DOMINIX Deluxe Extra Thick Leather Wrist Cuffs

Wrist Huggers

Reviewed: May 17, 2014 by Miss-Nomer, a Bisexual Going Steady Female

I loved the look of these online (it's always nice to find a set of cuffs with a small enough minimum size), and I'd seen good reviews of the other cuffs from the DOMINIX range, so I was really pleased when I heard I would be receiving them as a review product.

The packaging, as with the rest of the DOMINIX range, is just a sealed plastic bag with a little, white product code label. This is great for recycling, but a little disappointing from a deluxe range. If you wanted to give these as a gift to most people, you'd probably be better giving them sans packaging, even if you can't find an alternative box, as the simple baggie rather cheapens them.

Out of the packaging, they look pretty good - the classic black and silver fits in nicely with my existing collection, and the well finished edges give off the air that these babies mean business. On a less positive note, the centre rivet on one of my groups of five is noticeably skew-whiff, and one of the straps is a little wonky, but it's just a minor aesthetic niggle that doesn't affect use.

The leather on the inside is very soft, and padded, whereas the strap and outside are hardier, more solid, which gives them strength and structure (perhaps a little too much, in my opinion). It's not the highest quality leather I've encountered; the outer leather feels a little plasticky, and after only a few uses I was beginning to see more wear on the straps than I would normally expect, especially around the holes. A little leather conditioner probably wouldn't go amiss. There also isn't much of a discernible leather smell to them, unless you've got them right at your nose. All of the components are stitched together well, however, and the hardware seems solid enough and has no jagged edges.

Each cuff weighs 129g, which is enough to make sure you never forget they're there, without being uncomfortable for long periods of wear. They are 3.2" wide, which, coupled with the padding, feels very secure on both wrists and ankles. They feel fantastic on, like a hug for your wrists. There isn't a rough edge in sight, so they're not going to scrape, pinch or leave any marks on you. They look great on guys, and could easily be worn as clubwear (unconnected, obviously). They can be a little clunky looking on female limbs, making them better suited to home and fet-events, but it does have the advantage that it makes you look more delicate and helpless during play, which I'd imagine is a benefit in most subs' (and their Doms') eyes.

The straps on each cuff have 8 holes, spaced about 1.75cm apart from one another. The smallest setting hole doesn't seem to be functional (the ends of the cuff push against the rivets, making it impossible to tighten after a point), and the second leaves so little room in the cuff I can only get three fingers in it (my partner can only get two), so I'm not sure there's anyone out there that would need them that tight for their intended use (lubed up they might make an interesting masturbatory aid for the gents, but I can't imagine that would be great for the leather). The third setting fits my 5.3" wrists perfectly, though. The second loosest fits great on 8" ankles, which makes me think the largest they could fit comfortably might be more like 8.5-9" than 9.5", which is still a respectable range. It's worth noting that the padded sections of the cuffs do not meet if you have them closed on either of the last two holes, making them less comfortable at that size.

Due to the more solid outside, they are a little stiff and difficult to manipulate into the desired tightness at first, especially on narrower limbs. Normally, I can get myself in and out of buckled wrist restraints without problems, but due to the rigidity of these, it's pretty much essential to have a second pair of hands for a good fit (I can get in and out by myself on the 4th hole, but I can squeeze out of them at that size so there's not much point).

The D-rings are huge (4cm x 3.5cm), allowing you to attach quite a lot to them, be it chains, ropes or clips. I can easily slip two fingers in them which is great for manipulating limbs, even when the cuffs aren't connected with a nicely grabbable chain. Somewhat to my chagrin, however, the rivets on either side of the rings are quite widely placed (3cm apart), which means they wiggle around a bit, even though there is no slack to accommodate them (which leads to them pushing inward, toward the limb whilst worn).

I'm not a great fan of the style of connector clasp (double ended trigger clip), but it is solid and convenient to have around. It's the same basic style as on my DOMINIX chain, but larger, so has the same sloping trigger that I find can be tricky to push down reliably if your fingers aren't perfectly dry (the larger size does definitely help, though). In all it's 3.5" long and weighs 44g. You cannot open both ends at once as the triggers go into the same space.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to make of these. I do like them, but at almost £43 I think I was expecting a little more. The quality of the leather is disappointing, and not in keeping with what I expect at this price point. I'm concerned about the longevity of the straps, and the difficulty in manipulating them around slim wrists is annoying. Some of the hardware also feels a little cheap (the keeper, in particular). Most cuffs (padded or otherwise) around this price are also lockable, which for me, is a feature I really miss (heavy duty cuffs that are so easy to escape have always been a mind-boggling fusion to me). They are, however, very comfortable to wear, with no rough edges and fairly neat stitching, and they'll probably see a lot of use because of that. If you have a nickel allergy, the lack of exposed metal meeting skin will be a godsend.

Overall, they're not a bad set of cuffs, and if you're less of a leather snob than me, you'll probably just be happy to find a set of padded wristcuffs available with such a good size range.