I review sex toys for the Adult Toy Shop. You can find the Silicone Ball Gag and other bondage toys on their site. Although I am not being paid to write this, I do receive free toys.
My pet has a ‘play collar’ that she wears when we are together and she is submitting to me; since she currently lives in Houston, she also likes to wear it when we are apart and she wants to feel closer. It’s just a simple leather dog collar which we purchased at a big box pet store, but it has developed a lot of meaning through the time we’ve shared with her in it. Unfortunately, my pet is also allergic to nickel in metals and has recently begun to break out when wearing it. By removing the metal pet tag we are able to wear it for longer, but she still reacts to the nickel in the collar’s buckle itself.
Obviously, I need to be careful with nickel in anything that’s going to touch her skin for any length of time. She’s not the only one with this allergy; the Mayo Clinic claims it’s one of the more common allergic reactions. That’s where the Spartacus Silicone Ball Gag comes in. The ball gag itself is made of silicone instead of rubber, making it more hygenic and safer. The ball is held on by a detachable, washable nylon that connects to a leather headstrap. All of the metal parts on the toy are nickel-free, according to the manufacturer. Unlike our beloved collar, I have no doubt that this toy could be left on safely without worrying about my pet’s skin. The vendor’s website shows a red ball gag, while the one I received in the mail is a lovely swirly purple color; I like the color I got much better but it’s worth noting it might be different than the one pictured.
My pet had been interested in a ball gag for some time. She loves the loss of control and submission of her will to another that is inherent in so much BDSM play, so removing her ability to speak had an obvious appeal. She can be bratty and sometimes bites, both of which I adore, but I thought this might be a fun way to put her in her place when I’d had enough. We’ve been playing together for almost a year now, and so I felt safe adding this dynamic to our play; we communicate very well verbally and non-verbally so I know I can safely take this ability away from her in a scene. It’s always important to make sure you know when your submissive is “safewording” even if they can’t speak their safeword; some dominants use a scarf, ball or other object that can be dropped by a distressed submissive as a substitute way to halt the scene.
We tried this toy out together on pet’s last visit to Austin. I had plans to get photos of her in it, and also to tie her up as I am trying to learn better rope skills. It turned out however that she looked so cute with this gag in place and she was so much fun to play with while it was in, that our scene was a lot more primal and a lot less complex than I had planned. She loved the experience; the toy was comfortable for her to wear but she did say I hadn’t put it on tight enough. This shouldn’t be a problem as the toy is so adaptable that it could probably get big enough to fit on the elephant man or small enough to fit on your collection of shrunken heads — did I mention we tried out the toy on halloween?
I think the Spartacus Silicone Ball Gag is a great toy and I expect we’ll use it a lot. The ball is pretty small, which may be a drawback for some, but also makes it great for beginners or those worried about jaw strain. I’d happily recommend this toy to all my kinky friends.
This nifty toy is currently sold out on the vendor site, but they tell me they are expecting more very soon and asked me to go ahead and post the review.
