Sportsheets Thigh & Wrist Cuffs Set

December 1st, 2010

THIGH & WRIST CUFFS SET

THIGH & WRIST CUFFS SET
$51.69 from Of Sex and Love Store

I have long wanted a set of thigh cuffs for a unique reason. I want to train myself not to clench my thighs shut during orgasm. Unfortunately, I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to do so, what with moving and all. Fortunately, Sportsheets Thigh and Wrist Cuffs Set will do the trick just fine.

I was expecting something similar to the cuffs that come with the Under the Bed Restraints but these are a bit higher quality in my opinion. The cuffs are made of some sort of Neoprene and feature a song lining on the inside. The outside has a slightly rubbery feel to it and the material has give and stretch to aid in comfort during use.

A backpack-like strap runs the length of the cuffs and there is a single O ring (like a keychain) sewn into the strap for attaching to other cuffs, restraints, etc. The stitching is reinforced around the loops where the ring is attached and feels secure. The strap extends past the edge of the wrist cuffs, where a piece of velcro is sewn to the back of the strap. The velcro is not sewn on as neatly as it could be but I’m nitpicking.

The straps are each variable in length with the wrist straps ranging from six to 15 inches in diameter while the length of the thigh straps is between 14 inches and 25 inches. You can potentially use the wrist cuffs on a person with smaller wrists by overlapping them but the design of the thigh cuffs does not allow this. The thigh cuffs are also wider than those for the wrists by about 1/4″. This isn’t problematic for the thigh cuffs but I do find the wrist cuffs to be just wide enough to slightly hinder movement.

The thigh cuffs also differ in that you can adjust the width of the cuffs. Again, it uses a hard plastic adjuster similar to what you would find on a backpack. A single tug on the strap tightens while you have to lift up the plastic tab to loosen the cuffs, making it impossible for the cuffed to break free. This offers an extra ten or so inches; however, it won’t look as neat as a thinner thigh, where the edges of the cuffs can touch or overlap. The end of the strap is hemmed so that it cannot completely slip through the plastic adjuster, making it a full loop, unlike the wrist cuffs, which can come open fully. Thus, you will need to slip the thigh cuffs on over a foot.

Each thigh cuff has a snap type hook attached to the O-ring. Because it is keychain style, you can remove the hook and replace one of your own but I hate removing keys so I probably wouldn’t. The wrist cuffs didn’t get as nice of treatment: only one cuff has a clasp to attach to the other. If you want to attach the cuffs to anything else but the matching cuff, you would have to buy another clasp and slide it onto the ring.

Now, for my personal thoughts. The velcro enclosures of the wrist cuffs are less than ideal and become less effective if your wrists are larger because there is less velcro overlap to secure the cuffs. With a bit of effort, I could pop open the cuffs when they were more widely secured. However, this was not the case when I had the cuff as tight as comfortable so that more velcro secured it. I much prefer the adjuster on the thigh cuffs. It’s easy to take off if need be, and just as easy to tighten.

The foamy Neoprene is thicker than the other Sportsheets cuffs I have and offers a bit more padding if you’re the struggling type.

The included clasps are super functional, but I know that sometimes snap hooks loosen over time, so the keychain-style rings are great if you ever need to replace them. The hardware setup does offer a limited range of motion, of course. The bound person will have between 2-3 inches of movement when both wrists are in the cuffs and attached to one another. The thigh cuffs offer around 5″ of movement. If you want to bind someone’s thighs to their wrists or separately bind the thighs and wrists, respectively, you can. Anything fancier will require the addition of hardware such as a chain.

One thing that really bothers me is the lack of a fourth clasp. You could hog-tie someone, if they’re limber enough, without a chain, but the 3-clasp setup makes it asymmetrical and will unevenly stress the body. The body wouldn’t stress if you bind each wrist to the corresponding thigh, but the hardware will be of differing lengths for each side, and that totally bugs the perfectionist in me. Again, it’s easy to fix but I don’t see why Sportsheets couldn’t just throw in an extra clasp with this set.

Minus that and my general dislike to velcro, the Thigh and Wrist Cuffs Set is one that I see being extremely useful for my future bondage.

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Categories: BDSM, Reviews

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs – black

October 23rd, 2009

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs - black

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs - black
$35.95 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

I recently reviewed the Kinklab Padded Leather Blindfold. Aside from some minor pinching and slipping, it was a good piece, basic but functional. That’s pretty much how I’d sum up their leather wrist cuffs as well. They arrived in a similar plastic tube, from which I had to pry off the cap and on which is an image of the cuffs in use (but it’s not obscene).

Out of the tube, I saw that these cuffs do not have the common belt buckle style closure, which Kinklab calls “self keeping.” Rather, when you wrap it around your wrist, the bottom layer has a pseudo-D ring that slips through the slit of your choice on the overlapping piece. Then, a thin strip of leather is pulled through that D-ring, over the hole to secure it in place. Given enough space, you could potentially loop the strap through other holes for extra security. It’s not foolproof; if that is your goal, you can slip a padlock or something similar through the ring. On the other side is another ring that can be used to attach the cuffs to restraints or each other.

Of course, no locks or connectors are included. This was easily remedied with a trip to Lowe’s and, eventually, Walmart. It doesn’t mean the cuffs are bad per se, but that would be nice, especially because the staples are not like other D-rings or O-rings I’ve experienced. In fact, they’re not really rings are all but are open and shaped something like the Greek Omega with longer feet. Because of this unique shape, these staples are definitely smaller than I am used to, and some hardware may not fit.

The staples and the leather strap are all fastened with metal rivets which seem quite secure. In fact, these cuffs look pretty unassuming and weren’t quite as pleasing to the eye as I might have liked, but I was surprised at how well they held up while I had my husband restrained. Despite much thrashing and movement, the rivets stayed secure, and the cuffs never came open. However, we played probably just over an hour, and the thin leather straps were definitely coming loose. Eventually, the cuffs would have given way. Still, I’m surprised by how well they did hold without using a lock. Of course, some people would find this design a positive because it can easily be undone by fingers, teeth or even toes.

Over this time, he never complained of any discomfort, either. The edges are blunt, and the leather itself is malleable enough to wear comfortably, but they’re also not buttery soft as I have heard some leather described. The outside is shiny and smooth, while the inside of the cuffs are unfinished but relatively soft. The cuffs fit him well, on the third hole or so, with a bit of room to spare. They are cut to fit a range of 5.5″ to 7″, which is right in the middle, but those with smaller or larger wrists will be out of luck. Kinklab’s black leather wrist cuffs are just not meant to accommodate everyone.

Yet, they even surpassed my husband’s expectations. He expected to have bruises in the morning; however, there were none to be found. I don’t think there were any marks to be found, even immediately after playing, and this definitely eases his mind.

For less than $40, the quality and performance of the Kinklab leather wrist cuffs are absolutely acceptable. I would recommend them to anyone just starting out when it comes to bondage or anyone who finds themselves needing a bit more than the “kinky kits” usually contain. I would eventually like to make more of an investment, but, for now, these are great.

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Categories: BDSM, Reviews

Under the Bed Restraints

November 20th, 2008

Under the Bed Restraints
$69.99 from Babeland

I was excited that Babeland would be kind enough to supply me with some Under the Bed Restraints. It seemed like the perfect way to finally bring my interest in BDSM from the internet to the bedroom (and real life). I knew the restraints had been rated highly by many folks before, so I expected a quality product that would allow me to truss up my husband easily.

After the restraints arrived, I spent nearly 2 weeks being unable to use them because of lack of time and other intrusions. We had jested back and forth about using them and finally decided to have them set up for his next “weekend” off. I finally got the chance.

Under the Bed Restraints by Sportsheets were in a smaller package than I expected, but this didn’t mean they would be less impressive. The plastic clamshell box was disappointing with its display of a naked woman that leaves little to the imagination. Sportsheets has since upgraded this to a cardboard box featuring a different woman, so I guess that’s an upgrade.

I was surprised to open the package and see such a small pile of straps, clips, rings and cuffs. I was also worried about how much work it would be to get under the bed as I would be the eonly person installing them, and our mattress is quite large at 17″ high. Despite all my reservations, Under the Bed Restraints came through.

The restraints come with the cuffs unattached, which is how I left them when installing them. There are a total of five straps: one connector strap that goes beneath the mattress and four that connect to either side of that center strap to make the four wrist and ankle straps. Each strap in the set is 60″ long.

To install the under-the-bed restraints, I slid one end of the connector strap and one restraint strap under the head of my mattress, beneath the bed skirt. I pulled the restraint strap until it was roughly even with the other restraint strap, and that side of the connector strap was centered beneath the mattress. I mirrored the process for the foot of the bed, which was more difficult because the left restraint was trying to go over the bed skirt rather than under.

After I straightened it out, I attached the cuffs to each restraint. Each cuff is outfitted with a metal clip (like on the end of a dog leash), and each strap is fitted with a ring where the clip is attached. I pulled on the cuffs for good measure to make sure there was no give in the connecting strap beneath the bed. I adjusted the straps so they had as much room as possible because of our large mattress. We have a queen-sized bed, and I can see this being too small for those with larger beds unless the mattresses are very thin.

After installing the restraint system, I adjusted the straps so there was no slack and tucked them, along with the cuffs, into the bed rails beneath the skirt. They became virtually invisible after I smoothed the bed skirt back down over them. I was excited at the thought of reaching down and cuffing my partner with the seemingly “invisible” restraints. You could also tuck the cuffs beneath the edge of the mattress. This also makes storage extremely easy, and unless I move the bed, I don’t have to do anything but reach for the cuffs when I want to play.

All in all, installation took about 10 minutes by myself and was not extremely difficult despite a cat who kept chasing the straps and working beneath my bed skirt. I only had to lift the edge of the mattress, and then I slid the restraints beneath it, so it was not as much effort as I would have thought. I have also repeated the process twice more since I first got these with no more difficulty.

During this process, I took some time to get to know the restraint system. The straps are woven nylon, similar to some belts, attached to keychain-like rings, and the metal clips seemed to be pretty standard. For someone creative, imitating this setup would not be very difficult. Furthermore, if something breaks on my restraint system, I can replace it without trashing the whole set.

I was impressed with the cuffs, which are lined with super soft felt and measure in at 9.5″, which makes them long enough for even fairly wide wrists. They are fastened with velcro, which makes them easy to use and easy to take off in a hurry, such as if the kids come home early. 😉 The velcro straps are quite long and allow the straps to be adjusted from 5″ to 13.5″ inches (if you don’t mind feeling the velcro on your wrists). Although velcro can be easily pulled apart, these cuffs felt very secure for the type of pulling they would experience.

Putting them on my partner was just as easy, although he wasn’t resisting much. I did use my body weight in my aid when he resisted at first, something that should work for many. The cuffs wrapped comfortably around his wrists and ankles as he lay face up. As I started to tease him with a bullet, I found the straps for his legs had too much give and easily adjusted them by pulling on the straps with one tug. I felt assured that should I need to do the opposite (give slack), that I would be able to do so with one move as well.

I felt that the straps were very secure around his ankles, but no more than a minute after I’d cuffed one wrist, he had gotten out. He has extremely long fingers and was easily able to undo the straps. I would find this much more difficult or even impossible because of my short fingers, but so you might want to consider who will be trussed up. I have continued to use the restraints with other cuffs to eliminate that issue.

Depending on the way someone struggles, they could pull the straps far to one side. The straps also like to slip when not in use because of my bed skirt, and the same would happen on an adjustable base. However, moving them back into place is easy enough by tugging near the cuffs.

Speaking of maintenance, I have yet to wash these as they haven’t gotten any lube or fluids on them. Technically, you could put them into the machine, especially if you put them in some sort of bag. You can also hand wash them without too much hassle. I would let them hang dry, of course.

I thought the restraints added a nice aspect to our play. I was able to tease and tickle him, and, after I tightened the straps, he was helpless. I know he also enjoyed the sensation and felt no discomfort from the cuffs. Under the bed, restraints would also work well for someone who is on their stomach for impact play, such as spanking or flogging. You could also stimulate someone’s chest/breasts or genitals while they’re on their back.

However, your positions are somewhat limited. A person could be spread eagle or stretched with arms above their head and legs closer together or a combination of spread and close limbs. It would be harder to pull the arms and legs together on each side, but you could figure it out. While you could do doggy style, it wouldn’t make as much sense with the restraints. The restraints could be used to bind someone of the right height who is leaning over the bed for better access to genitals and to make a better target of the ass. But you can’t do everything with Under the Bed Restraints.

And that’s okay. They’re practical and easy to use and store bondage solution, and I heartily recommend Under the Bed Restraints to anyone interested in bondage, amateur or pro!

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Categories: BDSM, Reviews

Image © MisterUnlucky; used with permission.