This blue latex one-fingered vibrating glove is striking and endearingly odd: my lover immediately coined it ‘Doctor Strangeglove’. It is, disconcertingly, the same shocking blue of the elastoplasts used in the catering industry so that dinner ladies can find their errant plasters if they fall off and into the porridge. Still, this is good: it doesn’t look tacky. It’s not made of that ubiquitous musty-smelling cheap faux-flesh coloured rubber that attracts a film of dust and hairs. It’s not moulded into either a small animal or an abnormally proportioned penis.

It’s a refreshingly reasonably priced little gadget and it’s packaged thoughtfully. This little fellow comes with not one but two sets of batteries; pretty handy bearing in mind it takes not only six watch batteries but also a small, delicate thing (known as a 23A to 12V battery). It’s totally impressive and thoughtful for the manufacturers to include batteries with the deal however I might have remained more impressed had one of the feisty little things not exploded on me. Yes, exploded. Small cell-like bits of metal dusted in presumably toxic white powder tumbled out of the remote control section of the toy as I tried to insert the battery. The replacement battery in the box didn’t work at all, so I trawled my local shops looking for a replacement. No joy – so I had to resort to Ebay.

The new, superior-quality batteries having arrived, I tried again. Once I’d snapped off a fingernail trying to insert the fiddly things, I gave up and used tweezers to poke my way into the battery compartment. Job done. So finally, I’m all set up and ready to go. Do I feel sexy? No. Do I feel sexier once I’ve put on this sci-fi contraption? No. I feel a little like a superhero. No, let me amend that: an imitation superhero with the silly costume but none of the powers.

There are some pretty good aspects to this thing, though: the rubber it’s made from is wonderfully smooth – the material feels good quality and slick against skin. It feels nice: for such a little buzzer it buzzes mighty strongly. It has seven different programs: standard low-medium-high and varying pulsating and escalating settings.You can use it alone for infinitesimally accurate stimulation: it’s effortless to find just the right spot when the little vibe is attached to your hand like this. Alternatively, as the box promises, you can use it with a partner ‘for incredible foreplay’. If you can get past the comic appearance of the thing, it’s true. It’s great fun and good at both clitoral and prostate stimulation, so not gender-restricted.

There is one thing about the design that I’d change: the vibrating finger is powered firstly from a pack on the back of the hand, but the speeds are operated by a remote control. I can’t see much reason for it, except for the idea of watching your partner masturbate with this yet you being in control of the power settings from across the room. That could be okay, but it’s mostly just confusing, and means you need this elusive unusual battery to use the toy.

The Royal Gauntlet  is available from SexToys.co.uk