A Great Collar!

Diabolo is a quality, durable leather collar with a two rings and a snap closure. He's not too girly or too manly, so he's a great addition to most necks.
Published:
Pros
Quality leather, adjustable (snap) closure, two rings, well-made, unisex.
Cons
None!
Rating by reviewer:
5
extremely useful review
The first thing I did when I got this collar was, of course, smell it.

The second thing was trying not to say "Mmm, leather," out loud in the same tone Homer Simpson uses for donuts. It was a close call.

Leatherbeaten is known for its high quality leather goods, and I have to say its reputation is well-deserved. This collar is made from the good stuff: one piece of soft, black leather that's smooth and finished on the outside, and soft and natural on the inside. The edges, too, are soft, not scraggly or rough. Everything lines up perfectly, the snaps are evenly spaced and won't budge, and the entire piece is soft and flexible but not to the point of being limp or unshapely.

In the middle of the collar are two O-rings with two spikes each, pointing outward. It reminds me a bit of a metal bow tie. Most collars like this only have one ring; with two, this collar has even more functionality. Everything you could do with one ring can now be doubled! The spikes give it a touch of fierceness, but not so much as to warrant a hazard. They're well rounded, so there's no need to worry about scraping or stabbing yourself on one of them (though they will still hurt a little if you jerk your head down suddenly and poke yourself).

Personally, I prefer to have a buckle on my collar as opposed to snaps, like Diabolo has. However, snaps are good for beginners because the collar can be quickly removed if you become uncomfortable with the idea of it (or if, say, a roommate walks in). The 7 snaps on this collar (three on one side, four on the other) make it pretty adjustable, too.

Despite the spikes, this collar is comfortable to wear around even for an extended period of time.

To clean Diabolo, wipe him down gently with a wet cloth. Don't submerge him in water! Try not to wear him in the rain, and definitely don't take him in the shower with you, as tempting as it may be. Let him air (no blow dryers, no setting him near a heater) and don't keep him cooped up too long in a stuffy place.
Experience
Be careful when you move your head around while wearing this collar. The metal bits aren't sharp, but if you dip your head downward suddenly, you can still poke yourself on it! Because of this, I think this collar might be a good transition to a 'posture' collar or a larger collar.

I would highly advise measuring your neck before ordering this collar. I received the up-to-20" collar, and... well, even the smallest snap is a bit too large for my neck. It's wearable, but I have to do some rigging to get it as snug as I like, or just wear it slightly loose.

I was able to get the collar around my thigh, and think I'll make a secondary use out of it as a thigh-cuff.
Follow-up commentary
Still awesome with no signs of wear and tear, and it looks great on my partner just like I imagined.

Since the inner ring is kind of small (but really, I think it wouldn't look as spiffy with a huge ring in the middle), I devised a different way to hook it to a leash: one clip on each of the spike-y rings, then clip the leash's clip to both of those. It creates this neat little V. Also I distributes the pull of the leash a little better so it's not all in one spot, and is a little less likely to jar you. None of this would matter much if you had a leash with a small clip, but the one I'm particular to has a huge one so of course I sat there in my pile of hardware making different combinations (you could also use a two-way clip, or a safety pin, or a paperclip if you were really desperate and blindfolded your partner).

Anyway, I still like this toy and it's lived up to Leatherbeaten's high quality standards. No fuzzing of the leather, no falling apart, no cracking or breaking.

Also, while I'm not a fan of the snaps because I like to be locked in, my partner likes them because he can easily adjust it or pull it off if it gets uncomfortable.
This product was provided free of charge to the reviewer. This review is in compliance with the FTC guidelines.

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Comments
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  • Contributor: Sir
    Lovely review! The part that you added about it being a training collar is very clever—I never thought of that! Definitely an interesting idea.
  • Contributor: El-Jaro
    Good review!

    You forgot to mention that the leather is from Mennonites. I mean the leather comes from Mennonite cows...or something like that
  • Contributor: Liz2
    Thanks for the tip on the size. Probably would be too big for me.
    Good review!
  • Contributor: Miss Jane
    Sir - Thanks! I discovered that by accident - I jerked my head down to grab something and got poked and was like "hrm, this will teach me to keep my posture straight!" ;p
  • Contributor: Miss Jane
    Mr Sauce- ;p
  • Contributor: Miss Jane
    Liz - Thanks! I run on the small side so I always tend to get disappointed for things not fitting, so I wanted to warn people. Since it's just a hair too big, I'm sure that the smaller size would fit.
  • Contributor: Sir
    HAHA! What an interesting way to find that one out. I put this collar on for Halloween (certainly is dress-up for me to wear ANYTHING with an o-ring) and I put my head down just to test the theory. Works better if the person is turning their head down and to the side. And you're very welcome, Miss Jane. Again, wonderful review.
  • Contributor: Miss Jane
    See! You're wearing, you're fine, and then you're like "ooh! something shiny!" and move your head and POW! Posture Check!

    Glad you liked the review, thanks Smile I liked yours too, I'm going to run over and make sure I actually left a comment instead of just thinking about it ;p!
  • Contributor: Jane'sRich
    Posture check! I hadn't considered that use, or the possibility of it being a thigh cuff. Nice to have versatile toys!
  • Contributor: TransMarc
    It has been discontinued, but when I read this review I fell for it :/ (ah, I guess it's my problem that I'm reading old reviews while procrastinating!)
  • Contributor: ViVix
    LOL! I knew exactly the tone of Homer's voice. Great review!
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