This pair of tethers make a discreet set of restraints that can be used in a variety of methods and settings. The tethers seem like a good toy for bondage beginners, as the hardware seems a bit flimsy and might break with extreme and persistent use. On the other hand, the tethers are best used in conjunction with other bondage gear, like collars, cuffs, and other tethers, which intermediate and advanced users are more likely to have. While there are ways to use them without cuffs of any kind, I'd recommend using them with a set of wrist or ankle cuffs, or a collar. The ribbed nylon fabric is strong and sturdy but not very pleasant to the touch. If you're so inclined, you can create a loop by clipping the swivel snap onto the vinyl and slipping it over the wrists or ankles. It doesn't feel as nice as a leather cuff, as it's rough, ribbed, and the metal bits can dig into your skin a bit, but it'll do in a pinch (get it?). Whether you're a beginner or an experienced user, these tethers work great for light bondage as long as you've got the right accessories.

The ribbed nylon is strong enough to handle just about any abuse you can throw at it. From a functional standpoint, the design works great: the swivel snaps allow you to twist and tug all you want on the nylon straps without causing kinks or shortening the straps. However, the plastic clasps and the swivel snaps may be a bit too flimsy for rougher play or suspension. I gave the tethers some pretty good tugging and haven't bent or broken them, but neither I nor my partner weigh over 145 lbs, and I could easily see the snaps breaking under the full weight of a larger adult or with repeated rough use.

Each tether has a swivel snap on both ends which can be attached to rings, cuffs, wall fixtures, hooks, or anything else that will fit in the snap. The enclosed portion of the snap is about 7/16" long and just over 1/4" wide. To give you some perspective on the size, I have a pair of Spartacus locking wrist restraints, and I wasn't quite able to squeeze both rings into one swivel snap. This limited the number of ways I could use the tethers, but not much.

As some other reviews have suggested, the swivel snaps aren't designed with suspension in mind. There's a recessed area at the top of the snap in which anything it's attached to will sit when the tether is put under tension. This makes it difficult to release and remove the tethers under circumstances where the tension can't easily be relieved, such as suspension. This problem can be solved if you simply replace the swivel snaps with a quick-release. If not, make sure that you always have a way to relieve the tension in the tether in case you need to get out in a hurry. I prefer to shorten the tethers as much as possible and keep the plastic clasps near the point of attachment to the body so that I can loosen the clasp and let out the tether if I need to.

I was concerned at first that the 48" straps might be a bit too short for my intended use, but was happy to find that we had more than enough length to loop around the feet of our queen bed while attached to both wrists or ankles. Neither of us have much of a wing-span: I'm taller at 5'6", and I had to shorten the straps by about a foot to keep them taut. If each tether were longer, it might have been easier to find a way to use one pair to restrain all four limbs to the bed, but every limitation is an invitation to be creative, no?

For my purposes, this product worked great. We're not really into "heavy" bondage, nor do we have any fixtures from which we can engage in suspension play, so the tethers may not have taken enough of a beating to really test the upper limits of what they can handle. Nevertheless, when it came to keeping her tied to the bed, they got the job done. I didn't have to screw anchors into the wall, or my bed, or learn to tie fancy knots. For bondage fun with minimal prep time, these tethers were perfect. I was able to slip them onto the bed, slap the wrist cuffs on her, and snap her in before she knew what was going on. Others may have different feelings about this, but when it comes to bondage, I prefer to minimize the number of times I hear "no, wait, hold still", "almost had it that time", "are you done yet?" and "I can still get out." I get enough of that during ordinary sex.

The biggest downside to these tethers, for my purposes, is that I want another pair so I can restrain all of my girl's limbs at once. The only other substantive criticism I have is that the tethers would have been made much more versatile, and probably stand up to repeated use better, if the swivel snap was just slightly larger. If each snap was large enough to accommodate two rings, I'd hardly need another pair.

There isn't much need to clean these babies, the way I use them anyway. Still, if you're so inclined, they are machine washable. On behalf of your washers and dryers, I'd suggest removing the metal rings and snaps from the ends of the tethers before throwing them in the wash, as these things can get snagged on the machine or other clothing. I have tried washing them by hand in cold water, and while I noticed a bit of color bleeding into the water, the appearance of the tethers themselves didn't change. After drying one with a hair dryer and leaving the other to air dry, I didn't notice any changes in the size or feel of the texture. Just the same, I would recommend against hot water or heated drying, as it has the potential to make this sort of fabric feel rougher and stiffer than it already is.

The discreet look of the tethers means you can store them pretty much anywhere, or do as I do and just leave them hooked around the legs of your bed for whenever the mood strikes.

The tethers come in a clear plastic package that snaps open easily. Users can get some ideas about how to use the tethers by looking at the pictures on the back and front of the package, but there aren't any written instructions of any kind, or instructions for care and use. I didn't find the absence of instructions particularly bothersome, but I suppose that Sportsheets could go the extra mile by including some creative suggestions for use. The packaging wasn't useful or necessary for storage, as it is more cumbersome and less discreet than the product itself. The packaging is recyclable, so give a hoot and throw it in the blue bin.

The simplest and most effective way I found to use the tethers was to loop one end around each foot of my bed and hook the snap over the nylon, then hook the other end to my wrist restraints. At first I was concerned that the tethers might not be long enough for the task, but I actually had over a foot of extra material when we were strapped in.

I've spent a lot of time trying to find creative ways to use the tethers, and so far here are my favorites: users with a headboard could loop one tether around a bar in the headboard and attach each end; shorten the straps and attach one end of each tether to a wrist, then cross them and attach them to the opposite ankle for a hog-tie; attach one end to a hook in the ceiling and loop the other end (do this at your own risk, it puts a lot of tension on the snap) through the rings of a pair of wrist cuffs; and finally, hooking your lover's ankles to the bed with the tethers and securing her (or his) hands behind her (or his) back. I've also read a do-it-yourself bondage blog that suggested buying dresser drawer handles and mounting them under the bed or on the wall and hooking the swivel snaps onto those. If you do mount one onto the wall, be sure to mount it into a stud to avoid pulling out the drywall.

Aside from anchoring the tethers to furniture and wall or ceiling fixtures, you can use a door as an anchor. I'd only recommend this if you're confident that the door is sturdy enough to handle it, and even then I'd recommend either anchoring the swivel snap to something on the other side of the door. By running the tethers through one of the edges of the door and simply shutting the door, you can create a makeshift wall-restraint system. The inside of the door near the hinge will probably provide the best grip and put the least stress on the hinges, but as long as you're confident in the strength of the door, you can use any side as an anchor.

A word of caution here: you could warp or break the swivel snaps if you use them as anchors on the other side of the door. I personally didn't have a problem with this, but the rings and snaps aren't designed with that kind of stress in mind, and may not stand up to a great deal of abuse in this way. On the flip side, you could fold the vinyl over itself when running it through the edge of the door, thickening it and ensuring that the pressure stays on the strap rather than the rings or anchors. I would also caution users to ensure that stress isn't put on the plastic clasps: always keep those on the side nearest point of attachment to the body, and you shouldn't have any problems.