What's That? I Can't Hear You.

The silicone removable ball gag from Spartacus is a great product to add a new element to the bedroom. It is primarily meant to be used to muffle, silence, or humiliate the person wearing it. It will work for both males and females, but some may find the ball to be a little bit too large or the straps too short. It is a good toy for advanced users, but it may work for some beginners as well if the sizing is right for them.

The gag has a few different components. There are two leather straps which go around the head. It isn't the softest leather ever, but it's pretty comfortable anyway. There is a nylon strap that connects the two leather straps together. The nylon can feel a little scratchy, but isn't too uncomfortable. The ball is made of silicone and is 2" or 5cm in diameter. The metal pieces that make up the buckle and snaps are made from metal that is nickle-free so those with allergies don't need to worry.



There are snaps on both sides of the ball. This is so you can undo the gag and remove the ball for cleaning, but the snaps are also useful if you want to remove the gag very quickly. The excess nylon from the snap is facing the back of the gag which is very uncomfortable since it rubs against the face. Fortunately this is easy to fix. We unsnapped ours and turned it around so that the front of the snaps faced towards me and the excess strap faced outwards. This still allowed for the buckle to be facing the right way and it was much more comfortable for me to wear.

scratchy nylon


The silicone ball is fairly squishy as silicone often is. This makes it more comfortable to wear and lets you bite into it a little bit. It has a rectangular slot through the middle of the ball to allow the strap through and it also has the Spartacus logo on the front of the ball. Like I said previously, it is a rather large ball and won't be right for everyone's mouth. For comparison, the ball is just about the same size as a racquetball.

The sizing of this gag may not work for everyone. There are 11 size holes which range from about 15" to about 20". I think people with larger heads will have a problem with this gag. I would consider myself to have an average size head and I usually wear a 'medium' when it comes to helmets and things like that and I need to use the 8th hole out of 11.

The gag worked great for us. It stayed put like it should and didn't move around any as long as it was tightened appropriately. It is secure, but also easy to take off. You can take it off with the buckle, or the snaps on the front if you want it off more quickly.

The ball does muffle sound a fair amount, and will definitely keep you from being able to speak clearly. It's not going to silence anyone completely, but it will make it difficult to understand anything the wearer says.

Because the ball is so big, it might not be comfortable to wear for long periods of time. This is especially true if you have a smaller mouth or if you have TMJ issues, if either of these are the case, it might be a good idea to buy a gag with a smaller ball. It also shouldn't be used on someone with any sort of breathing issue such as a stuffy nose.

The gag also makes is difficult to swallow. This can make for quite a bit of drool, which could be good or bad depending on your individual preferences.

The silicone ball is great because it doesn't harbor bacteria like some other materials will, but it will need to be washed regularly especially since it gathers a lot of dust. Once the ball is removed you can either boil it, wash it with antibacterial soap and water, use a bleach solution, or toy cleaner to clean it with. I tend to just use soap and water and let it dry before putting it back on the gag.

The straps can be cleaned with a leather cleaner or wiped off with a damp cloth. Leather shouldn't be left in direct sunlight so I would store this in a drawer or box so it stays out of the light.

The packaging was your basic plastic clamshell packaging. You see exactly what you are getting with the gag, but no additional pictures or anything like that. It was pretty easy to get open, but didn't have much in the way of directions.



The packaging is recyclable. If you choose not to keep it, just put it with your other plastics when taking it to be recycled.

The package isn't the best for storage, but can be used for storage if needed. I personally found it a bit bulky for storage, and didn't like the idea of storing it in a clear container in case it got left in the sunlight. I like to store mine in a box with some of my restraints and other BDSM gear.

This is the kind of product where it is important to be sure to talk thoroughly with your partner before using it. It's important for the person being gagged to have some form of non-verbal communication available to them in case things get a little too intense or uncomfortable. Plan on having a few signals in case the person wearing it wants something to stop. Snapping fingers and waving hands are examples of signals we have used.

This was my first experience using a ball gag. I knew I wanted to use one that was made of silicone so that I could be sure I was using a safe material. I was really pleased with this gag, I felt it really suited me pretty well. The ball was the right size for me, though I don't think I could have gone any bigger. It added a fun new element to the bedroom and I am really looking forward using it more and I can definitely see it becoming one of my favorite items. We've used it in conjunction with a blindfold and bondage and it was really a fun experience.