Today’s review item, the Discipline & Punishment BDSM Spanking Belt Strap is brought to you from Etsy, the magical land of beautiful custom products I will never be able to afford and oh god what the fuck why? Specifically, from Mercury Design, a shop dedicated to handmade artisan BDSM gear. When Gene first contacted me and invited me to peruse the store I was instantly impressed by the antique styling of his products ranging from simplistic and utilitarian to ornate and creative.
The Strap itself clearly falls more into the simplistic category, it is nothing more than a strip of leather folded in on itself and decoratively held in place by a few golden rivets. The Latigo leather used to create the strap is smooth, stiff and about 1/8th of an inch thick. It unfortunately does not have as much of a soft and supple nature as the belt in it’s namesake and is also wider than you’d expect 1.75″ wide. Combined this makes for very stingy beating but one that lacks the whip-like bite of an actual belt.
The double layer of leather makes a satisfying crack against the skin, even on lighter smacks, with a simple flick of the wrist. It’s small size and simple design also make it very easy to control for novice tops. While light flicks may sting it takes a serious swing to cause any significant or lasting sensation, so it would difficult to accidentally go beyond your partners limitations. On the other hand I think more experienced bottoms will be disappointed by even the strongest of spankings from the Discipline & Punishment BDSM Spanking Belt Strap. I have been hard pressed to even approach my own limitations with this one, and I’m not all that resilient. Frankly, I’m a bit of a wuss.
The Strap is clearly hand-made but not in a bespoke craftsman sort of way, more a church craft fair sort of way. Ya know, if church craft fairs were decidedly more kinky. The edges of the leather are uneven and cut somewhat roughly while the two layers don’t even line up properly. The rivets at the base aren’t entirely centered or symmetrical and some are even so loose that I worry they would pop off and be lost forever if my hands didn’t cover them. The metallic finish has already begun to tarnish and chip in my limited use and I wonder just how long something like this may last.
I’m always excited to try out new products from a smaller company, and I always love to have something to point to as an alternative to the big companies, some whom I’d rather not support. Unfortunately the Discipline & Punishment BDSM Spanking Belt Strap is not that product. While the strap is functional, some superficial and manufacturing flaws make it not quite retail ready. Mercury Designs offers a number of other beautiful products and clearly has an eye for what looks good, I just hope that one day their craftsmanship will live up to their designs.
In the meantime there are a number of budget friendly paddles available for you to experiment with that will likely offer a similar sensation. If you’re looking for that genuine leather feel or the fantasy of a belt there are a number of delightful impact implements available at Stockroom and, bonus points, some are even hand made in Los Angeles.
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