The Tantus Beginner Ball Gag is intended to provide an added dimension to bondage play by silencing or muffling someone by putting it into their mouth. The product consists of a leather strap with snaps on each end and a velcro closure (the snaps are to connect the gag to the strap), and the mouthpiece which is silicone - my favorite material for sex toys! It's easy to clean, easy to care for and is one of the most inert, body-safe materials around.

I was really excited about getting a new ball gag. I have one by Aslan Leather and it's lovely - removable silicone ball, well-made leather strap. I guess I was spoiled, because this thing did not meet my modest expectations. When it arrived, it was in typical EdenFantasys style - way over-packaged for a small item, lots of filler in a box far larger than necessary - but it arrived within a reasonable amount of time, which was nice.

I opened the box and found the clamshell-packaged gag inside. I decided to look past the fact that it looks kinda like a pacifier, and even says something like "Pacify Your Desires" on the package. The thought of a pacifier is not particularly sexy to me. Anyway, the leather strap was unfinished and little bits of it were stuck to the gag. I had to rinse these off, but the strap continued to flake as I assembled the gag. The leather strap is just a cut strip of leather, nothing fancy, but could definitely be better! The strap has a velcro closure and is fully adjustable within its range, and the velcro was fine. The snaps that connect the strap to the mouthpiece left a bit to be desired - one side didn't really hold closed very well. The leather smelled natural, which was pleasant. I tried it on, and found the panel-ish front to give a faint sensation of a hand over my mouth. I liked this aspect of the gag, perhaps more than anything else about it. But even the panel look wasn't terribly flattering or exciting; there were edge seams on the outside of the gag, which struck me as odd. The inside was finished and had a little Tantus logo on it, though nobody would be able to see it when the piece was in use. The silicone was tasteless and odorless, which I expected, and rinsed off easily. I bit down into it and left tooth marks, but did not seriously puncture the surface.

The ball was the issue. It was a serious turn-off. This gag compelled me to keep my mouth open, and it was because if I bit down at all on the connecting bit between the front panel and the ball, it would SQUEAK on the insides of my teeth! This was really icky and kinda made my skin crawl. I carefully left it in for awhile without biting down on it and it made me drool. I wasn't able to talk around it effectively, but it also didn't muffle sound very well.

Though this item markets itself as a 'beginner' product, if I was introduced to ball gags with this one, I would be disappointed and might not want to try other models. I would not recommend this product, which is sad, because generally I like Tantus products and I am glad they're using silicone. Some other ball gags are rubber which tastes and smells like petrochemicals and seem unsafe, as well as extremely difficult to sanitize.

I can imagine this toy being great for someone who can't hold their jaw open for long periods of time, or who might want a feeling of fullness in their mouth, but I'd recommend it for someone with a larger jaw than mine, unless they don't mind the feeling of a big silicone ball squeaking against their teeth. Ick!

I am giving this one away. I just couldn't get over the tooth-squeaking aspect of this toy! Hopefully other people like this toy... I am NOT fond of it. Fortunately, it's made of silicone and can be boiled for its next owner - may they have better luck!