Sportsheets Saffron Braided Flogger Review

Personal Experience

Light and Heavy Play

Design

This is a good quality flogger that is neither too heavy nor too light. I find the faux leather to be convincing enough to enjoy the sensation, but it won't fool anyone into thinking it's the real thing. The ridged handle is easy to grip and can also be used for sensation play. Plus, there's a loop at the base of the grip which you can use to hang it up.

Ease of Use

The tails are a bit heavier than average, so this may take some extra work to swing. They may also hit harder than expected. However, I find the material is very easy to handle and the ridged handle improves grip when using this. If someone has some difficulty with gripping things, the weight might make it harder to wield. I personally found the flogger very easy to use, but it might take some practice for people to learn how to use it well.

Quality

This is on the high end of cheap floggers. It's got a good heft and I find it swings more organically than any of the other cheap floggers in my collection. It's not going to wow anyone whose used to suede or horsehair floggers. When my polycule tested it and concluded it's a good mid-weight flogger, but the most experienced doms in the group were skeptical that it would last a long time.

Price

The Saffron Braided Flogger from Sportsheets is very affordable without looking or feeling like cheap junk.

Performance

The sharp flared tips and heavier braided falls give this a good weight without being too heavy. I found it easy to swing and with practice I could change up my technique a bit for different levels of impact. The tips are stingy--a major contrast to those used to lighter suede floggers--so I don't recommend warming up with this. I really enjoyed the extra heft of the braided tails and the bite the rose tips, both when wielding this and when on the receiving end.

Packaging

Content warning: bugs. I had an unfortunate incident in the shipping of this flogger. Even before I finished cutting open the cardboard box this was shipped in, there were some ants in the packaging. I reported the issue and was immediately sent a replacement. It seems that bugs got in while it was being shipped — my concern was not with SheVibe but with the shipping company that delivered it. This is my first bad experience with any toy from Sportsheets and the seller, SheVibe, has a sterling reputation, As for what the actual packaging was like? It lacked both the drama and production quality of my past experience. The flogger was sealed in a cheap see-through plastic bag with a label giving instructions for vendors to remove this plastic before displaying it.

Materials and care

The official Sportsheets website says this is made of "vegan-friendly faux leather" but I did not see more specific info. The handle is a somewhat rubbery plastic. While there are plenty of different ways to clean faux leather, a standard sex toy cleaner should also work. When not in use, you can hang it up by the loop of cord on its handle.

Special feature

Based on the name, you might think that the braided whips would be the main special feature of the Saffron Braided Flogger. You’d be wrong. Each of these braided falls ends in a pair of diamond-shaped tips, and these are the really devilish feature that makes it so fun. These add additional weight and sensation, allowing for heavier impact that can be used for punishment, but they’re still light enough that you can ease a bottom into subspace at the start of a scene.  Just be warned that some less experienced doms and people who struggle with fine motor skills or have limited grip might have difficulty with the weight distribution and could potentially hit harder than they mean to.