ass is the best and most realistic I've felt on any doll ever. Her breasts are soft, but not appreciably softer than Kateryna's, but Vera's arms, hands, feet, etc. are a bit too soft to feel real and are perhaps overly squishy. It's a trade-off. I imagine most buyers will be more interested in softness in the bits most relevant to sexual play, and Vera emphatically checks that box.


DSC_0360-1.jpg

DSC_0367-1.jpg


The 172 SLE also does vary firmness generally quite well across the body. The ribs are quite firm, the hands and feet are at least a little harder, her head feels great, thighs are somewhat hard but feel a bit like tensed muscle. Overall, it feels like Vera's engineers were quite cognizant of the importance of not simply producing a blob of jiggle loosely attached to a metal frame. Instead, they used a variety of techniques and materials beneath the surface to produce a much more realistic effect, which in my view far surpasses the body feel of most if not all TPE dolls.


One suggestion I'll throw out there is to extend the range of the harder silicone blend that makes up the hands to further up the arm so that the forearms especially have a denser feel. It's a tiny nitpicky thing, but it could work, maybe.


DSC_0359-1.jpg


As for SLE's oil content, I did have to apply powder to Vera shortly after opening the box. Since that one application, I have not had to repeat that to tamp down her sheen since then. If I had to guess, powdering is probably an optional part of a weekly or bi-weekly maintenance schedule if you want to maintain a matte look to the skin of and SLE doll. Overall, I'd say that's a major positive development in soft silicone materials.


DSC_0383-1.jpg


Staining too seems about as rare as other silicones I've experienced, but it's too early for me to tell.

What's truly mind-boggling here is the price of this material. Zelex's prices are good across the board if you find the right vendor, but at significantly under 2k, this material is a steal. Stronger, more durable, and has a better overall feel than TPE for just a smidge more than TPE costs. There might be a case to make for TPE dolls that you're going to take out, fuck vigorously, and then put back in the closet, but if you're interested in a bit more than that, say you want better skin detail, more options for dress up, or even a more realistic feel overall, then SLE seems to be the way to go.


DSC_0398-1.jpg


Soon(ish) I'd like to go into greater depth comparing the SLE blend to Zelex's traditional silicone because I think there's a fair amount to say about that, but this post has already grown beyond my original intent so that will have to wait.

Thanks for sticking with this review so far. I hope you're enjoying reading it as much as I'm enjoying putting it together! Please let me know if there's any aspect of either of these two dolls you're curious about and would like me to comment on!

Hello! Thank you for such detailed descriptions and comparisons of 172 and 170. Please, tell us about their mouths. Including oral sex. I understood, that the mouth is the weak point (less functional) of the SLE doll.

And what they are like in sex (comparisons, advantages, disadvantages)? Thank you in advance.

[Adventurer]

I haven’t used the mouth on the SLE doll yet but I do have plenty to say about the other comparisons. I’ll be sure to make that the focus of my next update!

[Northscand]

Thank you for the excellent review. Wow. This got me even closer to choose the Zelex 170. I am very curious however and would like your thoughts and photos of the insertable vagina on the 170 doll. How does it look (and feel) in different positions?

I have read and researched for hours and hours now for my first ever doll purschase but have not yet found a good review on the Zelex insertable vagina with lips, except the marketing photos... It would be highly appreciated if you would like to share.

[Adventurer]

Yes, definitely. I want to do a full review on it very soon but since you asked, I didn’t much like the stock insert because it was too rough on me (and I feel like I have a pretty high tolerance in that regard) so I contacted Zelex and they offered an SLE insert. The SLE insert in the 170 is a fucking dream. It’s soooo good.