I chose to purchase the Spartacus purple fur lined paddle as my very first one. The reason I chose to try this one out was because a friend of mine had suggested the white fur lined heart paddles as a good beginner paddle to start out with. The heart paddles were pretty much out of stock and had been for some time, so I looked at this one first. It costs less than some of the other fur lined paddles that I have seen and seemed to have good reviews. So I figured, why not? When I received the paddle in the mail, I was surprised by the size of it! I really didn’t pay attention to the dimensions before I ordered and when I saw that it was referred to as a “ping pong” paddle – I figured that it was the same size as a ping pong paddle. It’s not, it’s much bigger – it’s about 16 inches long and 5 3/4 inches wide. This is my first paddle, so I can’t really tell you if the size is normal for paddles or not. The paddle does seem very durable, we’ve never played roughly with it yet but it’s made of leather and lined in the middle with spring steel. The fur on it is completely faux; though I’ve seen comments of the fur looking cheap, I actually like it. It looks really nice and it’s very soft and plush. The stitching around the edges looks great, nice and uniform, and the handle is very stiff and sturdy. It doesn’t bend unless you are actually trying to bend it and then it will show you a little bit of give, but I don’t see it bending during use. The paddle also has two sides to it, one is the purple fur lined side and the other is just the plain black leather – so you have two sides available for you to play with.

I’m usually at the receiving end of the paddle, but I have also tried wielding it myself to see what it’s like. When it comes to receiving the two sides feel completely different, the fur lined side will easily cushion the blows. I don’t feel much pain whatsoever from the fur lined side of the paddle. It’s more of a thud feeling than any sting or tingle. I really like it, it’s not my first time being swat on the rear with something, but it is the first time my partner has really used anything on me other than his hand. Compared to his hand, the fur lined side is a lot less painful. He hasn’t really tried hitting me too hard with the paddle, but with use of force – I couldn’t see this side causing anything more than a dull pain for me. As far as the leather side, there will be absolutely nothing between your skin and the paddle (unless you are wearing clothes) so it’s direct and it will sting. When I am hit lightly it causes a tingling sensation and though my partner hasn’t used a whole lot of force, it will cause quite a bit of a sting the harder that I am hit.

I could see the paddle working out for beginners and advanced users alike. It’s great for beginners that have decided to try out a paddle. There are two sides available to them so they can experiment and practice with what they like. If you do like involving the use of a paddle but you aren’t into too much pain, then you can just stick to the fur lined side. If you like to feel pain, then you have the leather side available to try out. I feel that the paddle can be useful to advanced users because one side can give them a nice warm up and then they could switch to the flat side to amp things up a bit. As far as wielding goes, the size may not be perfect for beginners. I tried it out myself to see what it’s like and to me it’s a bit big and awkward. I have tried using it on my partner as well, but it just doesn’t feel comfortable to me. As far as cleaning goes, I would probably just wipe the leather down with a damp cloth. You may be able to lightly scrub the fur with some mild soap and water and then let air dry.

My partner and I decided to start experimenting with BDSM around the beginning of the year. For a while, he'd only use his hands to swat my rear, and then ended up getting a hold of my hairbrush. Well, the hairbrush wasn't so bad - but it's my favorite one so I felt the need to hide it from him to make sure nothing happened to it. So that's when I decided to try out our first paddle. I really like this one when it comes to being on the receiving end of it. As I said, when it came to wield it myself - it was a bit awkward. I have no problem with the feel of the handle in my hand but I feel like I need to hold it with two hands like a bat to keep it comfortable. I think it may be due to being a petite woman with smaller hands. I am thinking about purchasing the matching 12” slapper as well because that one may be a bit easier for me to get used to when it comes to wielding. Let me say though - my partner has no trouble whatsoever when he uses it. So it should work fine for everybody, but he is taller than me and has bigger hands.

The way my partner has used it on me recently that I really like, is that he'll start with the fur lined side and then give me a few good swats with the flat side and then switch back to the fur lined side and repeat the process. I think it's because the swats with the fur lined side kind of dulls the previous swats out. I just seem to prefer it over other ways that he has used it.

Oh, and I do want to add to keep in mind safety when it comes to BDSM; it’s very important. If you are new to it, be sure to learn and incorporate safety into your practice. I trust my partner to be safe with me. It would be good if you and your partner have that trust as well.

I haven't had any issues with this paddle, it works great. I love the feeling of it when my partner uses it on me. The soft side works great as a warm up and the flat side has a nice tingle to it. Though due to the size I still feel a little awkward when I try to wield it due to my smaller hands.