The Twitchy Palm is a paddle from the Fifty Shades of Grey line put out by Lovehoney. This line is supposed to cater to people who are fairly inexperienced and looking to spice up their sex lives, though there also are products in the line aimed towards experienced users.

Paddles are meant for impact play. This means that you're supposed to hit your partner with the toy in order to cause pain/discomfort of varying degrees. You also can be hit by your partner, or can hit yourself if you wish.

Unlike whips or floggers, paddles are supposed to give more broad, disperse sensations. They also tend to leave less defined marks than other types of impact toys.

This paddle is very beginner friendly. If you're just looking to get into impact play, this would be a good place to start. It is an easy to hold shape and is light weight, making it easy to control the force you put behind it. It isn't going to leave welts, but after repeated blows it can cause reddening of the skin.

If you're looking to use this paddle on yourself, the short handle would be an asset. It's not something that can be used across the room and causes you to have to keep in close range of your partner. The small width would also make it nice for solo play.

This paddle is a good size to use on the genitals, back, rump, and stomach. It may be a bit large to use on the breasts, but that's a personal preference. If you turn it on the side you have a much smaller area (which gives more powerful blows) but this also makes it less pleasant to be hit with.

If you're looking for a travel paddle, this actually may be a good option. It's not the smallest toy, but it's also a fine size to toss into an overnighter or back pack. Even a large purse may not fit this well, so keep that in mind.

Living with others, this may be a bit loud. It does make a nice 'thwap' noise, which may be heard through a door in a quiet house, but most paddles will make this sound. It would probably not be discreet enough to use in a quiet dorm because of the noise.

This paddle is very 'traditional' in design. It doesn't have much flare, but it is effective. There is a 'business' end and a 'handle' end, though you can hold the paddle part and hit with the handle, if you're so inclined.

As far as shape goes, the paddle portion has a square tip. It is fairly rectangular in shape, but curves gently into the handle portion. The handle portion is also straight, but there is a slight bulge at the end. The bulge at the end helps to prevent the paddle from flying out of your hand.

There is a rivet with a tie through it where the end of the paddle bulges out. This is very secure. The tie is useful to prevent it from flying out of your hand, and is also useful if you want to hang this paddle for storage.

The craftmanship is fairly high quality. There are no undone stitches, and it seems sturdy enough, but there are a few threads sticking out where the two materials come together, on the side. There are no gaps between the two materials.

As far as this being vegan; it is made of fake leather, but there is no guarantee that the satin doesn't contain silk. As silk is usually advertised and there is no mention of it on the packaging, it can be assumed that this is an animal-friendly product.

The satin side does stain, so you should take care to keep it clean. The faux-leather side is hard to clean, but doesn't get as dirty as the satin side. The satin side is a bit harder to hold on to, as it's slicker, but doesn't pose a problem.

These would be great materials for a beginner, as both are fun to play around with and easy to maintain. An advanced user would probably be less than impressed, especially if they already own a few high-quality leather paddles.

As far as performance goes, this product is certainly more for BDSM newbies than experienced users. If you're a dominant person and really want to show your sub 'who's boss...' this is probably going to leave the both of you unsatisfied.

It has much more bark than bite. It makes a loud, satisfying 'whap' noise upon impact, especially the firmer side, but it does take quite a bit of paddling to redden the skin at all. It won't leave distinctive marks, which may be good if you want to be discreet about your sex life AND wear revealing clothing the next day.

The hard side has a bit of an 'ouch' factor, and stings upon impact. After about 30 seconds there still is a slight tingling at the point of impact. If you hit the same area repeatedly you do get a nice build up of stimulation, but it takes some work.

The soft side makes a 'thuddy' noise, and doesn't sting much at all. It doesn't leave any lasting sensation once the impact is over, so it's almost impossible to build up the intensity with repeated blows.

This paddle does have a bit of flex to it, which can make a toy hit harder, but the short length means that the flex doesn't make much of a difference. It also doesn't make much of a 'swoosh' noise in the air, if that's something you're looking for.

In total, this is for beginners. If you're looking for something that is soft on the genitals but can still sting your back this would be a great place to start. It's also nice because you can play around with the psychological aspect of paddling using the soft side, and if you and your partner decide that you enjoy it, you can move on to the firmer side.

As far as care goes, the main thing to keep in mind is to avoid getting it wet. While it is not made of real leather, water won't play well with it. The fake leather shouldn't stain, but the satin will, and both may change shape if they get too wet. While you can spot clean the material, you should take care not to get them wet, as drying it may prove a problem. When spot cleaning, just soap and water work well, but you could use a toy wipe.

The small size makes this product easy to store just about anywhere. While it's not suitable for a handbag, there are few BDSM toys that are more portable. It also can be stored in contact with any other toys (though you should make sure you don't spill lube on it) so that you can just toss it into your toy box.

The packaging for the Fifty Shades of Grey line is nice. It's not the classiest out there, and certainly doesn't compare to Lelo toys, but it isn't intimidating and matches the color and imagery from the book series.

The front of the box states the name of the book series and has an image of the cover. It also states that it's called the 'Twitchy palm' and is a 'spanking paddle.' There are no other images on the front. While not having images makes it discreet, the writing gives it away.

On the back, like the other Fifty Shades toys, there is a blurb from the novel. It's basically an excerpt from a sex scene involving spanking. It also has a blurb about the paddle itself, and states the materials. There is a diagram-like image of the toy, as well.

Inside the box, the toy is held in a plastic insert. There is also a satin storage bag included. As it includes a storage bag, the box isn't the best option for storage, though it's not much larger than the paddle itself.

If you want to give this as a gift, it's probably best suited for someone who is a fan of the novel series. It's a good shape and size to wrap up, but there won't be much you can to to pass it off as something else if you get into an awkward present-unwrapping situation.

I ended up getting this paddle right before a harsh break up. Because of that I haven't had much experience using this toy with a partner. None the less, this seems like a great beginner paddle for use solo or as a couple.

The different materials make this unique, as you have a slightly painful and completely harmless toy in one. The soft side is certainly mainly useful in the psychological sense, as it won't do much if the pain itself is what gets you off. It's also useful to paddle super delicate areas like the genitals, as you can't get overwhelmed.

The leather side is a bit more 'useful' as a BDSM toy, but is still pretty tame. It can build up in sensations with repeated paddling, and can cause some redness. The short length makes it easy to control the force you use, which is great for newbies.

While this isn't my favorite BDSM toy, I'm also not much of a paddle fetishist. I would rather have a whip or something thinner, mainly because of the more concentrated sensations, but that's a personal thing. I would totally recommend this as a first paddle, or as a first BDSM toy, but it's not for someone who has more experience.

I gave this toy 4 out of 5 stars, though I would really prefer to give it 3.5/5. It's a bit less versatile than I would prefer, and is a bit hard to clean, but my main issue is the price. It's quite a bit more than I feel like it should be, even though it does seem like it will last a while.

My main concern as far as the price goes is that beginners will out grow it quickly and have to invest money in something else. Unless you're quite certain that it's something you'll be interested in, and that you won't want something harsher in the near future, this is probably not going to be a 5 star toy for you.