DOMINIX Deluxe 15 Inch Leather Spreader Bar with Cuffs

Just over 1 year ago, my friends and I went to see Fifty Shades of Grey at the cinema. For about 2 weeks leading up to me seeing the film, I had begun to look into what BDSM would mean for my relationship with my husband. Yes, I’m sure all of this has been heard before, but for me it was an entirely new adventure. However, I wasn’t sure what my husband would think. I ended up having a very nervous, and long conversation with him about beginning a Dominant/submissive relationship and expanding on our sex life to include BDSM. Anyway, fast forward a year and here we are, both fully enjoying our D/s lifestyle and sex life, hence us reviewing this DOMINIX Deluxe Spreader Bar.

We have both spoken about getting a spreader bar for a while, however, we just hadn’t got around to it. Then the opportunity came up to get this one, and well, clearly we jumped at the chance.

We own quite a few DOMINIX Deluxe products and they are all of extremely high quality, and, to be honest, this is no different. As soon as it came out of its packaging all you could smell was the beautiful leather.

The bar itself is made of metal, and is therefore very sturdy, and covered in leather. Attached on either end are the cuffs, which are non-removeable. It appears that the spreader bars on the Lovehoney website have the bars themselves ranging in size starting from 18 inches. So this one being only 15 inches definitely makes it suitable for people like us who have never used spreader bars before.

The first time we tried it on my wrists but they were too small for the tightest setting on the cuffs, and I could actually get my hands of them whilst it was still done up, so then my Dom actually attached the cuffs to my ankles and told me I had to sleep wearing it (which was so hot)! The next time he wanted to try to have sex with it on, however, after then deciding that he wanted to do the reverse cowgirl position, he removed one of the cuffs, but left the other on.

I was honestly surprised at how comfortable the cuffs felt whilst they were on my ankles, especially after wearing it all night, I had no marks on my ankles (which for me was a shame, but for most probably a definite plus point). My Dom wants to keep experimenting in regards to me wearing it whilst having sex, I imagine that there are many positions where we would be successful we just need to find them. I suppose there will be many hours in my future where this will be attached to my ankles, well I guess someone's got to do it!

Overall, we both believe that this is an amazing product. Although given it’s more petite size it’s definitely aimed more towards beginners, we think that the more advanced spreader bar users would love to own this one. Sometimes a smaller bar may be required or wanted to have a lesser effect on your legs, but still keep them open. If you can’t tell, we absolutely love this bar and are so grateful to have it in our toy box.

I'm going to say straight away that this item is very well made and does exactly what it says it will do; unfortunately, this just wasn't what I wanted.

As is always the case with Lovehoney the spreader bar arrived very promptly, and in an ambiguous brown cardboard box so no-one would know what is inside it. Infant, the box sat at my neighbour's house for a few days while I as away and I felt absolutely comfortable he wouldn't know what was in it.

The spreader bar was packaged in a clear plastic bag with no markings or instructions except for 'Dominix' printed on it. I know this is common practice for Dominix but I was expected a little bit more 'luxury' and so was quite disappointed, but seeing as the packaging always ends up in the bin, it doesn't really matter to me.

Aesthetically, this spreader bar was disappointing, but only because I didn't look at the pictures properly. I've always dreamed of owning a circular spreader 'bar', and this is shaped more like a flattened piece of meta with leather over it. Again, this wasn't the products fault it was mine, so if the shape of the bar doesn't bother you then this won't be an issue.The bar is covered in attractive black leather which is very high quality, with neat attractive stitching and nothing that can rub against the skin and cause irritation, The cuffs are fastened by a buckle rather than a padlock (love this feature; it makes it so much more functional) and the inside is lined with false fur for comfort. The different holes on the buckle system are spaced apart well and varied, so they'll be comfortable for any ankle shape out there.

In use, I found that 15 inches simply wasn't enough to generate a 'stretching' effect. While I wanted a spreader bar which forced my partner's legs wide open leaving them completely exposed, this one allowed my partner to shut her legs and 'escape' sex toys. This is my main problem with the toy; it didn't leave the wearer vulnerable enough. As such, I recommend it to people starting out in restraint play, but not to those who wish to leave a partner truly helpless.