The first thing I did when I got this collar was, of course, smell it.

The second thing was trying not to say "Mmm, leather," out loud in the same tone Homer Simpson uses for donuts. It was a close call.

Leatherbeaten is known for its high quality leather goods, and I have to say its reputation is well-deserved. This collar is made from the good stuff: one piece of soft, black leather that's smooth and finished on the outside, and soft and natural on the inside. The edges, too, are soft, not scraggly or rough. Everything lines up perfectly, the snaps are evenly spaced and won't budge, and the entire piece is soft and flexible but not to the point of being limp or unshapely.

In the middle of the collar are two O-rings with two spikes each, pointing outward. It reminds me a bit of a metal bow tie. Most collars like this only have one ring; with two, this collar has even more functionality. Everything you could do with one ring can now be doubled! The spikes give it a touch of fierceness, but not so much as to warrant a hazard. They're well rounded, so there's no need to worry about scraping or stabbing yourself on one of them (though they will still hurt a little if you jerk your head down suddenly and poke yourself).

Personally, I prefer to have a buckle on my collar as opposed to snaps, like Diabolo has. However, snaps are good for beginners because the collar can be quickly removed if you become uncomfortable with the idea of it (or if, say, a roommate walks in). The 7 snaps on this collar (three on one side, four on the other) make it pretty adjustable, too.

Despite the spikes, this collar is comfortable to wear around even for an extended period of time.

To clean Diabolo, wipe him down gently with a wet cloth. Don't submerge him in water! Try not to wear him in the rain, and definitely don't take him in the shower with you, as tempting as it may be. Let him air (no blow dryers, no setting him near a heater) and don't keep him cooped up too long in a stuffy place.

Be careful when you move your head around while wearing this collar. The metal bits aren't sharp, but if you dip your head downward suddenly, you can still poke yourself on it! Because of this, I think this collar might be a good transition to a 'posture' collar or a larger collar.

I would highly advise measuring your neck before ordering this collar. I received the up-to-20" collar, and... well, even the smallest snap is a bit too large for my neck. It's wearable, but I have to do some rigging to get it as snug as I like, or just wear it slightly loose.

I was able to get the collar around my thigh, and think I'll make a secondary use out of it as a thigh-cuff.

Still awesome with no signs of wear and tear, and it looks great on my partner just like I imagined.

Since the inner ring is kind of small (but really, I think it wouldn't look as spiffy with a huge ring in the middle), I devised a different way to hook it to a leash: one clip on each of the spike-y rings, then clip the leash's clip to both of those. It creates this neat little V. Also I distributes the pull of the leash a little better so it's not all in one spot, and is a little less likely to jar you. None of this would matter much if you had a leash with a small clip, but the one I'm particular to has a huge one so of course I sat there in my pile of hardware making different combinations (you could also use a two-way clip, or a safety pin, or a paperclip if you were really desperate and blindfolded your partner).

Anyway, I still like this toy and it's lived up to Leatherbeaten's high quality standards. No fuzzing of the leather, no falling apart, no cracking or breaking.

Also, while I'm not a fan of the snaps because I like to be locked in, my partner likes them because he can easily adjust it or pull it off if it gets uncomfortable.