Review: Spartacus Medium Tip Crop

Yet another run-of-the-mill BDSM toy review… except, this time, the Spartacus 18″ Medium Tip Riding Crop is a keeper.

I had the same issues with this crop as I did with the other Spartacus crop I reviewed: the Wide Tip Bat:

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 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.

As I said before, I think I’ll hold off on the cheaper BDSM gear options, and wait until I have the cash to shell out for quality pieces.

However, I quite like this crop. Why? Well, regardless of the sub-par quality, it still works really well as a prop. It’s black, it’s intimidating, and still evokes a sense of I am in charge, and I am going to whip your ass. I’d prefer to have a sub-par crop than, well, no crop. I also like the size of this crop much more than the other one I tried out. It’s 18″ long, about half as long as the Wide Tip Bat, which is more of a standard crop length, I think. This crop’s shortness makes it easier to wield, and also easier to travel with and store, which is a concern to me as I’m not settled in a place/job yet and will be traveling a lot.

Comparison to a paddle and the Wide Tip Bat. The Medium Tip Crop is at the bottom.

I used this crop on myself, at Sir’s request. Using it on myself was a bit awkward, and I couldn’t really get any hard hits in. I also used it at Zeta Mu’s runway show, where my act was to dom someone onstage. Before the show, during meetings, I was in my dom outfit and walking around with the crop, and at one point I asked someone to hold it for me and it got passed all over the room because people were so interested in playing with it. One of my friends kept caressing people with it. During the act itself, I used it to direct my sub, I pushed it lengthways against her throat when she resisted me, and spanked her a few times. I tried it on my calves beforehand, and it does sting quite nicely.

Basically, I’m content with this crop and the usefulness it has as a prop and symbol, at least until I can afford something better.

Price @ Sextoy.com: $24.93

sex toys | BDSM gear

No related posts.

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