I have a few floggers, whips and paddles, but I've always wanted a crop. When I saw the red hearts crop I had to have it! Thoughts of tanning my honey's hide with heart shaped leather just sends chills through my body.

As soon as it arrived I had to rip the box open. It came extremely well wrapped in plastic bubble wrap to keep it from breaking I assume. Otherwise it was just in a long skinny plastic bag with no label. But that's fine. I wasn't buying it for the packaging or the label.

I immediately fell in love with it the second I held it in my hand. This crop is very well made. The heart end is two fairly thick pieces of leather, one red and the other black. They are both glued and sewn together. I doubt I will ever have a problem with them coming apart. The leather goes down over the shaft of the crop by about an inch and is very tightly wrapped with a strong corded thread. The shaft is covered nicely in a very strong braided nylon. It is flexible but not overly bendable.

When you make a whipping motion with this crop it flies forward and snaps back nice and quickly. I love that! I prefer to spank or use something to spank in a way that snaps back as opposed to following through. I feel it stings more that way. The handle end is about 6 ½ inches long, which should work fine for any sized hand. It is wider than the shaft of the crop and is completely covered in braided leather. And yes, it is real leather, I smelled it. I love the smell of leather.

At the top of the handle is a leather wrist strap. It is a 13 inch piece of leather folded and fitted into the braid of the handle. I really like where the strap is placed. It doesn't get in the way of your hand or wrist when you're using this crop, but it does help just in case you should lose your grip. I wasn't sure how long the crop would be because it's so hard to tell just by the online pictures, but from the top of the heart to the bottom of the handle it's 25 inches long. I think it's a very nice length for all but the most up close type of spanking.

I practiced a bit on myself and later on my husband, and yes this has a very nice sting to it. I really didn't have to hit myself all that hard to really feel it. And when used with decent force it will leave a nice pink mark. I don't think you can leave a heart shaped mark though, it just snaps forward and back too quickly for that. I was concerned that maybe accidentally hitting with the shaft would cause extreme pain or do damage. But whatever it is made of, it actually hurt less to be hit with the shaft than the leather heart. I would suggest though that anyone buying this practice before you use it on someone else.

I think this crop would work wonderfully whether you're new to BDSM or very experienced. My husband and I fall somewhere in the middle and we both love it. It can easily be used just for play or even for some fairly serious flogging.

This has definitely become my favorite for the giving and receiving end of spanking. I love the sound it makes when it hits. It has a nice amount of sting and is very easy to control. I haven't reached for any other paddle or whip since the day this cute little crop arrived.