Vanilla bondage kit - bdsm kit discontinued by Sportsheets - review by Lily Night

This product is designed for couples who want to start experimenting with more exotic sexual adventures. With two ties and a blindfold, it's great for light bondage play and is unlikely to intimidate anyone. Even better, it comes in a creative ice cream tub that would make a great gift for those people in your life who are looking for a bit more adventure.

In this kit there is one white scented blindfold and two ties that I would describe as a cream color. The blindfold is supposed to be vanilla scented, but the smell is only noticeable if you get right up to it and smell it. In fact, we didn't even notice that it was scented until I read the package. While it is scented I wouldn't describe the scent as vanilla, more of a generic sweet and nylony smell.

The blindfold is well constructed with some batting in between two layers of nylon with a small piece of trim encircling the seam between the two. The elastic band on the back is fairly wide at 3/4 of an inch and is well attached to the sides, so there should be no worries of separation. The blindfold is symmetrical top and bottom so the only way to determine up is the writing on the tag sewn onto the elastic band. This tag is black with sportsheets embroidered on it and while sewn onto the elastic it should be fairly easy to remove if desired.

Being a light color the blindfold doesn't block out all light, but while wearing it you can't see over or under it easily. The two ties measure out at 55 inches just like they should. They seem very well made with the visible stitching being neat and sturdy and the stitching along the sides and the end without the loop is rolled inside the fabric to hide the stitching from view.

One end is folded over into a loop so that the other end can be run through it and create a slip knot sort of arrangement, while the other end is meant to be tied to the object of choice. Because of this arrangement the ties will fit any size of wrists or ankles due to an almost infinite range of adjustment. At 1.75 inches wide the ties can be used as another blindfold just in case one is needed or the other one doesn't fit properly. Both the ties and blindfold are made of the same nylon material which is soft and silky against the skin but seems to have rug burn potential if rubbed against the skin too quickly.

This product is perfect for those who are into light play. Since the ties are designed to be looped around a wrist or ankle, they are easy to escape from as long as the ties aren't under tension. Once tension is applied the loop is just pulled tighter and escape becomes much more difficult. Because of the slickness of the nylon, any knots tied are pulled tight against anything they are tied to, and tighten themselves very quickly. This means you need to be careful with the knots and make sure that you can untie them when they get pulled really tight - otherwise this kit will become a permanent part of the furniture, or you might have to cut the poor ties to free them.

Because the slip knot type method has no tightness control care is needed to prevent circulation from being cut off. If numbness is felt you should take a break and let blood return to the affected area. Because of the width of the ties they are comfortable when used, but as mentioned before they can cut into the skin when pulled too tight, which definitely makes them less comfortable. I found that wrapping the tie twice around my arm before looping it through helped this problem some.

Because of the tightening issues, it would be nice if the kit came with some sort of cuff to control the level of comfort. At 55 inches the ties are long enough to wrap around the wrist and then tie to something and still have plenty of length leftover. The blindfold is comfortable against the face, and at 4 inches wide is wide enough to make it difficult to see over the top, or under the bottom during use.

The ties and blindfold are meant to be stored in the little ice cream tub in which they came in. If packed down, they only take up half the available space so a few more small items could be stacked on top for ease of travel or consolidation of collections. The lid snaps onto the container very well, so it's not likely to be dislodged unless intentionally opened. If washing is needed, since everything in this kit is nylon, spot cleaning with either warm water or water and soap would be preferable. If more cleaning is needed use a colder temperature and let the items drip dry.

The packaging is probably the best part of this product. It arrives shrink wrapped inside a plastic can shaped like a pint of ice cream. I was impressed by the container, expecting it to be a cardboard container like ice cream really comes in, but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the container is plastic and appears to be very sturdy. The carton is even so accurate as to include ingredients (vanilla scented blindfold, and two silky ties) and "sensual facts" instead of nutritional information, listing 644% of ones nightly value of total passion among other values.

Inside are the ties and a blindfold which comes wrapped in an individual plastic bag. This isn't very discreet as it says "Vanilla Bondage" in big letters across the front, but it would make a great gift in private to company that you are comfortable with. There are no pictures on the carton and no instructions were included with the package, but it should be fairly easy to figure out.

Overall this product is very well made and should last a long time, especially with light use. However, I am only giving it 4 stars because of the fact that it is difficult to keep the ties from tightening themselves to an uncomfortable level.