California Exotic’s Sportsheets Sex Sling is a simple product – neck brace, adjustable straps, ankle restraints with strong Velcro closures. But sometimes simple products are the most useful, because they fill a frequent need. My need in this case was a way to keep my legs from growing tired, or cramping, long before my partner and I were finished fucking. Having to stop mid-stream and rub out a thigh cramp is definitely not my list of “sexual must-do’s.” So I read the reviews of several different sex slings, and chose this model because it was reasonably priced and because of its construction materials. Like other products in the Sportsheets line, this sling is neoprene and nylon webbing, which means it is washable, can be used in water or wet situations, and won’t need to be cleaned and conditioned to remove sweat or other fluid marks after heavy use. The webbing is also very strong, and will hold up to repeated use.

The sling is very easy to use – center the neck strap on the lower part of your neck, wrap the restraints tightly but comfortably around your ankles, and then adjust the straps until your legs are where you want them to be. The pressure of holding your legs up, or open, is transferred from the leg muscles and lower back to the upper back; you can also grasp the straps with your hands, thereby also reducing the pull on your upper back. I also tried placing the center of the strap behind my shoulders, rather than my neck, which also gave great support. If you have neck pain, definitely go with the shoulder height solution; sex, after all, should never be a pain in the neck, or at least not unintentionally.

Using the sling also left my hands open for roaming across my lover’s breasts, and her hands open for various kinds of mischief. She prefers deep and fast penetration, both of which were aided by how we could position my body with the straps in place. The product packaging suggests that the sling increases G-spot stimulation; although I didn’t find this to be particularly true, the range of body angles I could create with the strap did increase the depth she could reach, and the amount of time we could continue before tiring and giving up the pursuit of yet another orgasm. The only drawback is that the straps, while easy to pull shorter once the action begins, are somewhat more difficult to lengthen back out, reducing how quickly one can change positions.

We’ve tried the sling in various ways, from my lying on my back to sitting nearly upright at the edge of a bed. All of these were aided by having the extra support to hold my legs. The adjustable straps also meant I could easily leave my knees bent or straighten my legs; that choice is important for my middle-aged knees. The sex sling is also useful for impromptu bondage – while the restrainee is standing upright, simply leave the neck strap behind the neck and the cuffs on the ankles, and then adjust the straps to control how bent over the restrainee is, and how large or small her/his steps can be.

But the sling’s most useful variation came as pure inspiration – my lover and I were playing on a friend’s Pleasure Swing, which has a loops to support the ass and back but no support for the head. This caused my neck to grow weary before anything else, as I found I either had to hold my head forward or let it fall back at an uncomfortable angle. Very much wanting to continue having her fuck me while I floated waist-high, I sent her to bring the sling down from the bedroom. We put its neck strap behind my neck, then wrapped the ties meant for legs over the metal cross bar at the top of the swing. This left the “ankle straps” open to be used for wrist bondage, an unplanned but interesting discovery. Once they were attached to my wrists, I could raise or lower my head by how I positioned my hands, which definitely increased my comfort. This worked so well that we left that sling as a gift for our hostess, and need to buy another one for her swing when we install it.

While I like the idea for this toy, it's not been that useful because you can't easily adjust the length of the straps while in the middle of the action. It could be useful for some restraint positions, or for folks who need support around issues of physical limitations, but not for those of us who like our fucking vigorous, active and ever-changing.