Best Uses for the S&M Black Bondage Kit from Sportsheets:

1. To give as a gift. The awesomely sexy black and white, retro-feel packaging is pretty, recyclable (!) and it even features the start of an erotic story on the back (which you can read in its entirety by scanning the QR code on the box).

2. To share with a lover who's just beginning to get their feet (and other body parts) wet in the world of submission and bondage.

3. To share with yourself if you're interested in bondage and submission, but haven't had a lot of experience.

The kit contains: a faux leather blindfold, 2 faux leather wrist cuffs that convert to a collar, and 1 nylon leash/tether. It would be best used for very light restraint, submission and/or bondage play.

First off, buyer be aware: The blindfold that comes with this kit appears to be identical to the blindfold sold separately as The Noir Blindfold. I probably wouldn't have noticed, except that I reviewed the Noir earlier this year and liked it well enough that I remembered it. You can see my review of the blindfold here. Now I have two of these, which on one hand is kind of awesome because, you know, I have two. On the other hand, it's hard to use two blindfolds at one time, unless you're lucky enough to have the proverbial threesome thrown in your lap.

That being said, I'm not sure I've owned anything from Sportsheets that I didn't love. Except, possibly for the rest of this kit. There are essentially two parts in addition to the blindfold.

First, the tether/leash. It's nylon, thin, and has a cheap-feeling metal clasp. It looks like it's designed to walk small cats or those yappy little dogs that fit in handbags. The hook section of the clasp is so tiny that you can't fit it around both of the metal D rings at once.

The cuffs can be turned into a collar by snapping them together. As cuffs, they are decent, although the material isn't very comfortable. As a collar, there is no way to adjust the size, so it was far too large for me, and it cut into my neck (the edges of the faux leather feel very sharp against the skin). In addition, the place where the D-rings are housed was already unraveling on one of the cuffs after our first time using it.

Perhaps the faux leather will get more comfortable over time, but I'm not sure it would be worth the initial discomfort in order to find out.

As mentioned above, the blindfold is fantastic, and the cuffs are decent. They're not adjustable, however, so that's something to consider if you have small or large wrists.

The collar, on the other hand, was not a hit. It chaffed, cut into my neck, had at least an inch of extra space, and the snaps were so hard to snap that I thought I was going to pierce a jugular just getting it closed. Not my favorite.

The leash is flimsy and nothing spectacular. So-so all the way around.