I recently got the express pleasure of reviewing the Ruff Doggie Styles Heart Beat Crop|Ruff doggie styles heart beat crop. Of course, after waiting for it to show up, Heather and I were both quite excited to see how this crop would perform. The pictures looked nice, which is usually a good indicator of performance, but we both went into this with tentative hope, bracing for a cheap crop that would hardly inflict injuries worthy of being called a BDSM toy|Bondage and fetish - BDSM sex toys.

We were both pleasantly surprised.

First of all, when taking it out of the packaging, it looks rather flimsy. The leather isn't very high quality, but then again, for $37.99 USD, we weren't expecting anything that would blow our minds.

My first comment was on the wrist strap. In the pictures, you can hardly see it, but it is there. In theory, great idea. In practice, the place where it was connected made it quite awkward since, once around your wrist, it is positioned in such and awkward manner that holding the crop becomes almost painful in itself. Who knew that the toy was for sadomasochists after all?

Aside from the wrist strap though, I took note that the hearts on the end of the crop looked a little flimsy as well and perhaps wouldn't hurt as badly. Shrugging off these concerns, we went upstairs for a nice BDSM session|Spanking & Flogging - BDSM Buyer's Guide - Sex Guides and Tips.

To my surprise, the material held up pretty well. Even the hearts seemed to have very little wear on them, which gained back the points lost from my first impression. It is deceptively tough and should last the average BDSM couple through quite a few sessions or perhaps a few years with some lighter play.

On to the actual performance on the crop itself; its performance held up to any standards we may have had for it and nothing more. That's not to say that it is a bad crop, but looking at the pain factor, one can really see how this crop is geared more towards light BDSM couples. We discovered in our play that there was a significantly harder spot just below the hearts that inflicted some serious pain. The hearts still left cute little welts, but in order to get some serious kick out of the crop, we were hitting with the shaft more than the hearts. Believe me; that hurts and is really difficult not to do.

This is certainly not a first crop, nor is it a serious addition to any collection. It's simply average. Light BDSM couples will want to watch out where they hit since it's quite easy to miss with the hearts and land the shaft of the crop on open skin. As I write this, five or six days after our session, Heather still can't sit properly due to her still discolored and bruised behind.

All in all, it performed exactly as we expected it would and perhaps even a little better. It is recommended for seasoned couples who want something cute and painful.