Review: Spartacus Wide Tip Bat

Riding crops have a certain sophistication compared to other BDSM sex toys. When I think riding crops, I think classy riding breeches and boots. Which is why I was so excited to try out the Spartacus Wide Tip Bat from Vibrator.com - this is also my first BDSM toy review

Requesting this toy was a little bit of a mistake on my part - I requested it this summer, when I was still in LA and wanted to try it out on the Optimist, but by the time I received it I was back at my college and had no one to try it out on. And so I made the most of what was available - I tried the crop out on myself. Which is somewhat limiting - as one of my friends said, spanking yourself is kind of like tickling yourself. It doesn't really work, but at least I was able to gauge how hard it hit, etc.

(Maybe for my next SM review I should get one of my kinkier college friends to try the toy out instead... Guys? )

First off, the Wide Tip Bat definitely looks elegant and pretty intimidating. It's black and simple. No novelty roses or hand-shapes or colors or any other gimmicks to make the crop look more interesting or less foreboding to vanilla folk dappling in the BDSM pond. And I prefer it that way. If I'm going to be beating someone with a crop, I want to beat them with a crop that looks like a crop. No hot pink or novelty roses for me, thank you very much.

I've never used a crop before, but here are a few things I know about them - the shorter they are, the easier it is to control your aim, and the wider the tip is, the less "stingy" and painful the swats are, because you're covering more surface area of the other person's flesh. The Wide Tip Bat is 27" long and the tip is pretty wide, so that should tell you something about its performance.

I imagined the crop would be a lot longer. I tried it out with one of my cushions as a "target", and it's not difficult to wield, but compared to the 18" crop I have, it was slightly harder to get my aim right. The crop is made of fiberglass covered with leather, which is stronger than wood or plastic. It's definitely very stiff. For some reason I imagined crops to be bendier, like canes, but this crop, at least, is not. It definitely is slightly springy, but mostly has no give, and feels very sturdy and solid.

I have mixed feelings about how well the crop actually works, i.e. hits. It makes a satisfying, loud "thwack" sound when it hits flesh, and I love the sound it makes whipping through the air. I already know I'm going to want to use a crop on someone just because of that one little thing. However, its bark is much more worse than its bite. Sure, it hurts, it's a crop for heaven's sake, but the pain is duller and more like that of a paddle or brush, not stingy like you'd expect a crop to be. Probably because of the wideness of the tip. For some, this may be a good thing. I can see the Wide Tip Bat being a good warm up or introductory crop for a bottom who is interested in trying one, but might not be accustomed to that type of pain yet.

Comparison to a paddle and a medium tip crop. The Wide Tip Bat is in the middle.

One thing that bothered me about the tip was that I didn't feel like it was made of pure leather. I've briefly seen and touched an actual riding crop, to be used on horses. The Wide Tip Bat's tip and the "real" riding crop's tip felt very different. The "real" riding crop's tip was much more pliable and somehow softer. The Wide Tip Bat's tip feels... almost artificial, as if it were made of leather and some synthetic material, or a mixture of leather and plastic. When I bend and push it back and forth with my fingers, the material makes a crackling noise. I'm no expert when it comes to leather, and I couldn't find any information on Vibrator.com or Spartacus's websites stating what the crop is made of exactly, so I don't have any solid facts to go on. I just know I don't like how the material feels in my hands. It feels plasticky, not like leather.

I tweeted about it and the tweeps who responded said: #1 it must be bad quality leather #2 it must be dried out leather, and that I should "treat" it. Either way, the crackly noise does not make me happy. I'll be keeping this crop for now as a staple, but I'm getting rid of it as soon as I get one of better quality.

All in all, the Wide Tip Bat works well, looks nice, is affordable, isn't of that high quality, and would make a good crop for someone semi-experienced in SM play.

Specs:

• Length: 27"
• Material: fiberglass, leather
• Price @ Vibrator.com: $29.oo

3 out of 5 hearts.

Related posts:

1. Review: Tantus Severin Medium I love Tantus products. I wouldn't hesitate for one...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.