This silicone and leather ball gag from Aslan is great for kink beginners and advanced players alike.

One nice thing about this toy is that the ball is made of body safe, long lasting silicone instead of rubber, which is an allergen for some folks and tends to degrade with time and wear. You can bite down on it pretty hard without it tearing (it will leave faint teeth marks if you chomp hard, but it holds up better than rubber and won't damage your teeth, either). The only downside is that the silicone is a total lint magnet, and you will probably need to wash it before use unless you want a gross, linty mouth!

At 1.5" in diameter the ball was neither too big nor too small- I could fit the whole thing in my mouth and close my lips over it, so it wasn't too hard on my jaw, but it was also big enough to muffle noises and give me a true sense of submission. I think it's generally better to go too small than too big with this sort of thing, and I think this ball would be a good size for most people. The side straps are each 9.5" long, and the total gag length is 26". The straps adjust to fit heads from 18-24.5" in circumference, with 8 holes for the buckle. I have a huge head, but found this gag easily buckled beneath the base of my skull on the 3rd hole.

I got this gag in classic sexy black, but the pink and white gag is also really cute if you're into girly toys, or damsel in distress type role play!

Cleaning this gag is easy, because the central leather strip that holds the ball snaps onto the straps and is removable, and the ball slides off this strip though it can be a bit tricky to rethread. You could theoretically buy other sizes of balls and use them with this interchangeable system. The leather bits can be washed with saddle soap or a small bit of Hibiclens if you want to reduce the germiness factor. Using leather conditioner on occasion will mean this gag will last you a very, very long time.

A few pro-tips for those who are new to BD/SM or using gags:

1. Make sure you have a non-verbal signal that you can use with your top to have the gag removed if need be, such as snapping, since you wont be able to say your safe word.

2. This gag will probably make you drool on yourself/the leather of the gag, and though spit is generally pretty safe as a body fluids go, leather is not 100% disinfectable. If you are worried about drool, you might want to try using a knotted bandana instead, as this will absorb your spit and can be machine washed afterwards.

3. You may wish to avoid this gag if you have a TMJ disorder, as it will put some strain on your jaw. (I was definitely a bit sore the next day.)

Admittedly, my jaw was a bit sore after using this, but I do have a TMJ disorder...I still think this is a great product for all kink experience levels.