Leather blindfold by Sportsheets - review by leopardprint

I've used a blindfold I made for myself for a few years, but I figured I'd get a commercially available, leather item to round out my gearbox. I chose this one and I'm pretty happy with it.

Simply put, this leather blindfold feels really good. It has all the qualities I adore in a piece of BDSM equipment: it's simple, reasonably well-crafted, and black. It is soft to the touch and has a lovely leathery smell. However, it's got a few minor drawbacks. The first is its strap. Though I like the idea of a velcro strap, the fabric that lines the strap is really prone to sliding around (so you can imagine situations where this might become an issue)!

The velcro closure is awesome though and really holds together. Sportsheets tends to not mess around where velcro is concerned, so that is definitely a redeeming quality. Some people may consider the sound of velcro unsexy or that it's not as "serious" as a buckle or other closure, so that could be a concern. I'm a big fan of Sportsheets' Super Cuffs, which have velcro closures, so I have a healthy Pavlovian response to velcro noise now... so for me, this was no problem!

Another potential drawback is the shape itself. The eye-mask part has a rather small margin for the bridge of one's nose, so it's easy to imagine someone with a somewhat prominent nose to get some visibility with this blindfold on. This would pair well with a spandex hood or other vision/light/sensory blocking equipment, though it might have trouble staying in place, depending on what it was being paired with.

The inside of the blindfold is padded with a foamy black fabric, and this makes it more comfy and also blocks more light. The interior lining did not irritate my eyes, but it might not be a bad plan to try and spot clean it now and then. Since it's leather, immersion in water and/or throwing it into the wash is probably not a good idea.

Wearing it is easy - putting it on oneself and adjusting it might be a better idea than letting a partner do it, since they can't see through your eyes and won't know how to adjust it to get that Goldilocks spot on your face to block the most light! With the extremely grippy velcro, it's not too hard to make this fit snugly (and most of the velcro overlapped for me, but I have a relatively small head, so DO make sure it's sized to fit you before you purchase it). Leaving it on for too long if it's too tight can start to feel like a vise around your head, so be aware of that too.

Absolutely no light will get through the blindfold itself. It's three layers, two of which are black - so it's quite good at blocking out vision and allowing you to go inside your head for the duration of use. However, the edges are shaped so that this might not be the blackout blindfold of your dreams! If you have a wide bridge on your nose, low cheekbones, or a particularly huge skull, this might not be the right fit for you.

The packaging was a small cardboard box that is recyclable. Storage of this item is easy - it's small and soft, so it can be rolled up and tucked away. The craftsmanship on this piece is so-so, there was some loose string, but I trimmed it and have had no problems. It's not a flawless piece of equipment, but it definitely gets the job done (or it did for me, at least).

Still a really dense, effective blindfold! I haven't had any issues with its construction or materials, though I can imagine the velcro getting stuck in someone's hair in some cases. I like this blindfold a lot.