Kinklab Neon Wand Giveaway

January 29th, 2012

Lately, I’ve been hosting giveaways for things I’ve tried. I like it when I can offer my readers toys that I’ve used and loved before but I thought I’d go in a different direction this time. I haven’t had a lot of time to play with electricity. I’m super turned on by the idea but also a little afraid, which is why I swapped for an electric vibrator that I’ve never used. I know, right?

Others are a little more bold than I am and, for you, I offer the Kinklab Neon Wand thanks to the folks over at FunWares. Now, I’ve tried a few Kinklab products before, including cuffs and their blindfold, so I know that this is an accessible brand for breaking into BDSM. It also appears that it’s one with enough variety that you can stick with it as your experience and interest grows.

Kinklab Neon Wand

The Neon Wand itself is available in red, blue or purple. I’d get purple myself because, duh, I love purple. This wand promises to literally make sparks fly so you can get your kink on with a little electricity. By holding it just slightly apart from your skin, a strong static electric spark will jump to your skin from one of the four glass electrodes. Of course, the sparks themselves are visually appealing (but hard to photograph as explained by Mistress Kay) and appear the color that you choose.

The Neon Wand is great in a couple ways: it’s price is super competitive, the electrodes can be sterilized, the box can be used for storage and it’s not as strong as some other electrical toys so it may be even better for someone who is just becoming interesting in electricity. So whether you’ve never played with electricity or you just want to add to your  sex toy collection, consider entering this giveaway.

Please leave individual comments for each entry type.

  • Mandatory: Tell me which color you’d pick.
  • Leave a relevant/thoughtful comment on any other recent (three months or so) post. Leave a comment here with a link to your comment.
  • Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway (once daily). For example: @adriana_r is giving away one Kinklab Neon Wand, courtesy of @FunWares. Visit of Sex and Love to enter
  • Stumble/like this post on StumbleUpon (you can find a handy Share/Save widget on every post page that allows you to submit this post to social bookmarking sites).
  • Blog about this giveaway, including a link directly to this post.
  • Add FunWares on Twitter.

This giveaway will be open until February 29.

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Categories: Giveaways

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs – black

October 23rd, 2009

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs - black

Kinklab leather wrist cuffs - black
$28.84 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 which 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 fool-proof; if that is your goal, you can slip a padlock or something similar through the ring. On the other side is another ring which can be used to attach the cuffs to restraints or eachother.

Of course, no locks or connectors are included. This was easily remedied with a trip to Lowe’s and eventually Wal-mart. 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 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 just shy of $30, the quality and performance of the Kinklab leather wrist cuffs is 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

Kinklab padded leather blindfold

October 16th, 2009

Kinklab padded leather blindfold

Kinklab padded leather blindfold
$28.97 from Store.OfSexAndLove.com

Update: I have even accidentally put this through the washing machine, and it’s held up pretty well!

Since my husband’s return, I’ve made more of an effort to get into BDSM which meant I needed a quality blindfold (and more “hardcore” cuffs but that’s something else entirely). Kinklba’s Padded Leather Blindfold seemed to fit the bill. It was contoured to fit the face better than cheap “sleep mask” type blindfolds and was affordably priced in the $20 like many leather blindfolds.

The padded leather blindfold arrived in a functional plastic tube type container. On each end is a black plastic cap while the tube itself is clear. There is a paper insert with the product name and a picture of a woman wear it which isn’t explicit but does indicate the nature of the product. I thought I could pull off the top of the container by the little loop but it broke. Instead, I had to press in the sides to break the seal and then pop it off. It’s very secure which is good but a little bit of a hassle if you want to use it for storage; however, it’s a decent storage solution because the loop (if you don’t break it off) makes it able to be hung.

As the name suggests, this blindfold is padded and leather. The front side is a stiffer leather and you can see the stitches, in black, around the edge. The sewing is well done without any loose threads. The back, which sits against the face, has a softer padding where it would sit across the eyes. The edges are flush and flat feeling; they’re not silky soft or uber uncomfortable. The elastic strap is securely stitched to either side; on one side is also a clothing-style tag which the Kinklab label which also says it’s made in the USA.

During use, I found my eyes to be comfortable but the edges above the nose and toward the side applied pressure to my face. I could feel the stiffer leather around the edges where there was no padding. My husband did not experience this problem, however; I would attribute this to specific facial builds and the fact that the blindfold seems to be pretty big; at its widest, it’s nearly 3″ tall, which seems pretty big to me, and the bridge is over 1″ thick which I think is the cause of my personal discomfort. Of course, I do have a smaller face than some. This mask is bound to fit some people better than others.

This is especially true because it is secured by a simple elastic strap. Lying flat, the blindfold measures in at right around 20″ and I’d say you can get 4″ or so stretch from it but anyone who falls out of that range is out of luck. The blindfold could probably be sewn or otherwise manipulated for smaller headed folks but it’s not meant to be adjustable. Otherwise, this 3/4″ thick strap is made of a soft, elastic that’s fairly comfortable.

This blindfold is pretty effective at blacking out light. Because it is contoured, I can pull it a bit lower on my nose and I cannot see any light or movement around the eyes or nose. I could see the vaguest light toward the side of the blindfold but it’s really not enough to detect movement. Unfortunately, it’s more comfortable for me to wear this blindfold higher which negates that property but my husband didn’t experience that as an issue.

One issue I do have is that, no matter how you cut it, this blindfold is not foolproof. Because of the give in the elastic band, my husband was able to rub his head against the bed to remove the strap. This is perhaps not the best blindfold for a feisty partner. Then again, this freedom can work well for someone who is a bit anxious about playing with a blindfold. A buckle style blindfold might work better for my purposes.

Overall, the Kinklab padded leather blindfold is good quality and effective at blocking out light. I found it to be a little stiff initially so I hope it softens over time; this will definitely improve the comfort issues I had. Although it’s not super secure, it’s generally a good multipurpose accessory for BDSM play.

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Categories: BDSM, Reviews

Image © MisterUnlucky; used with permission.