Right up front I want to let you know - the wife and I are not into any type of BDSM - or even spanking! So if you want to find out how to create a cherry red ass - or how best to bruise your partner, find another review. If you are curious to learn how BDSM toys can bring something new to you and your lover - read on!

So why do we have this toy? The simple answer is that the Narrow Slapper and toys like it can be used by the vanilla crowd out there to great effect - with zero pain! The concept is that stroking of fine leather combined with light impact - more akin to tapping than hitting can be a great part of foreplay. Slowing down the progression from 1st kiss to climax.

We've been together 23+ years and like many empty nesters, we find we have more time together and over the moon with joy at the opportunity to reconnect and expand our sex play. I actually made our first toy for impact play - to see if it was worth investing in - as you can see from this review, the experiment was a big success.

The DIY slapper I created was made by cutting a 1.75" x 4" piece of a soft old leather wallet and gluing it to a 24" flex-steel ruler. During our play with the DIY we found that the leather worked great - but that the handle was a little to long and flexible for the kind of close in way we were using it.

After this positive experience I wanted to buy the Doggin Bat - but as many of you know, it's been on back-order for a really long time. Not being the most patient person - I decided that the Narrow Slapper would help us get beyond the limitations of the DIY slapper.

The Narrow Slapper is our first Sportsheets toy. I'm an avid review reader - so I was sure that they would deliver a quality leather product and indeed that was the case - in a way - maybe too good.

The Narrow slapper is essentially two 18" x 2.25" x 1/8" pieces of cowhide sewn together. I use the term cowhide to convey that this is not a soft supple style of glove leather - this leather is stiff and strong - no doubt to the delight of heavier players. In fact the product is so stiff, I wondered if it was just too much for what we wanted.

With an overall length of 18" - it is just the kind of slapper we wanted for close-in contact. Most of the length - 10" is the handle. About 8" of the handle is tapered to about 1.25". Inside the handle is a hard medal or plastic piece that makes it very stiff - almost no give. I'm sure a great feature for the typical impact player.

The double stitching of the handle stops 6" from the end - creating the actual two-piece 'slapper' which is 2.25" x 6". What I found interesting is that the Doggin Bat is actually narrower than the Narrow Slapper - but I digress.

When faced with this heavy duty leather tool designed for someone completely different than me - I really wondered if this could be salvaged. But I had a plan. I decided that like a 10 year-old with a new baseball glove, I would work the leather - breaking it in, so the ball doesn't pop out. As a 10 year-old I would have used glove cream to soften the leather - in this case I decided not to do that right away - instead I physically bent and twisted the leather over and over to make it more flexible. I worked the leather for about 30 minutes before I was satisfied that it would be OK for us 'lightweights'.

As a testament to how well the slapper is made - the hard black finish on the leather crinkled from my vigorous twisting - but did not flake or break. The inside surfaces of the slapper hands are not finished - they have a suede finish.

Once I was convinced that the toy was soft enough to use with my pain-averse spouse, the slapper was ready for it's premier in our bed room.

One last note - the top end of the handle has a 2.25" diameter round end with a steel grommet threaded with a 5" long high quality nylon string - great for hanging your slapper or to keep if from slipping out of your hand during more serious impact play - not something I'll ever need.

Because we don't use the Narrow Slapper as it was intended - this description is more in line the "Experience" than performance.

In it's altered - softened state the Narrow Slapper worked just as we wanted it to. We use a combination of stroking and tapping to slowly ramp up arousal. Alternating faster and slower tapping - spreading out the impacts. She doesn't really like me to use it on her breasts or nipples - so all I do is stroke there.

Tapping along the insides of her thighs - I can see her thrust he groin towards me - wanting me to impact her vulva. It's a little hard to explain but I tap in such a way as to impact her labia majora separately (she is completely smooth) - then tap directly in the center to hit both. Since she's pretty aroused by now - her inner lips get in on the center impacts.

The 6" x 2.25" slapper is large enough to get almost full coverage with each stroke - although it can be angled to focus on smaller areas. - like her clitoral hood.

I basically spread the taps around until she's ready to move on - which for us when I go down-on her. The results of the impacts are immediately apparent as I sample her nectar - which is much more abundant than usually at this point in the proceedings.

Performance wise - we totally under use the capacity of this toy for impact play. It's very strong and heavy construction would allow someone so inclined to severely impact their partner - and it's high quality materials and construction should be good for hours and years of 'enjoyment' - if that's your idea of fun!

As with all leather products - a damp cloth is adequate for most cleaning chores. The way we use it - just a quick wipe down and back in the drawer it goes. I may try a leather conditioner to further soften the toy at some point - but it isn't necessary.

The Narrow Slapper came in a simple sealed plastic bag - there are no instructions.

Slappers and crops are not just for pain - they make a great addition for couples looking for something beyond 'traditional' foreplay. I highly recommend that you give light impact play a try. Make it fun - add diversity - surprise your SO with the Narrow Slapper, Furry Slapper, Doggin Bat - or the impact toy of your choosing!