Fresh slapper crop by PHS International - review by carenautilus

Hello, everyone! This here is a couple's review, written by both me (Hi! I'm chenault!) and LuckyLune. Mostly by me, not that LL will admit it. I have virtually no other firsthand experience with crops, so I can't say with complete certainty that the Fresh slapper crop compares well to others, but it is definitely a great beginner's crop: very solidly constructed, easy to use, and distinctly appealing both fresh out of the package and during play. It's also vegan, which makes it a rare and wonderful find for us.

The crop comes with essentially no packaging; there's just a little cardboard tag with a blurb about the Fresh line. (Not that it needs much dressing up, it's a very pretty toy!) The slapper and handle are bright pink, and the shaft is black. The handle is capped on both ends with silver plastic.

First off, this is a long toy, measuring 26". It's got a nice heft to it, too. It's extremely satisfying to hold and wield. The handle is wrapped in polyethylene and measures about 1 5/8" in circumference. It's comfortable to grip for both my tiny hands and LL's large hands (I wear about a size 6 ring, she wears a size 8.5). Oddly, while the toy's specs say that the accenting caps on the handle are metal, they sound and feel like hard plastic to us. They're not at all flimsy, and they're securely attached, so it doesn't seem to matter very much. The handle measures 7 3/4" from cap to cap, with 5 3/4" of that being the polyethylene-wrapped portion. It should also be noted that polyethylene is very sturdy and easy to care for.

To the best of my ability to test it, this crop balances 8 3/4" from the bottom metal-y tip, about 1" into the braided nylon shaft. The slapper is also made of polyethylene, and it's appealingly broad, measuring 2 1/4" at the wide end. It's a wee bit over 2" in length. It wraps easily, and is not at all stiff. It's very easy to use and makes a very nice, loud slap when you land the slapper on your bottom's, uh, bottom, but it's also virtually silent if you choose to avoid slapper-to-skin contact, opting instead to use the shaft of the crop. LL tells me that the slapper delivers almost exclusively stingy pain, and the shaft delivers roughly equal portions of thuddy and stingy pain. It brings up very nice welts almost immediately, which unfortunately also means we haven't been able to bring up any significant bruising with it, so if your bottom prefers later bruising to the instant gratification of immediate welting, you may want to look elsewhere.

This a very versatile crop. I found that just running the slapper up LL's legs and belly was great sensation play. Because the crop is so easy to wield, and the shaft and slapper produce such different feeling, there is virtually no limit to the sensations a creative top can inflict. A light tap with the slapper gives a quick, mild, stingy pain suitable for the newest bottom, and a hefty whack from the top of the shaft and slapper combined produces a solid thuddy pain with lots of sting at the slapper. This isn't a good toy for serious painsluts, mind. On a scale of 1-10 (in terms of sensation/pain), LL says the Fresh crop starts in at about 1, and ends at about 6.

The way we use it, the crop doesn't require much cleaning. If you do manage to sully it, first let me congratulate you on your creativity, and second, the pink polyethylene can be cleaned with warm water, mild soap, and a microfiber cloth or a soft-bristled brush. The nylon shaft and plastic caps can also be cleaned with warm water and soap, and gently dried off. Storage can be a bit tricky, since the crop is so long. We store ours in our closet, propped up against the wall and sitting on its handle. I'd advise against storing it with the slapper folded over, or it will eventually stick like that.

This really is a wonderful toy, and both LL and I heartily recommend it to beginners and advanced alike.

This really is a great toy. It has seen frequent use ever since we got it. It's holding up great, in fact it looks the same as when we bought it. Durable and pretty — what else can you ask for?

We've also had great fun showing this off at play parties. People flock around to look at the cheerful crop with a nice sting. It's satisfying to hold and wield, and the bright colors only add to the dramatic flair.

The only downside we've found to this crop is that it's not terribly travel-friendly. It's longer than most of our overnight bags, but this really is a small fault and most crops are going to be tough to travel with.

So, yes… Yay for vegan kink! Yay for color! Yay for the Fresh crop!