Suspension Hand Slings

The Mr S Suspension Hand Slings

Vendor: Mr S Leather

Construction

The body of this restraint pair is a curvated piece of bridle leather straps.  The bottom is slightly convex to follow the autonomy of the hand’s bottom; the top is protracted. While the body is made out of sturdy leather, it is padded and lined with soft garment leather. Unlike on their cuff-style restraints or the Four Buckle Hand Restraint (more on that later), the padding is rather stiff. This supports the wrist and keeps is upright yet makes the restraints comfortable to wear. For perfect and tight fit on the wrist, the restraint is tightly closed using Velcro and then secured with a roller buckle belt. Next to the buckle is a welded D-ring.

The top of the protracted tip is folded and secured with two rivets to house a tooled aluminum bar. On both end of the bar, panic carabiners with big, welded O-rings on the end connect the bar to another strap of bridle leather. This is threaded through the two O-rings. Between two rivets which hold the strap together sits another panic carabiner.

The Roller Buckle and D-ring on the back

Like all panic (or security as they are also called) carabiners they can turn to adjust a bit to the sub’s movement. There are no sharp edges to prevent damage on ropes. The release for the opening is tooled and textured for best grip even in stress situations.

Playing with the Suspension Hand Slings

When I have gotten these restraints this summer, they marked the end of era for me: For almost 10 years I have been using the Four Buckle Hand Restraints from Mr S for any kind of bondage and fettering. They were actually part of my first ever order from Mr S. But, when fettering someone on a standing position like on a St Andrews Cross, the Four Buckle Hand Restraints were not the best choice. The D-ring positioning was not perfect if you needed to hold onto something and panic carabiners were always a given in case the bottom collapsed (which luckily has never happened to me yet but happens more often than you probably think).

Connection of the Panic Carabiners with the Aluminum Bar

The Suspension Hand Slings fix all that! It is rare that a piece of (specialized) bondage gear instantly becomes part of my standard (or in this case flogging) play bag but the Suspension Hand Slings did just that. They were designed for the anchor point being above the restraint so there is no stressful horizontal pull on the wrists like when the D-ring is parallel to the arm. The layout and material choice is the perfect sweet spot between rigidity and stiffness for wrist support but not cutting of circulation and allowing enough leeway for the fingers and hand to move bit. Even when broken and getting softer in, they retain enough stiffness.

Stressful situations like being subjected to pain or being suspended can lead to circulation problems even on fit subs. Because of this, when doing suspension or just having a subs fettered standing, you should always use panic carabiners yet I rarely see them in public play spaces. Luckily, in these restraints they are built in. They look and feel like professional sailing equipment though sadly there is no kN value printed or engraved on them. In order to release them, twist the capsule 180° and even under pull they will open. The capsule is kept in place with a coil spring which is just strong enough to keep it in place but prevents the capsule from turning. Because twisting the capsule is such a satisfying feeling (yeah, I know that sometimes I am weird), I often just play around with the capsule. I have not counted how often I turned it but I have not noticed the spring getting any softer or the capsule developing any give.

The Velcro Fastener next the Padded and Garment Leather Lined Inside of the Restraint

Speaking of carabiners: Despite the rigid fettering, due to the twisting carabiners, there is a bit movement possible for the sub to work out sensations. This is important because swift, uncontrolled movements caused by pain could otherwise lead to injuries when the wrist is constrained by the cuff. Especially when whipping someone, I have subs doing pull-ups in these restraints because the bars provide such good support. So when doing extreme pain play I highly recommend also to put the ankles in bondage.

While this toy is called Suspension Hand Sling a word of caution is in order: Suspending someone solely vertically from their wrist, puts extreme stress on the joints, especially the wrists and the shoulders. There are some very well trained subs with extreme upper body muscles who can endure this stress position for a limited time. But neither your sub not you should over-estimate what he can do. So when doing suspension, check-in more often as usual.

The Panic Carabiners

I have also gotten a few reader questions about horizontal suspension with these restraints. In theory it works when the bottom is lying on his back. But you have to thread a tension strap or rope through the D-ring on the body to the major pull of the arm weight is caught there. But still what little pull is left, will make the tip bend upwards causing stress on the wrists. So for horizontal suspension I recommend the Four Buckle restraints.

If in a scene the need for another wrist restraint arises and you have these restraints in your play bag you can detach the part with the carabiners from the bar completely and use what is left as a standard restraint cuff. But since the restraint cannot be turned on the wrist, the D-ring always stays on the bottom of the hand which is a bit unpractical.

Conclusion: Best and most secure restraint for fettering hands above the hand.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Secure and save to use even in extreme bondage situations One trick pony Mr S Leather $239.95
Professional panic carabiners
Extremely well made and thought out

SeriousToyS Rubber Stirrups

The SeriousToyS Rubber Stirrups

Vendor: Vast

Construction

These are the matching stirrups to the rubber sling I reviewed four years ago. Back then their store was still called Demask Dortmund. Since then they have rebranded to Vast and have set up an online shop which makes purchasing their other awesome toys way easier.

Since they are the matching stirrups, they are made the same way out of the same material: Three layers of 2mm thick industrial rubber have been reinforced with Kevlar for maximum durability. To deliver this durability during suspension, even on a shear-prone material like rubber, they did not simply punch a hole through the three layers or riveted a D-ring under a rubber loop as an anchor point. Instead of this they used stainless steel fittings which cover the first 65mm of the rubber. On The “inside” of the stirrups the metal plate extends beyond the rubber and has a 20mm diameter eyelet hole on top. On the “outside” there is just a stainless steel plate. Both fittings are not attached directly to the rubber but house the rubber between themselves through 4 stainless steel screws (rounded hex head on the inside, acorn nut on the outside).

Detail of the Stainless Steel Fittings

Industrial rubber and metal are tough materials to work with. They require a lot of work to be made “playroom ready”. In the manufacturing process all metal and rubber edges have been painstakingly deburred and given a top notch finished. There is no single rough edge or area that can cause chafing. I would even trust to run ropes through the eyelets.

The rubber is slightly oval shaped, measuring 800mm from one end to the other and being 100mm wide in the middle. The overall length is 860mm from metal tip to metal tip. In the product picture on the website they come with a two simple carabiners. I guess I have gotten those too but actually cannot remember.

Detail of the Three Layers of Kevlar Reinforced Industrial Rubber

Playing with the Rubber Stirrups

Don’t let yourself be fooled by the ambivalent website description: This toy is made out of rubber, not vinyl! And it has the smell to prove it! I have bought these stirrups in October of 2019 and they still smell like a fresh rubber suit! A smell fetishist friend of mine love putting a guy with rank sox into those so he can alter between the sox and the rubber smell.

The SeriousToyS Ruber Stirrups Attached to My SeriousToyS Rubber Sling

Speaking of fetishists, these stirrups are made for gearheads! Not only because of the material and the rough & heavy duty aesthetic but because of the size. Most leather or nylon stirrups are large enough to more or less comfortable enter with slim sneaker like Nike TNs. Combat boots are already a struggle to get in and especially out of. And as soon as it comes to bulkier sneakers like Nike Shox (sorry, I only wear Nikes and do not know any Adidas sneaker) or MX boots they do not fit through all other commercial stirrups I have encountered so far. Unlike the SeriousToyS ones! Using professional carabiners to connect the eyelets, you get a clear height of 360mm and a width of 170mm. That is plenty of space for most fetish footwear. If you have really large feet, use individual carabiners for each eyelet to increase the clear height and width even more.

The SeriousToyS Rubber Stirrups are especially made for heavy and messy play. Lube and other substances clean easily off the rubber. And since it is industrial rubber, it requires well less maintenance than the sheet rubber used for fetish clothing. If you want to, you can of course shine the rubber with silicone oil. Though since the lower calf will rest inside the stirrups I would not recommend it.

Detail of the Eyelets

The corresponding sling was used to suspend a Smart car in the on one anchor point. Since the same material and manufacturing process are used, I am very confident this toy will have approximately the same breaking load. And while I would not recommend using this toy to lift your car, I actually use the stirrups as torso support belts in suspension bondage scene. With a few chains and a strong suspension spread bar, they double as a basic sit sling!

For all this kind of “perverterable” scenes, I wish, Vast would offer individual and/ or longer ones for sale. For a proper sit sling you need a third one for back support and for heavier people longer ones would also be great for suspension scenes. But at the moment, especially looking at the price of even simple leather stirrups, these offer incredible value for money! And if you are a rubber fetishist who strives towards an all rubber playroom, there is now nearly as good alternative on the market.

Conclusion: The best, largest and most vers rubber stirups on the market.
Pros Cons Where to get Price
Only reliable rubber stirrups on the market Only comes in one size Vast 99€
Cold on initial skin contact
Extremely well made
Easy to clean
Made for heavy duty play
With a bit of creativity, versatile usage

Leather Suspension Harness

The Blackjump Leather Suspension Harness

Vendor: Blackjump

Construction

Like with all heavy duty bondage items, the first look should always be on the material and manufacturing quality in order to see if the gear will actually detain a struggling sub. This is even more important with a suspension harness because an equipment failure will not only ruin a scene but can potentially cause injuries!

This Blackjump model is beyond any doubt. All straps are made out of sturdy, 2mm thick and 50mm wide belt leather (except the one across the chest which is 30mm wide). Points with crucial load bearing or extreme kinetic stress either feature double leather layers or four instead of just two rivets. Equally important is the protection of fragile and vulnerable body parts from the stiff leather belts digging in. For this thick and stiff foam under soft leather is used so even under a lot of pressure you do not feel the leather and metal below the padding. The hardware is also supreme: The D-rings are welded and made out of thick steel, the buckles are sturdy roller buckles.

Detail of the Double Lay Leather to extra-reinforce the Suspension D-ring

All these ingredients are mixed together into what appears fairly simple design which in the details shows a lot of thought. The torso part is basically two belts with holes on both ends, riveted to an X with one rivet on the back so the angle between the two belts can adjust easily depending on the sub’s body size. To protect collarbone and the shoulders, there are pads which can be attached to the belts with snaps. Though mine have been lost when I have bought this harness from a friend; I need to reorder them again. On the apex of both belts there is a D-ring from which this harness gets suspended. Just above the belt holes in front there is a horizontal strap riveted with a roller buckle to tighten the harness in front of the chest.

Using four buckles, these straps are connected to the piece de resistance of this suspension harness: The roughly bone-shaped, padded pelvic-protection. Since there are no muscles and rarely a thick layer of fat over the pelvis, this body area is very sensitive to abrasions. Because of this it has to be padded, either through a pad (like Mr S does) or through a padded belt (like Fetters does). Blackjump goes further. He extends the padding over the stomach region onto the lower rib cage to also protect this fragile body part. In order to maintain the flexibility and adjustability of the harness, the padding is not only ergonomically shaped, but middle part which goes over the stomach section is with 60mm only 40% as wide as the 140mm wide padding to the pelvis and rib cage. A little drawback of the heavy duty design is that the rivets which connect the belts with the padding are not covered by leather.

Detail of the Padding Protecting the Pelvis and Rib Cage

The four buckles on the upper end of the padding allow to adjust the harness the bottom’s body size. It is very adjustable; I suspended people from 1,69m to 2,05m and thin twinks to heavier bears with no problem. From my experience with leather as a material and without any guarantee I would say the breaking load of this harness is somewhere between 150kg and 180kg. Below the buckles of the back there is also a D-ring riveted. To my knowledge it is the only fetish suspension who has these D-rings but they are very important when the sub is not flying high (see below). On the bottom there is a belt attached which go around the thigh. To also protect this delicate body area (see below), there a 100mm wide and 350mm long padded “sleigh” running on the strap so regardless of the length adjustment is always cover the back part of the thigh.

At least when my friend bought the harness some 10 years ago, it came with a sturdy suspension bar. On both ends quick links are welded onto the bar, the actually suspension is attached to a triangle ring welded onto the middle. From the quick links 350mm of 6mm wire gauge chain are suspended. The actually harness is suspended using pear clips which the avid reader knows I am not a big fan off. Though since they are never actually opened the sharpness does not really play a role. And at least the ones I have a certified for 230 daN. So I can hardly imagine a strong, heavy muscle bear exceeding the dynamic breaking load of 469kg + safety margin…

Detail of the Back Buckle with D-ring

Playing with the Suspension Harness

For me suspension bondage, especially in a harness and using rope, is the ultimate form of mindfuck bondage: You are free to move around yet unable to escape. To achieve this level of mindfuck, the sub needs to be suspended so high that his toes can’t touch the ground and his hands can’t touch anything. If you do not have a gymnasium for a playroom, this can be difficult. The extreme situation is my playroom where some subs have to crouch to get into the harness with the suspension bar above them. To still get the sub helpless, put ankle restraints on him and connect them to the D-rings on the back. Depending on the degree of helplessness, fetter the hands using suspension restraints to the suspension bar or to the D-ring to which the thigh belt is connected. In the latter position for added stress, upper arm restraints can be connected to the back D-rings. However, I would not recommend to subject to sub to too much pain in this situation because due to the limited upper arm movement  he can quickly pull something.

The design of the straps and belts allow for maximum accessibility for sensation play over TT and CBT to spanking and even flogging. Particularly fun are e-stim scenes with movement triggered units like the Electrastim Flick Duo or Axis. Once the sub starts to work the pain out, self-sustaining system of constant movement is set in motion which keeps the stimulation coming and coming.

Detail of the Suspension Bar and Chains

The feeling of flying can also heighten the sensations of more traditional play like getting fucked or fisted. The free movement of the harness creates a way stronger swinging action than a sling does. While a suspension harness seems like a natural match for a milking machine, I made not the best experience with my Venus 2000. The body’s natural reaction to an intense sensation is flinching, pulling the penis out of the receiver. Just suspending the receiver from the chest strap also proved to instable. I have seen people converting cock sheaths into attachment points for the receiver so this might work.

Detail of the Thigh Padding

As hot and fun suspension bondage is, it is also one of the most dangerous forms of bondage due to the risk of suspension trauma. In short suspension bondage is the blood gathering in the legs when being suspended for an extended period of time which will cause a circulatory collapse. Symptoms are sweating, breathlessness, dizziness, feeling sick, dropping blood pressure or numbness. If any of these symptoms occur, get the sub out of the harness but NEVER LAY HIM DOWN! During suspension trauma the heart tries to pump the blood up with ever increasing force. Laying him down would cause the blood to shoot into the torso and brain, basically killing him! This is called rescue death. To prevent this, for the first 20 to 30 minutes, keep the torso in an upright position. A suspension trauma is not a “miner circulation crash” but a serious medical emergency and requires professional help! Drugs which increase blood pressure and/ or open up the blood vessels like poppers can increase the likelihood of suspension trauma. While the thick padding on critical areas makes the appearing of a suspension trauma unlikely, a suspended sub (like all bound subs) should never be left alone and a suspension scene should never go over extended periods of time. Furthermore it is important to talk with the sub about the potential symptoms before a scene so he can draw the top’s attention to problems early enough and does not dismiss them out of mislead will to be obedient.

Speaking of safely suspending someone: If you want to really lift the sub after fettering him in the harness, I highly recommend getting a professional winch for liability reasons. Considering dynamic loads, you should get one with over 1,000kg carrying load!

Conclusion: Bes fetish suspension harness I have come across yet.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Great craftsmanship out of high quality materials Takes forever to break in Blackjump Ca. 250€
Thick and ample padding for comfortable and safe scenes over extended periods of time
D-rings in all relevant places
Comes with suspension hardware

 

Blackjump Wrist Suspension Restaints

The Blackjump Suspension Restaints

The Blackjump Suspension Restaints

Vendor: Blackjump

Construction

The basis of this toy is a 13cm wide wrist restraint. It is made out of latigo leather onto which a rather firm and thin padding with soft leather cover is sowed. The restraint is closed with two latigo leather belts equipped with roller buckles. Onto the body a long strap of latigo leather is riveted. Through several rivets it has an h-shape with a welded D-ring on each vertical part and carrying a brushed stainless steel grabpole on the horizontal part. The leather is high quality and the manufacturing is spotless. Yet due to the materials used it takes a little bit longer to break them in. The restraints come with a standard steel carabiner which as always I recommend to switch for a climbing carabiner.

Detail of the D-Rings and Gradpole

Detail of the D-Rings and Gradpole

Playing with it

If this restraint lives up to its name depends on your play style. Through the stiff body the wrist is kept upright and well supported. Yet the padding is way firmer than on that restraint so I would not recommend the weight of a body resting on the lower bones of the hand. So a suspended sub would have to hold onto the grabpole which is essentially the stress bondage. Some testees found that scenario incredibly hot! Personally I prefer the 4 buckle style – at least for suspension.

Detail of the Roller Buckles and the Padding

Detail of the Roller Buckles and the Padding

In different play scenarios I really love these restraints. Because the D-rings are centered above the hand you can really stretch a sub into a spread eagle. Also in a hogtie the bounding force being an extension of the arm feels more natural than pulling perpendicular on the wrist like when using a D-ring attached to the side of a cuff style wrist restraint. This more natural flow of force is also good in many other play situations, p.e. when fettering a sub into a sling. I used these restraints into a fisting once and the sub used the bars to lift him up and really thrust his ass onto my fist.

Speaking of position these restraints are good to compensate for the shortcoming of most crosses in play spaces. There are good reasons to put a St.-Andrews-Cross into a play space yet for flogging in combination with cuff style restraints they are not ideal. The arms get stretched up leading to tensed up shoulder muscles. If you use these restraints the arms can hang easily so that the upper arms are in line with the shoulder leading to relaxed muscles.

Conclusion: High quality heavy duty bondage belt
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Supports the wrist very well Padding is a bit too firm and thin Blackjump 249€
Allows for more “natural” bondage in some situations compared to cuff style restraints
Very well made out of quality materials

Meo Foot Suspension Bonds Deluxe

Vendor: Meo

This is one of the toys Meo kindly sent me for the heavy bondage special. And since I finally got a chance to try the restraints out as a sub Easter Sunday at Quälgeist I am finally able to write the review.

The Front of the Meo Foot Suspension Restraints

The Front of the Meo Foot Suspension Restraints

Construction

The first impression is: They are massive! The body of these restraints is 170mm long. Its exterior is made out of stiff, sturdy leather. Usually I would complain about the cardboard like soulless leather quality but in this case the stiffness is a feature for giving the foot and ankle all the support they need. This outer shell is covered with padded soft high quality leather. While the padding at the instep is a bit thinner and firmer the “cushion” that wraps around the ankle is lavishly thick, almost like a pillow. It is designed that way that if the ankle is not too massive no metal of the many rivets that are use to hold the stiff body in shape even under large strain touches the skin. The padding layout leads to the comparatively robust foot being pushed into the “harder” area while the more fragile ankle is well protected yet without having too much give to allow the foot to slip out of the restraint when fettered properly. The fettering is done by two latgio leather straps with roller buckles. Their holes’ spacing is 18mm. While this is ok due to the thick padding which can take some of the pressure, a little bit finer spacing (15mm hole distance p.e.) would have been better to ensure safe and comfortable bondage. Onto each side of the body a 55mm wide and 220mm long latigo leather strap with a massive welded d-ring is riveted.

Detail of the Roller Buckles on the Back

Detail of the Roller Buckles on the Back

Playing with it

Putting these restraints on is no rocket science yet takes a bit of practice: Out the body around the foot, than adjust the leather covered padding. Next tighten the strap close to the foot securely, than the other one. If you don’t want to use the restraints for suspension, you are done now. For suspension purposes retighten both straps so they are just tight enough not to cut circulation. Otherwise the friction of the padding might be to low causing the foot to slip out of the restraints. I recommend putting the restraints on at the place where you want to fetter the sub. Unlike cuff style restraints it is a bit hard to walk wearing these restraints because of the straps onto which the d-rings are mounted.

Once put on you can there are different ways to use these restraints. For suspension I recommend using one carabineer for both d-rings because it causes less swinging. The restraints come with a d-rings but I would strongly advice you not to use it to suspend a sub’s weight from there but use a climbing carabineer instead. These restraints are also great for less spectacular bondage. Because the d-rings straps are an extension of the legs I found these restraints a massive improvement of cuff style ones when tying someone into a spread eagle. The force holding the leg in down is more evenly distributed and works directly against the movement a struggling subs shows. This characteristic and thick padding make these restraints ideal for hogties over extended periods of time. If you soften the d-rings straps so that they bend easily perpendicular to the restraints‘ body the make great bondage means for bastonado. The soles of the feet are nicely exposed and if you have a way to fetter the d-rings tightly they won’t move very much, allowing for precise hitting.

Detail of the Lavish Padding

Detail of the Lavish Padding

Through the thick padding and long straps, these restraints even fit massive ankles and feet. If you really take advantage of the entire strap length you can even fit feet with boots into them. I tried the restraints with rangers, engineer and motocycle boots and encountered no problem size wise. The only kinds of boots that were too large were motocross and skiing boots.

Finally a word of warning when using them to be suspended from your feet down: Every position facing downward is increasing the blood pressure towards the head. The steeper the angle, the higher it gets. Don’t remain in this position for too long because the fine veins in the head can’t handle the pressure too well. If you have high blood pressure or have used poppers do not get suspended with the head down. Also: The big muscles in the calves and thighs are needed to pump the blood through the body. After it has accumulated in the head and if it rushes back you can have a heart attack!

Conslusion: Well build, high quality foot suspension restraints
Pro Cons Where to get Price
Designed for heavy duty play Provided carabineer not made for suspension Meo 189€
Very well build out of high quality material
Lavish padding