I don't really know how to put this, so I'm hoping this'll make sense ;)
New-ish to anal play, and I'm looking to replace something that was in the 3 for £50 offer, and of course I know I could just replace again if it came down to it, but I'd rather get it right first time ;)
So, I'm looking at the small and medium LH bionic vibrating plugs; the small is 3.5", the medium 4.5". I know when it comes to glass 4" is snug to get in but then feels really good, and 4.5" is a bit too much/too intimidating right now. However, silicone also has much more give. So I'm wondering whether to go for something bigger since silicone is more forgiving than glass??
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions or experience, please let me know!
I'm afraid I can't really help that much. I just wanted to say I have the medium bionic vibrating butt plug and I find it really east to take I can use it right away without any warm up.
I realised I recognised your name from the beaded glass dildo review  only on lovehoney can I find myself writing such a sentence lmao. I think I'm leaning towards the medium... I feel like the small one might be disappointing, if you know what I mean...
I have the Bionic Bullet in medium and large I believe, it may be silicone but because it is a vibrator with all the internals and not just a squishy solid silicone plug, I don't personally find it any softer or more forgiving than glass. It is a very, very solid plug.
I also found the silicone to have a lot of drag, certainly a LOT more drag than glass, which you wouldn't think makes a difference when you are using lube anyway but it does. I found it quite hard to insert the medium when I first got it, despite having had larger soft silicone plugs.
It does have a good taper to it though, which could help you stretch yourself slowly.
I have only tried one silicone plug, and although it was smaller than my glass ones, I found it hard to insert because of the drag and uncomfortable when in...I haven't tried the one you're thinking about though
Hmmmmmm, clearly I'm going to have to think about this some more... or possibly just give in and opt for a refund. Nothing else on the offer is really speaking to me.
Is the 4" glass plug/dildo you've been comfortable using one sold on LH?
It's always worth remembering LH measure the girth at the widest point possible. So even with a 4.5" girth, it's only the widest bit of the bulb that would feel wider than the toy you've used at 4". It's not such a big size increase that it would be impossible to work up to. It wouldn't be an immendiate fit, perhaps, but would be a good longer term investment.
Likewise, the 3.5" isn't that much smaller, really (depending on the shape/proportion of your glass plug). It certainly isn't so small you wouldn't feel it or anything. You should be able to fit it comfortably, and I guess you yourself would know if you would be likely to grow out of it/want something larger. Sometimes size doesn't make a toy better, and in this case you can get all the awesome functionality of the toy without pushing yourself in what you can comfortably take. If size is an important factor in satisfying you, then the favour swings back to the medium! Another point in favour of the small plug, and this is assuming you are female (sorry if you are not!) is that if you want to wear it while having vaginal penetration at the same time, the small size is definitely more comfortable.
It's a really nice plug, it's comfortable once in and the vibrations on it are great. I know it's a tricky choice but I'd honestly give one of the sizes a go. Like you said, you can send it back if it doesn't work for you :)
Personally I've only tried one silicon butt plug (the LH medium one, non-vibrating) and found it less comfortable (more solid and less "giving") than an equivalent Doc Johnson one (e.g. such as this http://www.lovehoney.co.uk/product.cfm?p=6769 ). I also found that it seemed to dry out a lot more and I needed to reapply lube to prevent discomfort (not something I've had to do with any of my other plugs).
I can't speak for vibrating ones though, I've always preferred non-vibrating. My absolute favourite is my njoy stainless steel one. Expensive, but well worth the extra.