A gag is placed in your partner's mouth in order to muffle their sounds. Gags are a staple in most BDSM-oriented toy chests.

This gag is marketed to beginners, and for most beginners I would say that this is a good choice—unless, of course, they have a strong gag reflex like me.

The beginner ball gag is shaped like a baby's pacifier. The narrow area reduces strain on the jaw, but I find that the ball is too large and that it triggers my gag reflex.

The gag itself is made of pure silicone while the straps are 16 inches long and made of leather with Velcro fastenings. The Velcro makes the gag easy to remove in case of panic, but it may not feel secure enough for more experienced people. The Velcro is fairly secure, and I have not felt it slipping or loosening during use. I noticed no taste on the gag after washing it. The leather straps do shed a bit, and the shed bits like to stick to the silicone portion of the gag. Make sure you wash this gag before use to make sure that no leather fuzzies end up in your mouth.

I found there to be no taste to the gag after a good washing.

The Velcro is pretty sturdy but is easily removed in case of panic. I have had some problems with the strap slipping during use, but I have a pretty small head. I just fix that by pulling the strap up so that it is quite high on the back of my head, and that prevents any slippage.

As I said in the design section, I have a tiny mouth and a strong gag reflex, so this made me gag if I got too excited during play. As a result, it's very rarely used.

The gag is silicone, so just remove the straps and boil, put in the dishwasher, or soak in a 10% bleach solution. Just make sure you rinse it off after bleaching. The leather straps cannot be sterilized, but you can wipe off anything and condition with leather care solution.

I would not suggest keeping the gag and the straps together as some fuzzies from the straps always end up stuck to the silicone of the gag. Just rinse before use, and you should be fine. I store my gag in a plastic ziplock bag and just put the straps in a bag with my leather restraints.

It has been a while, but from what I can remember, it just came in a stapled plastic baggie.