The look: I was drawn to the red color when I ordered this ball gag for review, and I really appreciated the brightness of that red when I opened the box. The color and overall look of toys is just so important to me. The Beginner’s Gag, however, looked a little awkward, as I describe below.

The usability: The nipple of the Beginner’s Gag is the exact right size as it was not too big for my sub to breathe, yet big enough so she could not speak. But I am lukewarm on the Beginner’s Gag for beginners as I wouldn’t want them to draw conclusions about all gags based on just this one gag. It was awkward because of the size of the base of the nipple—there is no logical place for the lips because the base is too narrow so the lips can’t quite fit behind it and the base is too big for the lips to stretch over it.

For a traditional ball gag (not one with a nipple and base), the lips fall on the ball itself so it’s not an issue. Towards the end, I rotated the gag to the back of my gal’s head, using the leather wrap-around strap as a kind of pony gag, and that worked fine.  In the end, good sex is between people, not toys, huh? Also, the Velcro worked well. I adjusted the fit easily and I liked that ripping sound of the Velcro as I did.

The quality: The superior silicone is indeed without odor, taste, and can be boiled and washed in the dishwasher. The silicone ball also has a nice texture and firmness, and almost a bounce to it, so she was able to bite hard into the silicone (Tantus silicone is still great and made right here in California!). The leather wrap around strap is a little too thin and of medium quality. On the Velcro versus buckles matter, this Velcro strip was nice and long.

Overall, I give this Beginner’s Gag a 3 for overall look, usability, and quality. We had fun using it, but I would not recommend this gag over other products for a beginner.

Oh and remember that gags prevent the use of a verbal safeword, so be sure to agree on another way to communicate.