The Impressions crop from Sportsheets is a nice, fun entry level crop. It's made for whapping your partner (or yourself if you have no partner around and like being whapped). I think it will work for a variety of users from beginner to expert. Even an expert practitioner could use it with someone unused to crops. A couple who were both new to and/or exploring a BD/SM fantasy or crops specifically would do well with it. Some folks who are really into the BD/SM lifestyle might find it to be too flimsy, though.
I'm somewhere between beginner and intermediate depending if I'm on top or bottom for this type of play. I find it can bring the sting if used by a partner who knows my pain tolerance well. Many people, though, just aren't willing to use it firmly enough. I was told I was "too nice" by the young man who was on the receiving end of my crop usage. I couldn't get him to specify if he meant I didn't add enough pain to his pleasure, if he was expecting more...verbal abuse (which I just can't do)... or if it was something else he found lacking. It was the first time for both of us --my first time being "on top" and his first time being restrained and cropped and flogged. He asked me specifically for those things while he was 26 hours away from me, and I went and bought the gear at a local adult toy store. I was thankful that they had some inexpensive stuff. I would use it with my "submissive" (his word, not mine, and I'd say not entirely correct) young man, and as someone who sometimes likes some pain with her pleasure, I was sure I could find someone to help me test it for the "how it feels to be whapped with" part of the review.
Sadly, I didn't notice that the crop left a heart shape on the butt, back, belly, or nipples of the person I whipped with it. It definitely made some red marks, but I didn't see any heart shaped impressions. Could be I was too gentle, but I also tried it on myself, and even as hard as I could tolerate, it only left the impression of the crop as a whole, not specifically the heart shape.
As far as teasing goes, when you're not slapping someone with it, it feels great being dragged over your skin. Makes you anticipate the "WHAP!"

For a crop I picked up that cost (way) less than twenty bucks, I'd say it's well made. It's my first crop, and I wanted to see if I would like it before I invested in a "real" one. It seems well put together and I don't see it breaking in the near future. The material is vegan friendly faux-leather. It feels diferent than real leather to my hand, but I've never used a real leather crop, so can't speak to the difference in feeling for practical application.

This toy has worked well for me in a variety of ways. I have used it to smack someone, to be smacked by someone, and to tease and smack myself. As I reported earlier, I have enjoyed being on both sides of the Impressions Crop. The day I bought it and was thinking about my lover driving towards me, I tried it on my legs, my back, my butt, my nipples, my vulva, and my belly. Various intensities on all. I knew I would like it when I found someone to really use it on me, and I did.
When my handsome young man was here, I used this crop both on his back and on his front. He seemed to think it was somewhat lacking, but I attribute it more to my reluctance to really "go to town" on him than any defect of the toy.

When I was with a lover who is self described as "kinky" and "dominant" and who told me afterwards that he was "holding back" because we've only been together a few times, I had nearly all I could take of this particular crop. It took two days before I could sit down comfortably, and my nipples were tender for about the same amount of time. It felt so good at the time, though, that it didn't occur to me that it might be a little much.

The Impressions Crop is made of "faux leather". That's not too specific. I don't find it to be overly plastic-y or cheap feeling, and I'm not certain exactly what "faux leather" is made of. The EF materials guide states that it's typically "made of materials from the polyurethane group" and can be cleaned best "with warm water using mild, detergent-free soap and a microfiber soft cloth or an ordinary long-handled, soft bristle brush". Unless you somehow manage to break the skin, I would think that a warm soapy washcloth would be fine in between partners unless the receiving partner disclosed some sort of contagious skin disorder.

I hang it by the wrist strap on a nail on my wall. If I don't want someone to know what's hanging there, I just hang a scarf over it. Easy.

I believe that the store at which I bought this crop may have disposed of any packaging that came with the product. It was just hung on the rack with a plastic loop tag like the ones that stores use to attach price tags. It has a manufacturer tag that says "Sportsheets". That's how I figured out what it was called -the manufacturer tag and a photo on EF.
It's possible that there wasn't any packaging either, I'm not sure.

I like this crop. For something I picked up for twelve bucks, I'd say that if it worked once, it'd be worth what I paid for it. It's now worked more than once and doesn't show any signs of breaking. I'll let you know if it does, but it's so inexpensive that you could realistically buy a new one every month if you had to and still be okay financially. I think that the next time I buy a crop, it'll be a "real" one made with actual leather. Who knows, maybe I'll meet someone who has one though, and not like it. I like the one I have for now, and am not looking to replace it yet.

All in all, I've had a great time with this crop. I've used it to tease myself, slap myself, tease and slap someone else, and be teased and slapped by yet another person. As you may have guessed, I'm not only a novice, but I'm also a little "switchy". I like this toy very much and am glad I bought it.