Content notes and warning: This post is about impact play; there are also mentions of D/s.

I’ve been spanked by many things in my time, sometimes for reviews, sometimes for punishment, and mostly just for mutual enjoyment and affectionate bonding between myself and my spouse, who is also my full-time dominant. And those spanking implements have varied dramatically, from whips to tortillas. I love getting spanked, Damien loves spanking me, and it all works out pretty darn well. I even wrote a guide for spanking newbies on SheVibe!

But when I am being spanked recreationally, what do I prefer to use? Of course I love when Damien decides for me, but most often, they have me select which items I would like, based on what sort of sensations I’d prefer that day. (Of course, when they choose, they know what I can handle and what I like, and I always have veto power, because consent is key in kink.) While I have an increasingly difficult-to-store collection of toys, with a vast array of sensations, there are a few toys I reach for, again and again. So I thought it was time to record my favorites, as of late 2021.

Most of these toys are pretty inexpensive, purely because I’ve never yet had opportunity to try a very high end or custom impact toy. I don’t mind, though; pleasure, including kinky pastimes, should be available to people at all income levels or budgetary needs. So, in addition to being a helpful reference and record, this also doubles as a budget-friendly gift guide! Purchase links, when available, will be in the header.

Some useful terms for newbies:

Stingy: A sting is a surface blow, a bit like snapping a rubber band on your fingers.

Thuddy: A thud is deeper and bruise-y feeling, well into the muscle.

Slappy: A slap is a term I sometimes use, where it’s more solid than a sting but not as deep as a thud.

And now, the list!

Our Homemade Flogger

Okay, I’ll get the one you can’t buy out of the way, although we do intend to put up a tutorial sometime. Damien assembled this flogger out of some discount vinyl from the craft store, a wooden rod, an eye screw, a heart-shaped split ring, and a lot of time, patience, and glue. The vinyl falls are thin and long, and because they’re attached by a ring rather than embedded into the flogger, Damien can get a lot of swing behind it. The sensation is perfectly balanced between stingy and slappy for me.

We could easily remake this with other materials for other sensations as well! Leather with tied knots at the end of the falls would be much harder, stronger, and thuddier; ribbons would provide less sensation but would be very pretty.

…Yeah we really need to make that tutorial, huh?

If you’d rather not make a flogger, the one I’ve tried that’s the most comparable is the Scandal flogger. It’s a little less intense and takes longer to build up to the kind of pain I enjoy, but it’s very well made and also, like most of the Scandal line, gorgeous.

Crop of Unknown Origin

Damien actually owned this long before I ever showed up in their life, and where they bought it and from what source is knowledge lost to the mists of time. About 18 inches long, with a fold of leather on the end, it is…a riding crop. It feels very precise and stingy, and Damien looks very hot holding it, and I pick it a lot.

The closest I can find is, surprisingly, this 50 Shades crop. It’s a bit longer, but the fold of the leather on top is quite comparable; other crops, like this Sportsheets one, don’t have the leather looped at the end like that, but rather it lays flat. Does that make a difference? I genuinely have no idea. I should probably try more crops, but dang it, I like this one so much I haven’t bothered!

Fetish Fantasy Love Paddle

Yes, yes, it’s Pipedream, but actually it’s worse than that because we bought it at Spencer’s, where they tend to use their own label for items. (They have multiple Pipedream and NS Novelties toys under their own label.) So not only is it Pipedream, but it’s like…the generic store-brand version of Pipedream paddle. It’s like when we buy the Kroger brand of American cheese slices because the Kraft ones are too expensive.

However, it’s pretty much the platonic standard of paddles. It’s solid but flexible on the interior, which leads to an excellent slap sensation. And it was one of the first spanking toys we bought, so we’ve had it for a few years and used it a fair amount, but it’s still kickin’. Or, well, spanking.

If you’d rather not support Pipedream, we also own a Sportsheets impression slapper that is a very similar sensation, though a bit thinner. This 50 Shades one is probably similar in sensation as well. To an extent, a paddle is a paddle; if I reach for this one the most, it’s because it’s familiar and I’ve had it longest!

Fetish Fantasy Rubber Paddle

Goddammit, another Pipedream paddle? I got this one to review for Naughty Betty’s, although you can also buy it on Betty’s Toy Box, and I honestly love it. Unlike the “Love Paddle,” I haven’t really seen another toy like this one, either, in any of my usual sex toy shops.

The flexible shape and the holes in the surface makes for a fairly stingy sensation, and each side feels slightly different because of the raised ridges. Those ridges are the other reason I love this toy: I love scratchy sensations, and my partner can go from scratching all over my skin to smacking my ass with no difficulty. Ideal.

Sportsheets Sex & Mischief Ball Crop

You know, after trying some thuddy toys, I thought I didn’t like thud sensations. However, I picked this up so I could try it out for that spanking article I did for SheVibe, figuring I should test even toys I wasn’t sure I would like.

Turns out, what I don’t like is a broad thuddy toy. But a well-placed, precise thud is absolutely divine. The Sex & Mischief Ball Crop is very different from any of the other toys, but I reach for it perhaps the most out of all of them. There’s something about the depth of pain that I find exquisite, and I like to see how long I can handle it. I have yet to bruise with it, but I’m hoping it’ll work someday!

It’s also great for back pain, so that’s nice.

Tantus Dragon Tail

This was another review item! This is the toy I reach for if I want marks. I don’t bruise easily, so if I want a later reminder of what I’ve been through, I need welts. This fits the bill! This is one of the meaner toys in my collection—wickedly stingy, the sensation lingers on my skin for ages.

We also have their Tawse, which is sort of like two Dragon Tails stuck together, but for some reason neither of us tend to go for that one as often? It’s great for a student/teacher scene or something, though, and looks cool as heck.

Scandal Bull Whip

I gave this to Damien for their birthday in 2019. Before we got the Dragon Tail above, this was the go-to for welts and stinging. (Also the handle of a plastic cat toy, which we used for years for the same purpose, but it broke so we got rid of it. Please use pervertables responsibly.) It is harder to control than the Dragon Tail; the top should always have eye protection when using a whip, and should practice on an inanimate object like a pillow before using it on a human being.

I don’t reach for this one as much as the Dragon Tail anymore, but it’s one that Damien reaches for a lot. Aside from, I assume, feeling like Indiana Jones, they actually seem to like that it’s more challenging than the other whip, and it’s really pretty! It’s also a bit meaner than the Dragon Tail, since there’s no capacity for a slow build. SMACK, ouch. It leaves pretty little welts as well, but I can’t take nearly as many blows from this whip!

Also one time they popped a zit on my ass with this whip which is still a point of pride on their part.

And finally, the actual meanest toy in my collection:

$3 Wooden Spoon

Here’s another one I won’t be linking to, but we use it a lot. Of all the toys here, including the bull whip, this is without a doubt the meanest one. It feels somewhere between stingy and slappy, but is one of the only toys that’s ever managed to leave bruises, and I couldn’t sit down for days. I can’t take many strikes with it, and usually end up whining just a smack or two in. This is the toy I go to if I need a good cry, or if I just want to see how long I can endure pain.

And like…seriously, we got it from the kitchen aisle at Walmart. It was $3. We could use it to make cookies, but we don’t. We keep it with our kink stuff, for spanking use only.

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