Review: CalExotics Nipple Clamps with Chain

I recently won a gift voucher that allowed me to try out some new products; one of which being this cute little set of nipple clamps from CalExotics. These are my first set of clamps and I wasn't quite sure of what to expect, but the experience was pretty positive!

The packaging is nothing unusual -- just a little moulded plastic sachet that allows you to see the contents and get a good idea of the weight of the chain. To be honest, anything fancier would just be a waste and drive up the price of what is really quite an affordable bondage accessory. Nobody wants that! The clamps are good quality, nickel-free, and tipped with little phthalate-free plastic stoppers for some extra comfort. They're totally worth the retail price. Any unnecessary frilliness would just be excessive, I feel.

In any case, I'm a basic bitch that likes basic gear, so I really enjoy the simplicity of them. Just plain silver with black accents on the crocodile-style clip, an aesthetic I find way more appealing than the tweezer or classic clover styles. Each stainless-steel clamp has a little wheel that allows you to set how far open they remain for a looser or tighter fit, and once you find a set-point that works for you they don't easily shift, which is pretty handy. Word to the wise: try to store these in a safe place, as the little rubberised tips can wiggle off and would be easily lost, leaving you with uncomfortably extreme metal clips. Yikes. To prevent this, a tiny drop of superglue on the inside of the rubbery tip would probably help, although I haven’t actually tried this myself and am operating on theory.

You could also disconnect the chain and just use the clamps by themselves, or even attach different charms/weights to them if you’re feeling fancy. There’s a fair amount of versatility in these little beasts.

In use, the clamps function perfectly, although beginners may wish to start with a very mild pressure and build from there. It took me a little while to set the wheel to a point where the bite was solid but not painful, and it takes a moment to find comfortable (?) placement on the body. The sensation is intense but you kind of lose the high notes of feeling pretty quickly, which makes sense because of the restricted bloodflow. This means that you can play around with the chain with a surprising lack of pain, which is kind of cool. Nevertheless, direct disruption of the clamps themselves (whether accidentally brushing them, rolling over onto them, or intentional contact) can bring that to the front of your mind immediately.

I was pretty surprised by the deadened sensation – maybe I'm just not using them tightly enough? Being too cautious? In any case, it might be easy to forget them on for too long, which would be bad. Reduced bloodflow to sensitive parts of the body is always bad. Remember to take breaks every fifteen minutes or so! Look after yourself.

On that note, the rush of blood upon release can be quite painful, so be prepared! I’ve been gingerly releasing them little by little so that it’s not a huge rush all at once and that seems to help. You’ll also probably find that you’re very sensitive afterwards so continued play might need to wait (or not?) while you recover a bit. If there's any tenderness afterwards, I often put on a comfy softcup bra just to hold everything comfortably and have a bit of a protective layer until my sensitivity normalises again.

Overall, I have zero regrets with these clamps. They’re simple to operate, look great, and weren’t particularly expensive either. I like the crocodile-style both practically and aesthetically, and they’re one of the only pieces of kink/BDSM gear that is so tiny it could fit in a shirt pocket.

Review: Tantus Pelt

 

We’ve reviewed a few Tantus products before, but this is a bit of a special case. The Pelt was my dream paddle long before I started exploring impact play because it just looks so dang good. I was so happy to receive it from the company in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and let’s just say it didn’t disappoint.

The Pelt is a solid silicone paddle much in the style of the Dragon Tail, but much kinder due to its broad, rounded shape. Personally, I love the functional x minimalist aesthetic because I’m just that unfancy, and the lack of packaging also great. Less elaborate packaging means more cost effective (and kinder to environment too, amirite). The Pelt came inside a plastic sleeve with an informative product tag looped through the handle, and that was pretty much it. Similarly, it’s a classy-looking chunk of matte black silicone, which makes it body-safe and super easy to clean and sterilise. Unlike “traditional” kink materials like leather, which are porous and therefore impossible to entirely rid of bacteria and similar nasties, this baby is impervious to a solid scrubbing and would be rendered pathogen-free by a nice 10% bleach-bath. Handy! 

So, why would this be useful? You're only using a paddle on the surface of the skin, right? Surely there’s no need to be worried about that level of cleanliness unless it’s used near a mucous membrane?

Certain skin conditions such as ringworm, athlete’s foot, or even herpes can be transmitted via skin transferal. If you attend play parties, share equipment, or otherwise engage in regular impact play with different people, it may be a good idea to invest in gear which is able to be properly cleaned between uses. Of course, you can just ensure that you don’t share impact tools meant to be used on you/your partner with anybody else, but that just isn’t practical for some people. Products like these offer a really wonderful solution to a lifestyle problem and make it look great too.

The paddle feels really good in the palm because the nice, thick handle provides a solid base to act as leverage for thwacking. It does have more flexibility than rigid materials would offer, but you can still put a lot of force into there if you want to. In terms of sensation provided, I really enjoyed using this paddle. I love the way that the sting spreads from the impact surface and the wraparound effect it achieves (which is slightly less dramatic than the rubber strap due to the difference in length and flexibility). I normally go pretty easy on myself when testing because I am an infant when it comes to pain, but this paddle can pack a good hit. Yikes! It is super stingy due to the flexy nature of the silicone, so be prepared for a pronounced warming burn that spreads really well. I am a fan.

I also really like the shape of the paddle. Tantus has a few in the series, but something about the friendly, elegantly tapered aesthetic of the oval impact surface really works for me aesthetically. The size is perfect for my skinny shanks (sadly, I was not blessed with a generous butt) and it just feels so happy in the hand.

 My expectations were joyfully met by this product and I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the scene, especially if you really enjoy engaging in impact play with multiple partners. It’s classy, it does the job, and it’s safe – what more is there?

Like what you see? Check out our other Tantus reviews and say what’s up to them on social media. They’re super fun and really nice to chat to.

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