Keeping Couples Connected; that's the tagline for the Sportsheets Bondage Bar. Unfortunately, the claims that it is "comfortable" and "easily secured" are slightly exaggerated. First, let me start with the packaging. The Bondage Bar comes in a rather large box, approximately 6 by 16 inches long, with very provocative pictures of a female model displaying how the restraints are used. Thankfully, she is only half-naked and wearing lingerie. However, it is certainly not discreet and I would not leave it lying around the house if you're planning on having guests. The box is meant to be disposable and the restraints do not come with any bag or carrying case. Inside, you'll find the neoprene and Velcro Bondage Bar. The box says the restraints are 24 inches long. However, the actual length of the metal (steel?) bar inside of the neoprene backbone is only 16 inches long. When the cuffs are secured around your ankles, it is approximately 24 inches from the outside of one ankle to the outside of the other ankle. I believe this is a big mistake by Sportsheets to label the bar as being 24 inches long. It is not, it's 16 inches long.

The next big problem we had with the Bondage Bar was that the cuffs are not the right size for the wrists. The cuffs for the wrists are way too big. My wrists are about 7.5 inches in circumference and fit fairly well. My wife's wrists are a little less than 6 inches in circumference. I could barely get the Velcro to line up properly because there was so much excess overlap. For the ankles, the larger cuffs were fine and were a perfect fit for both me and my wife. The Velcro itself secures tightly and quickly and is the best feature to this product.

The short length of the bar (16 inches), means that holding the bound position for very long can become uncomfortable. The model on the box is shown bending over at the waist with her legs locked. If you want to be in these restraints while standing up, that is the position you will have to hold. It is comfortable for only 2 seconds before your legs start to get tired of holding that awkward position. Thankfully, we had better luck either lying on our backs and having the bar raised above our heads, either held or tied back, or kneeling forward in kind of a doggie style position. Of course, you don't have to secure both your ankles and wrists at the same time, and you can use the Bondage Bar to restrain either the legs or the hands individually and use another cuff or restraint set with it. Many users may find this combination the most comfortable of all.

Alas, my wife isn't as big of a fan of bondage as I am. She prefers to use Sportsheets Under the Bed restraint system since it doesn't make all of the blood rush to her head during sex. I definitely enjoy teasing her while she's in the standing position, but it is definitely too short-lived due to how far my wife has to bend over. I intend to purchase another bondage bar in the future that will allow a much wider spread to solve this problem. I was surprised by how heavy duty the construction of it was though. It holds up quite well to some serious pulling and pushing.