Do not disturb kit - sensual kit discontinued by Sportsheets - review by P'Gell

This “kit” is created to be used as a “Beginner’s” way for “spicing up” ones sex life with restraint or bondage play. Evidently.

The kit consists of four 34 inch long, 1 ¾ inch wide low quality silk ribbons.

Each ribbon has a small loop of fabric on one end of the ribbon, apparently to make a slip knot in which to place the “restrained” body part. The other end of each ribbon is sewn over and flat, with no buckle, snap, Velcro or other fastener for attaching the end to a headboard, chair, spreader bar, St. Andrew’s Cross or other common item used to attach restraint products.

In order to use this set, the plain end of each ribbon requires tying a secure knot to attach it to either the piece of furniture used or to tie the ribbons to each other.

Once the proper knot is used to attach the ribbon and the slip knot is used to restrain a body part, there is barely eight inches of ribbon left for movement.

That estimate is made when using a head board that is very close to the bed’s surface and a very small person being restrained. A larger person, say a medium to large man or woman, would probably require that the ribbons be attached to something else, or movement, comfort and perhaps even circulation would be completely impossible or difficult.

In no setting should this set be attempted to be used for suspension play. This set is not strong enough, nor is it made with the type of material or design that would be safe for suspension play.

This set is really for virtually struggle-free, beginner, very very light restraint. If it is used at all. Even beginners to Restraint and Bondage will have a better time and learn more about the lifestyle if a better quality and safer set it used.

Some reviewers have expressed that they weren’t sure if the ribbon ties were actually made of silk, as the literature promised. I saw no reason to think these were not silk. Silk comes in many qualities and although this set may be a less expensive quality of silk, it did behave like silk when tied, used on the skin etc. I have no way of knowing for sure, but I have no doubt the fabric is what Sportsheets says it is. It is obviously made from silk.

When one uses restraint gear (or in the vernacular “Bondage Gear”) play struggling is part of the fun for most people. The first time we tried this set, my husband attempted to tie the plain end each arm ribbon to the head board and the slip knot to my wrists. With very little struggle, in fact, simply a “test struggle” I was able to free the ribbon from the head board.

Next, I tied a square knot;

to attach the ribbon to the headboard, then placed my wrists into the slip knot on the other end and gentle struggling did not loosen the knot. One of the problems with this is that if proper knots are not tied, the silk will pull very tightly and one may not be able to remove the plain end of the ribbon from the piece it was attached to.


The other problem is that slip knots are very hard on the wrists as well as ankles. Also, although it seems counter intuitive, silk is actually a material that can cause “rope burns” quite easily. When the slip knot tightens when the person being restrained moves, the knot pulls quite tightly on the body part attached. Even though we have used several different types of restraint gear with no undue pressure, I found this slip knot system very uncomfortable, and I can imagine, if I had struggled in the fashion to which I am used to, I actually could have cut off circulation and caused damage to my arms and legs.



After a short period of time with wrists in this system, I actually called our Safe Word, because I felt my fingers becoming tingly and numb. This is a way of one’s body telling one the restraint is too tight. He released me immediately and I had to rub my wrists for a long time before I was comfortable again.

Using the system on the ankles was even more difficult. The ankle is bigger around than the wrist, so even less fabric was left to tie on to furniture. As we have a water bed and a spreader bar is really not an option, we opted to tie the ribbons to each other. However, with the material used to tie them together, plus the amount of material used for a slip knot per ankle, we had less than 16 inches of room for the legs to move. I was not tall enough to tie the short ribbons used for ankle restraints to the foot board or the eye bolts attached to either the headboard or Captains Drawers on our water bed.

A different, higher quality set by the same company Sports Sheets Tether and Cuff Set has not only Velcro closing cuffs, but adjustable tethers that end in spring clips on each side of each tether. Also, with this other, more quality set, each cuff has a D ring, for easy attachment and removal of the tethers or to attach the cuffs to each other. This set up works much better, even for "beginners" to restraint and light BDSM, as well as intermediate and advanced players.

The Do Not Disturb Kit also contains a cardboard sign, ostensibly to hang on your door. One side of the sign simply says “Do Not Disturb.”

The other side of the sign has “10 Ways to Sizzle Up The Night.”

It contains such helpful hints as “”Send your lover a sexy email promising a special fantasy tonight.” “Hang the “Sign” door knob, but leave the door partially open.” And “ Add a blindfold to….” But the set doesn’t contain a blind fold and the ties are actually too narrow to use as one. None of the “suggestions” were anything that a couple even moderately familiar with sex would not have thought of on their own.

These ties are made of silk fabric. If bodily fluid, lube, or body oils get on the silk they can most likely be hand washed in mild soap such as Woolite. To maintain shape, they should be lain flat to dry.

The ties can be folded and placed back into the box for storage or placed into one's sex toy storage boxes if one desires. They could probably be left out and most people would assume they were simply a set of scarves or silk dress belts.

The set arrives in a small cardboard box, with a picture of a man wearing a set of boxer briefs and bare chest standing wearing the silk ribbons on his wrists and a scantily clad woman standing behind him. holding one end of the ribbons. The "Do Not Disturb" sign is pictured behind them. The other side of the box, which is thin and narrow and designed for hanging on a display in a store, is a picture of the four ribbons and the door sign.



There were no instructions on how to secure the ties, how to secure them to furniture, doors or spreader bars, and only one line in the signs' "10 Ways to Sizzle Up The Night" text pertaining to the most basic and vague safety cautions.

My partner and I did not find this set suited our particular needs or style of play. We tend to often play rough, and slip knots can be dangerous on the extremities when rough play and actual struggling occur. Also the ribbons were not long enough, after having to tie them to things securing and use a good up 12 inches or length on the slip knot side and about the same on the knot side. That left little fabric for movement, and even if one plays with short leash restraint, most headboards and foot boards require more than 7 or 8 inches of room between attachment to the furniture and securing to the person being bound.

This set may be useful to a couple newer to restraint and bondage play, as long as struggle isn’t part of their style.

However, as most BDSM aficionados seem to feel that one should be able to put one or two fingers between the restraint and the restrained person’s body, a slip knot eliminates the ability to do this, thus making the set actually more dangerous and more likely to cause injury than a standard cuff and tether set.

Personally, I suggest a standard cuff and tether set even for “beginners” to restraint play. It is safer, higher quality, more versatile and less likely to cause injury than this most inexpensive “Do Not Disturb” set of silk ribbons. My suggestion for beginners would be a set from the same Company, Sportsheets. This Tether and Cuff Set is safe easy to master, useful and will last for years to come.

I can imagine the stitching on the “Do Not Disturb” set coming loose quite easily, when would not only render the set unusable but only add to the discomfort (and not in a fun way) and possible restriction injuries this set is capable of causing.

Spend a bit more than $8.99 and get a set that will be safer and last longer. Then one can move on to leather and other more advanced restraint products.

We found that this type of “tie and slip knot” system did not suit our bondage and restraint style of play. I found the slip knots around both wrists and ankles too easy to tighten too much, caused pinching and made it impossible to play the way we enjoy doing so. Also, the fact that there were no fasteners on the other end of each ribbon made more work and loss of length of restraint product than we found comfortable.

I found the slip knot system sadly uncomfortable, and we will stick with more structured leather or neoprene cuffs for our play as we have in the past.

As making the knots to secure each ribbon to furniture etc, much of the very short 34 inches of each ribbon is used up and it leaves little lead left for play, or comfort. Even though we play frequently with restraint and bondage tools, we had a difficult time finding a safe usable knot to secure this set to furniture and neither of us thought the slip knot system was comfortable or safe for either beginner, intermediate or advanced user.