This leather paddle is perfect for everyone from the bright-eyed romantics to the heart(ass)-hardened cynics. It's especially great for those that are looking to take the step up from spankings. While it stings considerably less than other implements with less surface space at 2", it still packs quite a snap. Use it to tease, punish, or reward! (Or better yet, all of the above!)

The paddle is smaller than I expected at 10" length and 2" width. The black "frame" of the paddle is made of leather while the heart cut-outs are made of red suede. The edges of the frame has red stitching. The leather itself is not soft (think a stiff purse or briefcase), however, it does have enough flexibility that makes it snaps against the skin oh-so-nicely.

The paddle is pretty well put together and is still in out-of-box-shape after a few rounds of fairly rough play. The edge of the paddle is smooth, but there is a little bit of dried glue that is rough against the skin. The stitches are all intact, but the ends seem to be held together by a bit of glue. There is a loop at the bottom of the paddle so that it can hang off of hooks or, if your wrist is smaller than 3" in diameter, off of your wrist in between spanks.

I love, love, love the snap of this paddle against skin, as both the person using it and the person receiving it. I far prefer the flexibility of the leather compared to some of the harder paddles. Depending on how you use it, it's somewhere between a stinging and a thuddy sensation. And because of the smooth surface, I received no cuts and no blood has been drawn thus far. Variations of how heavy the strike is and where it is placed can seriously affect what you get out of this toy- so experiment!

And depending on how hard you strike and where, you can definitely leave bruises with this. The answer to the question that probably popped up when you first saw this is- yes, it can leave heart-shaped marks, albeit not with very sharp outlines.

The paddle came in a clear, plastic sleeve. While there is nothing explicit about the packaging, it probably isn't something that you would want to unwrap in front of family and friends.

I did not keep the plastic sleeve for storage though, and opted to just toss it in my toybox, which has not been an issue so far.

This has seriously become one of my favorites in my box. It's a good one for beginners because it is not (at all) intimidating. If you are wary about using a paddle, you can work up to it slowly by first trying it over your clothes. Also, a paddle does not mean that you necessarily have to do a large windup (bringing arm as far as it can go) to get a nice effect/result. In fact, I find that the mix of hard strikes and small, stinging staccato snaps my favorite.