The distressed heart spank-her (or him, as the case may be) is a sturdy paddle perfect for a pretty serious spanking. It's pretty stingy and provides a nice reddened ass or thighs upon application, along with making a pretty loud sounding smack! That said, it's a pretty painful paddle considering- probably medium to advanced users would enjoy this most, though beginners could also enjoy it as long as they started slow. Give yourself a test smack on the thigh before using this on someone else so you get an idea of the intensity- it's surprising. Because of the texture on this toy it will actually cause a little more sting than a completely flat paddle.

I wasn't sure if I'd like the heart design (not a terribly romantic person, me) or the material (a sort of fake snake skin patterned patent leather). When I picked it up, though, I quite liked the balance and feel of this paddle- it was quite pleasant to use! It's very sturdy- you get the impression you could use this pretty often and not deal with wear-and-tear, and the sides are nicely finished and smooth. There's no leathery smell or feel, though, so if you really enjoy that you might prefer a different paddle. I quite liked the fact that it was easy to lightly clean with a toy cleaning wipe and that the material was so shiny, though being leather means you won't be able to completely sterilize it, so fluidbonded sharing is the safest way to go. And there is no flex in this paddle at all, so I found other people's assessment to be accurate when they said it felt like a wooden paddle!

It's a little less than a foot long and 6" across at the widest part, so it should fit easily in a toybag. The handle fits snugly and comfortably in my hand, and I have small hands, so it should be easy and pleasant to wield for anyone.

I found it to be a good second implement for a harder spanking scene, starting with my hands and moving up to this paddle before taking it another step up to a wooden paddle or my metal cane. The heart is big enough to cover about half of my boy's ass, which is quite nice as I like to get the maximum amount of redness for a minimum amount of effort. ;) Also, if you spank just right, you can get one half of the heart on each cheek! I didn't manage to leave any impressions or bruises from this paddle, however, so it seems more like a surface stingy implement rather than a thuddy one. It's been fantastic for use as a discipline toy, and the boy now gets daily spankings to keep him in line.

Because it's patent leather, I've found wiping it down with toy cleaner to be sufficient for keeping it clean, though as I said earlier, leather cannot be sterilized so one person per toy is probably best. There's a loop on one end, making it easy to hang up to store.

The only packaging was a tag for Ruff Doggie Styles, easily clipped off.

It's become our go-to paddle for discipline- I like that I can use it sensually, with a slow and steady warm-up, or punish him by laying it on hard and fast. I especially like that he can't decide if he loves it or hates it- perfect for a sadist like myself, and perfect for proper punishment.

It's loud, though. Other people will probably hear you using it. You can minimize this a bit by keeping underwear on, but it'll still crack hard enough to potentially hear through walls.