Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs — Test & Review

Personal Experience

Great First Impressions

Getting Set Up

In Use

Some Minor Flaws

Design

The Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs both looks good and feels good. It's one of those products where you can pick it up and just tell that it's going to work well. The leather used for the cuffs is nice and soft and supple, they move and secure easily. The cuffs are only able to rotate on one plane of movement aligned with the bar, they do not have a ball swivel capability. The fur lining of the cuffs was a nice surprise, one that my wife was very appreciative of, the soft lining came in very handy when our use of the bar became a bit more energetic and acrobatic. Two things to note which could be changed in future designs: 1) The ball lock pins come with an attached split ring through the end of the pin. This allowed for easy removal of the pins in order to adjust the bar or disassemble it for storage. However we found that with overly engaging use of the bar the O-ring / split ring at the end became a bit distracting as they jangled around, at one point part of the split ring caught on a bit of frilly lingerie and pulled a thread, again a bit distracting. I hesitate to call this an issue because it is easily remedied either on the users own end or the manufacturers end by taking the pull ring off and replacing it with either a zipper pull style catch or some other low profile pull method. I do believe the ball lock pins need some sort of pull on them, especially if you're going to be engaging with them with either sweaty or lube covered hands. 2) Again, not an issue, merely an observation and something easily changed. The "locks" included with the spreader bar are not actual locks. They have the shape of a lock, but they are spring loaded and open just from putting pressure on them. Under heavy use one of the "locks" became disengaged for us and fell off mid session allowing the cuff to open and we had to reset it. We've used it again with no issues from the "lock" but if they disengage on us again we'll probably just pick up some small hobby style locks and use those to secure the cuffs.

Ease of Use

The Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs was very easy to assemble and use. The included ball lock pins were a bit stiff and took some extra prompting (a good thorough push!) to get them seated correctly. However after a bit of foreplay of pushing them in and pulling them out a few times the ball lock mechanism loosened up a bit and it became easier. If you're locking up your partner with this, then it's very easy to use, if for some reason you're locking yourself up I believe it would be a bit more difficult getting yourself secured.

Quality

The Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs is a very well put together product. As soon as I opened the box and took it out I was surprised that it had more weight to it than I had expected. Given the price point I was expecting to get something that would have been of a low grade aluminum, akin to tent poles, that would crumple under even some light use. I was shocked, in a very good way, that the Bondage Boutiques Spreader Bar was of a much higher quality. My guess is that the main bar itself is aluminum since I'm unable to stick a magnet to it, however the swivel joints at the end of the main bar which attach to the leather cuffs do appear to be made of iron/steel since my magnet did stick to them. Makes sense that they use a stronger and more durable material at the joint which will most likely be experiencing the greatest strain. Not to knock the metal that the rest of the spreader bar is made from, because it's very sturdy and was thicker than I had anticipated. The leather that the cuffs are made from is thin and flexible, but definitely strong enough to keep someone secured even if your play involves a "bit of struggle". We weren't expecting that the cuffs would be lined with a comfortable fur and that was a nice surprise. The quality of this product is such that I expect this toy to be in our collection for years if not decades to come.

Price

This spreader bar is absolutely worth the price! I'd again like to emphasize the quality of the product, the durability and the ease of use - Bondage Boutique could absolutely have priced this a good $40-$50 higher and I would still consider it a good deal. I've seen a number of other bondage toys at various adult stores that go for significantly more and are of comparable or lesser quality. I do wish that they included a bag with the product, but they offer one as a suggested accompanying purchase on the website for only $6. The price of this product puts it directly in the path of those who are on the newer or more exploratory side of the BDSM world. Anyone who does a bit of additional research can quickly see that the sky is the limit when it comes to what you can pay for products like these, the spreader bar from Bondage Boutique gives you a taste of the world you might want to enter and is a great entry point to familiarize yourself with BDSM play before deciding to break the bank on more exotic or bespoke products.

Performance

The Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs lived up to all of the expectations we had for it and then some. I only tried the item with the help of my wife, but if anyone wished it could at least be used solo on your legs. I don't think a person would be able to attach it to both of their own wrists unless they came up with some very creative method which I personally can't think of. Both my wife and I were pleased with the feel of the leather cuffs, a nice soft and supple leather with an inner lining of a comfortable faux fur. We discovered during our play that the bar was excellent for more than just subduing and immobilizing a partner - it made for a wonderful point to grip and manipulate. My wife and I were able to try a number of interesting new positions for longer than expected since I was able to hold the bar and support and move her legs in ways we hadn't expected. My wife definitely wanted me to emphasize that it made things a bit easier and more enjoyable for her since she didn't have to focus on keeping her legs held in certain positions, I was just able to pick up and hold the bar to keep her positioned.

Packaging

The Bondage Boutique Expandable Spreader Bar with Leather Cuffs came packaged as expected these days. The attached picture sums it up, everything was wrapped in light protective padding, the shiny parts had a pull away protective film on them and the whole setup came in a heavy duty sealed plastic bag. As per my earlier review, I do appreciate more environmentally friendly packing methods, so I approve when the packing is kept simple and effective - I'm not buying an iphone, I don't need expensive heavy duty packaging that I'm simply going to throw away adding to the cost of the item. Our Spreader Bar didn't come with any instructions on how to assemble it or how to care for it, but we assumed this was on purpose since everything seemed pretty self explanatory. I wasn't able to find any care or assembly instructions on the website for this product either. If they included a short faq or paragraph to address some common concerns that would be appreciated.

Materials and care

The Bondage Boutique Speader Bar with Leather Cuffs was heavier than expected, in a good way. I believe after some testing with a magnet that the bars are mostly coated aluminum with the use of some steel at the swivel joints. The leather of the cuffs is thin and supple, yet strong. The cuffs are also lined with a faux fur that seems able to stand up to our initial heavy usage. Unfortunately the bar didn't come with any care instructions and nothing was available on the website. Users will have to do their own research on what they believe is the best way to care and maintain this product. For me personally I plan on wiping it down with a damp towel and then drying it when needed. I'm uncertain on how I'd clean the faux fur that lines the leather cuffs when it inevitably ends up getting lube all over it at some point - but that's what we have that wonderful resource, the internet for!