If you've ever had to urge to stopper up your partner's mouth (or have your partner stopper yours) with a large, squishy, bouncy ball, look no further! The Silicone Removable Large Ball Gag by Spartacus will do the trick. However, "Large" is no exaggeration. This Ball Gag features a pretty big hunk of spherical silicone. If just looking at it makes your jaw ache, consider the Medium and Small sizes. Be aware that whichever size you pick, the general design of the gag will still be the same. This means that all three sizes will have sharp strap ends that dig into your cheeks. This is not a complete deal-breaker however, if you are willing to take the time to adjust the gag as I detail below in "Design".

Judging from my experience with this gag, I'd say that beginners interested in trying out ball gags shouldn't be (too) intimidated by the Large Ball Gag. Those who have problems breathing through their nose, however, may want to consider gags with breathing holes. Similarly, those who don't like the idea of swallowing chewing on a giant bouncy ball may be more comfortable with a smaller size. More advanced users should still find good use out of these ball gags.

In terms of materials, this ball gag is a winner. Its large silicone ball is 1 7/8" in diameter. It is completely odorless out of the package, but it's a bit of a lint magnet, so make sure to clean it before use. Silicone is a great material for ball gags because it's nonporous and can be sterilized. No worries about bacteria from your mouth making a home in your gag! The snaps which connect the ball to the gag straps are nickel-free, so those with nickel sensitivities can breathe a sigh of relief. The leather straps are nice as well and do not shed at all.

The design is a little less awesome. The concept of a gag with a removable ball is great for cleaning purposes. The silicone ball can be popped into a vat of boiling water or into the top rack of a dishwasher and it's good to go. Leather has different cleaning instructions, so it won't get ruined while you're cleaning your ball. However, the design that makes it possible for the ball to remove is very uncomfortable for the user. The silicone ball has a quarter-sized slot that goes all the way through it. It is through this slot that a short nylon strap is inserted. On either end of this short strap are nickel-free snaps that snap onto metal rings at the end of a longer, leather strap.

It is the short strap that causes the problem. The way it is designed, the ends of the straps are folded inwards after looping through the metal rings on the leather strap and snapped shut. This means that the ends of the short nylon strap are in direct contact with your cheeks/corners of your mouth. These ends are sharp, stiff, and a little painful. If that's the kind of play you're looking to get out of this ball gag, then perfect! If not, no worries, this situation has a remedy.

To fix this gag so that it no longer causes unwanted pain, simply unsnap the nylon strap from the leather strap. Flip the nylon strap so that the ends are now facing outward, away from your face, and then re-snap the strap into place. Ta da! It loses a little bit of its aesthetic appeal, as now the backs of the snaps are visible instead of the snazzy Spartacus logos, but the comfort gained from this simple adjustment is worth it.

The leather strap, which goes behind the head, garners little complaint. It's made of black, non-shedding leather (which smells so yummy) and sports a ring on either end for the nylon strap's snaps and a buckle in the center. So technically, it's TWO leather straps. The closure is much like a belt buckle with eleven punched holes to accommodate a range of head sizes. The largest circumference supported by the gag is 21", and the smallest is 15.5".

I found that this gag fit my head very comfortably. I did, however, have to make a few adjustments as it slipped a bit during play.

If my boyfriend had been hoping that this gag would shut me up, he was disappointed. No matter how tight we adjusted the gag, I could still push the ball out of my mouth with my tongue and say things like "Is it your turn yet?" except it was a little muffled because the ball was pushing against my lips. Of course, the gag doesn't muffle moans either, but we didn't see that as a drawback. I did enjoy chewing on the ball, as it is very squishy. However, after the session I noticed small signs of what seemed to be wear and tear, so I don't chew on it as much any more.

Before using this toy, my boyfriend and I talked about how we would communicate "stop" or "slow down" if one of us couldn't iterate words. I suggested humming Yankee Doodle or squeezing a squeaky toy. However, when the time came, I had very little trouble talking around this gag (my defiance makes me a terrible sub), so neither of those safeguards were necessary.

Cleaning this gag is pretty easy thanks to the removable nature of the ball. Simply unsnap one end of the nylon strap and pull the ball out. It may take a little effort due to the silicone material's friction, but it should come out after some tugging. Once it's all alone, submerge the ball in hot, soapy water, boil it, or stick it in a dishwasher (make sure it doesn't fall through the rack though). Just make sure you get the interior of the ball as well as the exterior. The leather strap should require minimal cleaning due to its location, but should the need arise, a simple wipe-down with a damp cloth and mild soap should be good enough. The nylon strap should be fine with a quick wipe as well.

We store the ball gag in a drawer along with our other toys, and it does fine there except for the copious amounts of dust and lint that it attracts. Since it is a ball gag and it's going into a mouth, we do our best to clean it before and after every use.

I will admit that I am a complete n00b to gag use. We've always valued verbal communication in bed, so taking that away was a thrilling concept. However, we found that no matter how tightly we adjusted the gag, I could still somehow eject it from my mouth partially to speak. Given, this speech was pretty garbled and comprehension rate was 40-50% at best, but I could still talk, so I felt less "restrained", so to speak. However, the discomfort that came from wearing this gag for longer than five minutes concerned me more than speech deprivation. The ball of the gag is quite large, as mentioned before, and even though my boyfriend says I have a big mouth, my mouth isn't quite big enough to handle this monster comfortably. My jaw started aching, and after a few more minutes, the nylon straps started digging into the corners of my mouth as I subconsciously tried to take more of the ball into my mouth to lessen the strain on my jaw. Discomfort? Achieved!