I will start off by saying that I love blindfolds in general. Since I am involved in BDSM I use them regularly within scenes. I find that blindfolds really help me settle into the submissive mind space and relax into whatever is happening. I was intrigued to see how this one would compare with others.

On initial inspection, I loved the look of the leather and heavy duty design. This was no fluffy play blindfold- but a serious item! I also loved the soft feel and smell of the real leather and found the construction to look very sturdy. The design of this blindfold is quite different than any other ones I’ve ever seen. Instead of relying on a piece of fabric going over your eyes to cover your vision, it relies on pressure to hold your eyes shut. The two round circular pads are movable on the strap and the there are multiple holes on the back to adjust to a variety of sizes. The part that is against your eyes has a soft surface that puffs out. It’s this part that presses against your eyes, making it so that you can’t even open them. I could immediately see how this was much more effective in achieving total blackout than traditional designs which allow you to peek out the bottom.

I first tried the blindfold out during a sensual rope scene. I found that I had to do the strap up very tight in order to hold it in place, and that there was a large amount of extra strap that kind of got in the way. I was tied up in a position where I was lying on my back as my Top teased my naked body by running various soft and scratchy items all over me. The blindfold really helped add to the element of arousal. However, I found that as I moved my head around the strap started to slip down the back of my head and the whole blindfold became very loose. As soon as it was out of place the pressure against my eyelids was gone and I was able to peek out a bit. This was distracting as we had to stop to readjust the blindfold mid-play.

The next time I used it was also for a rope scene, but this time involving a bit of impact play. I was positioned in a kneeling position with my hands tied behind my back and face down sideways on a pillow. Despite the back of the strap not being in contact with anything, I did eventually have the same problem with it slipping down out of place as I moved around. It would seem that the bulkiness of the strap makes it more prone to sliding down the back of the head. On other blindfolds I am able to tuck the traps behind my ears, thus using my ears to hold the blindfold in place. With this one that didn’t tend to work because the straps were just too large. Also, with the concept of this blindfold being so reliant upon pressure against the eyelids, as soon as it slips out of place a bit it becomes rather useless, whereas with others it doesn't make much of a difference.

As one final effort to get rid of the slipping problem with this blindfold I decided to put my hair into a ponytail and place the strap above the hair. This way the hair acted as sort of an anchor to stop the strap from slipping down further. This did do the trick- although during this time using it I didn’t find the blindfold as comfortable because I hadn’t adjusted the eye pads to the right spots and the pressure from one of them was digging into my brow bone. Some friends who tried it on mentioned that they would find the sensation of pressure against their eyes very uncomfortable. For me I didn’t have an issue with this- when adjusted right it was just a firm pressure but not pain.

My conclusion on this blindfold is rather mixed. While I like the look and feel of the blindfold and how it securely holds your eyes shut for total blackout effect, it doesn’t seem to stay in place very well (unless with a ponytail- but even then it did slip from side to side a bit too). However, because I love the concept of Sinvention’s blindfold so much I think I will still continue to use it. I might actually see if I can modify the strap. I have some ideas for adding additional straps to go over the top of my head or just taking out the current strap entirely and replacing it with something thinner.