Review Thursday: Press Clamps

Out of all the things that make Canada awesome, the price of sex toys makes it less awesome.  Though recently I did find a decent online site that is actually in Canada (yay no overpriced shipping!).  So - along that line of thought, we were out one day and had decided to look around and see if we could find some kinky new toys.  We lost our whole toybox a few years ago and just haven't had the money or patience to rebuild it adequately.

So - to make the story short, we were shopping, marvelling at the insanely overpriced toys (giving shocked expressions to the dildos larger than my arm - WTF are those for anyway?) and trying to find the actual kinky selection of toys aside from the 50 different kinds of bunny vibes.  Writing this reminds me that I have to go back to that shop and buy one of the feather ticklers - just for the look on my girl's face - but that is another topic.

Anyway ... while looking we found some not stupidly priced nipple toys, and one of them was this Spartacus Press Clamp set.  Since my girl has large breasts and large nipples sometimes we have trouble with toys that have smaller 'gripping' space.  These actually looked promising, they have large open areas with adjustable screws, and are more of a clamping design than pinching design.  So, they looked interesting, and we picked them up.

Normally I don't prefer the clamps with a chain running between them, unless they're clover clamps.  This isn't because of aesthetics or anything, but pure practicality.  Sometimes I'm not careful, tug on the chain and 'pop' off they come.  Since I like controlling that initial 'freeing' sensation I feel like I miss out at these times and am usually not impressed.  I also like to be in control of what's going on - not that I can't work with 'shit happens' but I prefer not to.

So the other night I broke into these while I put on an older movie with some D/s undertones that we'd been planning to watch.  I like having her stretch out with her head in my lap while watching movies or TV, it gives me a nice view and also lets me idly play with her hair, breasts and/or nipples whenever I want.  So during the playing I twisted these free and started to put them on her.  The opened fairly smoothly and went on pretty easily.  The thumb screws tightened down, but with her nipples being so big they squeezed out of the 'clamped' area.  This didn't seem to bother her, so I don't think it lessened the sensation.

The visual with the bra was just a side benefit

I got the clamps snugged up, though the thumb screws became obdurate when I tried to actually tighten them down.  I have pretty good finger strength but I just couldn't get the 'squeeze' I really wanted out of them.  Once I had them on and gave the chain a bit of a tug to see how it made her jump I went to get the camera.  On my way back I noticed her playing with them, she grabbed the chain and decided to give it a tug - it was sexy for a minute and I was getting ready to take a picture, then they just popped right off.  Not so secure.  She gave me a surprised 'O' look and I gave her a frustrated 'don't mess with my mental image' look.

Readjusting the clamps I told her not to tug on them so hard and went back for pictures.  I got a few decent shots, then settled in for the long haul.  I started the movie to get my timer started.  Safety is important when working with new equipment, she has good endurance, but I don't want to do permanent damage so I always pay close attention to both her nipples coloring and how long I've had the clamps on.

I played with the clamps, I had them on in such a way that when I pulled on the chain they would twist her nipples instead of just pulling on them.  Since the clamps are large and square this was easily accomplished.  Using the chain (gently) I pulled it horizontally across her body (she is laying down) and kept the vertical tugging to a minimum (for fear of pulling them off).

Over time her nipples got more and more sensitive - as usual with this sort of toy.  The tips were easily available for further torture and gentle touching.  I also found I could get a good reaction by taking one of them in my fingers and turning it like a steering wheel, which twisted the nipple rather severely.

I did discover that the more I played, the more quickly the screws loosened.  This is the problem I've had repeatedly with adjustable toys that use thumb screws, they just don't stay securely tightened.  It seemed like every minute or so I would have to keep snugging them up.  At first I thought that her nipples were getting squeezed enough for me to tighten them further, but that wasn't it.  I tightened them as hard as I could, and I watched while I played with them, it was subtle, but the screw was actually backing out from the pressure of her nipple trying to re-expand.  Not great when what you want is to make her nipples ache tomorrow.  The constant tightening was distracting - I think after a while she was surprised that I could keep making them tighter - she didn't know what was going on.

Overall - about average for adjustable screw clamps.  For anyone with large nipples these are fantastic, and if you're looking for more of a gentle 'slow build' sensation these are perfect.  If you can't give them enough attention to keep them tightened  you might be disappointed with the results.  We'll be using them again, because I never use something only once, but with other options these wouldn't be my first choice.

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