Bondage bar - spreader discontinued by Sportsheets - review by Kallisto

The Sportsheets Bondage Bar will work for anyone who is interested in light bondage. It can be used in a variety of ways, limited only by your imagination! My favorite position is to be face down on the bed with my knees under me and arms back to the side and bound together with my ankles. This position raises my ass up for easy access. A similar positioning is possible if I am seated or kneeling, with my ankles behind and my arms to the side behind me. This is a good submissive position, I think.

Another good option is to lie on my back with my knees toward my chest, and my arms between my legs. In this position you can also attach a rope to the bar with a loop and tie it to a headboard or some other object to help hold the weight. It is possible for me to hold this position for a long time.

Unfortunately I am not flexible enough to stand and bend over with my wrists and ankles firmly attached.

The Bondage Bar is well made and should last for a long time. The outer covering of the bar and the cuffs is nylon, and the cuffs have a neoprene band inside which I find very comfortable. The Velcro closures work very well, and are easy to get in and out of. The cuffs are similar in construction to other Sportsheets cuffs.

The length of the bars (measuring from the ends of the metal bar) is about 16". The two center cuffs are positioned about 9" apart. Each of the cuffs seems to be the same size, with the straps about 16" long if you lay them out flat, which is sufficient for a closed cuff with a maximum diameter of about 5". The width of the bar is about 2".

I thought from looking at the pictures that the cuffs on the ends of the bar were separate and sewn on to the bar, but that is not the case. The nylon covering extends past the ends of the metal bars inside, to form the top and bottom of the cuff loops on the ends, making the cuffs on the ends integral to the rest of the nylon bar covering. The loops are sewn securely closed at the end of the bar. The other two cuffs are sewn securely to the nylon covering in three places. There are actually two metal bars inside, side by side, so the center cuffs are sewn in the middle, as well as on the outer edges. All the stitches go completely through the nylon covering and are visible from the backside of the bar, making the attachment secure. It is hard to imagine being able to rip the cuffs off, though it is probably possible if you try hard enough.

The bar is a little flexible, but overall it seems pretty sturdy. I'm not sure if it would be strong enough to pick someone up by it if they were restrained or not, but we never intend to us it for that. I wouldn't recommend trying to suspend someone with it.

The positions of the cuffs are fixed relative to each other, which may or may not be to your taste. I personally like it, because I find I can move my wrists and ankles around less when restrained with this than I can in a typical spreader bar, where the cuffs are attached with some kind of linkage. The distance between the cuffs works perfectly for us.

I can't say that this product helped us try any new positions, because there really aren't any that we haven't already tried! It is useful for getting into a few of our favorite positions though. I enjoy being on my back and having my wrists and ankles attached with the 5-piece hogtie set with my knees drawn back. This product allows a very similar position, and it is much faster and easier to get in and out of.

The Velcro closures are fairly secure and serve their purpose. If a person struggled, they could probably get out of them fairly easily, which makes them only suitable for light bondage play. It is a little hard to get a firm closure with the cuffs, but they prove to work well enough in practice for us. We have a number of the Sportsheets cuffs that are similar in design, and they have worked well for several years. I expect this product to hold up at least as well.

The product comes in a cardboard box with some non-discreet pictures on it suggesting possible uses. The box would be suitable for storage, but the bar is easy to store as it is so we don't intend to keep it. As far as instructions, if you need them you should not be playing with this!

We just keep the bar in our toy box with the other toys. If you have other Velcro attaching items, they can become attached to the nylon covering of the Bondage Bar, but they are easily removed.

The bar should fit easily in a suitcase or carry on bag.

The nylon should be easy to care for, though I would not put it in a washing machine, and don't intend to get it wet because the metal bars inside might rust. I'm not sure what kind of metal they are, and doubt they are rust proof.

For us, this is a fantastic product that should see a lot of use!