ToyTorture’s Stocking Stuffer II –Riding Crop & DD Strap

Nikolaus Day 2018

The German Christmas tradition knows many rituals. One of the is Nikolaus Day on December 6th. On December 5th you place a well polished boot – or nowadays well cleaned sneaker – in front of your door, hoping that Sankt Nikolaus will come by at night and fill the footwear with candy and small toys when you have been good. But in the German folk lore he does not travel alone. He is accompanied by Knecht Ruprecht, a sinister and violent helper of Nikolaus who will leave a bushel of birch twigs in your shoe when you have been a naughty boy, warning you he will return to spank the naughtiness out of you.

The London Tanners Riding Crop

Looking at my Shox ID, apparently I have been a good boy. But this doesn’t stop me to put some toys on my wish list that would make Knecht Ruprecht’s duties easier. A couple of weeks ago I reviewed the London Tanners Mill Strap which I like a lot for being well made. Having a growing urge to spank a greedy, noisy bottom on a regular basis, I wondered what is missing in my collection – and my readers‘ and thus worth getting my hands on to review.

First, a traditional riding crop. Already in the iconic drawings of Tom of Finland, many BLUF men had a riding crop sticking in their boots’ shaft. After finally having gotten proper engineer boots as the last piece of a complete leather uniform, this accessory would both be hot and functional. I would choose the London Tanners’ riding crop over equestrian riding crops from sporting good stores because the quality probably higher but with a length of 67cm it is considerably longer than commercial ones which would just look absurdly small on me.

The London Tanners DD Strap

Second their DD Strap. I have many spanking implements. More than I can actually store easily accessible in my playroom. But despite the vast collection, I am actually lacking a basic piece: A leather paddle large enough to hit both cheeks. I have bullet-proof and aluminum paddles which do this job but not a leather one. The sound and feeling of high quality leather compressing warm, soft skin is simply something completely different and arousing! So the DD Strap is something that would make my dick hard and my spankees scream.

As much as I love the rich tobacco color of the Mill Strap, both toys being classics, I would want to add them in classic BDSM black to my collection. While the Riding Crop at 79€ and the DD Strap at 109€ are on the higher end of the impact toy price range, if their craftsman’s quality and material is like the Mill Strap, they are worth their money! They are something to bequest.

ToyTorture’s Stocking Stuffer I – Vector Heavy Padded Bondage Sleeves

Mill Strap

The London Tanners Mill Strap

Vendor: The London Tanners

Construction

As the name of the impact toy already implies, the basis is one long 4cm wide strap of 5.5mm thick leather. The overall length of the toy is 36cm of which the lower 13.5cm are folded together by another, narrower strap and two sleeve nuts forming the grip. The narrower strap does not wrap tightly around the broader one but forms a little loop which houses a d-ring for easy storage. The toy features some nice details like the saddlers’ crease both on the broad and the narrow strap and the embossed hallmark on one side of the broad strap. Regarding the color, you can choose between a classic black or tobacco brown which I bought.

Detail of the embossed Company’s Hallmark

While this sounds pretty standard for an impact implement, what sets the Mill Strap apart from other is the leather and finishing quality. The leather quality caused some discussion in my testee panel. It is top notch pure vegetable tanned British hide. This means there is no risk of allergy due to Chrome-6 for example which is important when doing heavy impact play since the bottom’s sweat can wash out the Chrome-6 and the tormented skin can easily reabsorb it. However, since the oak tanning process is very gentle, the hide does not get softened. So now after almost three months of regularly using it, my Mill Strap is not even close to being broken in. What helps to facilitate the breaking in process is kneading the loop. This does not make the Mill Strap a bad toy, just for a relatively long time, it performs more like a paddle than a strap. Furthermore, the oak used for tanning the leather gives it a distinct, strong smell which – in my case luckily – will fade away over time while some testees liked it very much.

Detail of the Strap forming the Grip and housing the D-Ring for easier Storage

The finish quality is one of the best out there. The surface is oiled and waxed for a super-smooth finish and the edges are burnished for no unintentional abrasions.

Playing with the Mill Strap

The Mill Strap delivers what the name promises: An easy to control, stingy impact toy. Since the strap is flexible, it can even be used for warm-up when carefully and lightly tapping the bottom’s cheeks. While the strap is long enough to hit both cheeks, due to the thick leather’s weight this strap is rather loop-heavy. Because of that I would recommend targeting single cheeks.

As written above it takes some time to break the strap to get the slapping effect of this kind of toys. Once you have reached that point, the sensation of thick upper half back lashing turns the medium sting into an intense one. Also, the cracking sound of slappers and straps then appears, adding another sensual dimension to the impact play.

Detail of the Strap’s Loop with the Saddlers‘ Crease on both Sides

To my surprise, the Mill Strap does not color as much as I did expect of such toy. It will redden the skin quickly but not as much as a paddle and the red will quickly fade. Also none of my testees managed to produce bruises with it. While naturally this depends on the sub’s body, the Mill Strap seems to be a good implement for sessions which should not leave lasting marks.

If you prefer a little bit of thud, simply turn the toy around and hit the sub with the grip. The stiffness of four layers of tightly folded leather will still sting but the sheer weight will add some thud, giving the Mill Strap even some bruiser potential. Especially when the strap is broken in, flinging the grip forward will develop movement momentum, allowing to hit the sub with little force. Especially when doing this more or less uncontrolled hitting, the d-ring hitting the bottok might become a problem – or an appreciated backlash.

Conclusion: Premium stingy impact implement which take a long time to get broken in.
Pro Cons Where to get Price
High quality materials meets superior build quality and attention to detail Takes long time to break in The London Tanners 79€
Intense pain with little coloring Intense smell for the first weeks
Some thuddy potential when hitting with grip
D-ring for easy storage