Craving some kink before the holidays? Perhaps you’re eying some new vegan bondage gear or some new pain toys? You’re in luck – I have been lucky enough to receive a small handful of kink toys this winter – two pairs of vegan leather bondage cuffs from Oddo Leather, the Hello Touch X by JimmyJane, and the Buck Dich by Fun Factory.
Want to know which is worth spending your holiday cash on?
Vegan Cuffs by Oddo Leather
The folks over at Oddo Leather make some pretty great-looking leather products that I have been admiring for ages. A recent etsy search for vegan bdsm items (I run these searches semi-regularly, in case someone new pops up) showed me that Oddo Leather also has a small handful of vegan leather items, which I eagerly jumped on!
Oddo Leather sent me their Roma Vegan 2″ Padded Lockable Cuffs and their Roma Vegan 2″ Fur Lined Cuffs, and they arrived on my doorstep shockingly fast.
They came individually packaged in ziplock bags; each one coming with a metal connector, the red padded cuffs also coming with cute little locks – a nice touch, as typically the lockable kink items that I buy don’t come with the locks themselves. These are much nicer-looking locks than the kind I buy from the hardware store, and it’s nice that I don’t need to make an extra trip.
There’s a trend that’s only just starting to change when it comes to vegan kink items: they can actually work as intended, or they can look good, but not both. This past year or so has shown this trend to be finally changing for the better, and these cuffs by Oddo Leather certainly are proof of that.
The padded cuffs immediately caught my eye with how darn pretty they are. The outer black layer is shiny and smooth PVC, with red stitching that matches the inner red layer (the padding). The padding is very minimal; I’d argue that these are more “lined” than “padded”, but they are comfortable regardless. They are very aesthetically striking and beautiful pieces. The only part of them that I don’t like is how the padded layers are glued together. They are also stitched together, so it’s not a structural problem that I’m concerned about, merely an aesthetic one (and my only aesthetic problem, at that).
In use, the Padded Lockable Cuffs are comfortable and secure. My arms feel supported when I strain against them, and I’m also not worried that they’re going to break or shift out of place as I struggle.
The Fur Lined Cuffs have the same shiny black PVC as an exterior layer as the Padded Lockable Cuffs, with black stitching and a fake fur inner layer – described on the website as being fake chinchilla fur, which is a little unusual but it’s a faux fur so I’m not bothered by it.
These feel tighter and more padded than the Padded Lockable Cuffs, and just as secure and even more comfortable when straining against them.
These are both more comfortable than the Vondage set that I have from Stockroom, as my weight is distributed more evenly along the cuff (since the vondage cuff isn’t uniform in thickness).
For longer scenes, I prefer the Padded Lockable Cuffs, as the fur in the Fur Lined Cuffs becomes a bit itchy against my wrist the longer I wear them. After about 30 minutes in the Fur Lined Cuff, I noticed that I was constantly fidgeting with it, trying to relieve the itchy feeling, whereas the Padded Lockable Cuff remained comfortable. I don’t have a problem with either of them becoming sweaty and gross through use, though I tend to sweat a very, very small amount so your mileage may vary on this point.
Buy the Padded Lockable Cuffs and the Fur Lined Cuffs from Oddo Leather!
Hello Touch X by JimmyJane
The idea: this can be a fingertip vibrator or an estim device that shocks wherever you touch! You wear it around your wrist, it’s cordless, and very portable!
I loved the thought of being able to electrocute with my finger tips without having to get a violet wand and power tripper or an estim glove and power box – the glove option can be relatively affordable whereas the power tripper route can cost around $240 CAD, which is a lot of money. The Hello Touch X retails for just under $190 CAD from SheVibe so you’re not saving much money, but I was hopeful about the experience anyway.
The reality: the bands that go around your fingers are tight! Like ridiculously so. The tip of my index finger is less than 2″ in circumference, and the “pleasure pods” are uncomfortably tight on me in less than five minutes. The vibrator and the estim parts of the Hello Touch X both attach via micro USB, and the attachment part is tight enough that I dislike trying to separate them (my boyfriend disagrees that it’s difficult so maybe I just have weak fingers).
The vibrators are buzzy and awful. There is only one setting and it is instantly irritating both to my skin and to my ears. I will absolutely never use this.
The Hello Touch X‘s estim is super confusing. They have a handy image to tell you what the various settings are, which you can see on the left (this image is also super hard to track down online and not listed in their online manual, so have fun if you lose the paper!). By “handy”, I obviously mean “garbage”. It turns out that “?!@%” with lightning bolts means “random”, which is a little concerning to me as I really don’t like the thought of no one knowing when you’re about to electrocute someone as that just doesn’t sound safe to me.
Eventually, I figure the settings out well enough to use the estim.
I have both controlled and had used on me several different types of electro toys; violet wands (on their own, with various attachments, with a power tripper), power boxes hooked up to pads, vibrators, paddles, and insertables (estim butt plugs 😍), cattle prods, tazappers, and the like, and I am well-versed in how those feel. Each type of estim feels slightly different, they all hurt in slightly different manners, and I love them all.
And then there’s the Hello Touch X.
This hurts. It feels sharp and burning and unpleasant. It feels like it is going to harm you if you continue using it. Quite frankly, I’m fairly certain this is the only toy that I’ve flat out refused to test on another person.
On the lowest setting of the Hello Touch X, I don’t feel anything. On the second intensity there’s sort of something. On the third I’m having to struggle to not jerk away from the “pleasure pods” because estim tends to hurt more if you touch your skin after the toy is live, and it already hurts. On the third intensity on my thigh, I can feel the spot I was electrocuted once for a good 15 minutes on average after I take the toy away.
I didn’t test the toy past the third intensity. I wanted to ~for the sake of the review~ and all, but for the sake of my health I opted against it.
There is no display that tells you what setting or intensity the Hello Touch X is on – or even if it’s on, so be careful when using it to ensure you’re still on a lower setting.
Their manual has a guide that has colour-coded dots to show you where the Hello Touch X is meant to be used – primary places listed as genitals and heart, other places include the throat. Estim should never be used on the throat/neck or over the heart; many sites arguing that it shouldn’t be used anywhere above the waist. I have a lot of feelings about the safety instructions included with this product – not only do they list some dangerous falsehoods, but they also completely overlook other important aspects, such as the fact that you should never have one “pleasure pod” on each side of the spine at the same time.
I’m not going to go into their manual further. This post isn’t an estim 101. In my opinion, the vibrating portion of the Hello Touch X is useless and the estim portion is dangerous and harmful and you should absolutely not spend your money on it. If you’re going to anyway, you can buy it from SheVibe, and I suggest you spend some time reading up from other, more reputable sources, on some estim safety tips, please.
Buck Dich by Fun Factory
Okay so I have been lusting after this dildo paddle for what feels like forever. When I received my Tantus Plunge, I was really hoping to do a comparison of the two dildo paddles, but I didn’t get my hands on this one quick enough.
Why I wanted it: dildo. paddle. I can beat someone with it and then make them walk around with it in their butt. Or make them get off on the thing that’s hurting them. Or…
Such a perfect concept.
As a dildo, I didn’t expect to enjoy this nearly as much as I did the paddle. The Buck Dich is made out of a fairly firm silicone, has fairly prominent ridges all the way along the dildo, and a curve that is much different than other toys I own. Plus, I tend to only enjoy strong textures on much narrower toys.
I was completely mistaken, however.
As a dildo, the Buck Dich is delightful. The curve targets my gspot nicely and the silicone has the perfect mix of squish vs firmness for me to be able to thrust it rapidly inside me without my gspot feeling pummeled and sore. I’m not sure why the ridges work for me on this toy when they don’t on so many others, but I find them to be a great addition to the stimulation (vaginally or anally) without being overwhelming.
Seeing as the base of the dildo immediately widens into a round paddle, the weirdest thing about this dildo is figuring out how you want to hold it. For me, I’ve found that holding it at the narrowest part of the paddle is the easiest, but depending on your dexterity, hand strength, etc, this may be uncomfortable.
As a paddle, it is superb. It has a good weight to it as well as a decent amount of flex, meaning that minimal effort on the spanker’s part goes a long way. It can easily be wielded as a warm up toy or one for use later on in the scene to make some nice marks. Due to the size and shape of the Buck Dich (which is German for “bend down”, in case you were wondering), it is best suited for use on the butt and thighs. It is mostly thuddy due to how thick the silicone is and very minimal wrap.
The Buck Dich is ping pong paddle shaped, which is a plus in my books, made from silicone, and has a different texture on each side of the paddle, just like a real ping pong paddle.
The dildo itself makes a sturdy, ergonomic handle to use for beating people, giving you a delightfully controlled swing.
Find the Buck Dich at SheVibe!
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