Some sex toys speak for themselves, and perhaps one of them is the Ouch! Handcuffs. That doesn’t mean they don’t deserve a sex toy review; But I mean, they are just another set of handcuffs, right? Actually no.

We’ve tested a number of bondage restraints over the years and when it comes to handcuffs it’s often difficult to find the ones that work for your mood. Steel cuffs can be a little harsh, and all that covering them in faux fur does is to make them fiddly to use and look a bit daft. Often you need something in the middle, not too hardcore but a set of cuffs that will stand up to some reasonable strain.

The Ouch! Handcuffs consist of two loops of thick, braided synthetic strands connected by metals rings that include a cast central section with the Ouch! name, naked lady logo and the words “For pure sexy spanking”. Two of the rings have spring-loaded catches allowing each of the rope cuffs to be easily removed and attached. When closed these loops are smooth so will not easily catch on skin and don’t require a key to release them.

I’m pretty impressed by the practicality and build quality of these cuffs. The broad, braided loops that restrain the wrists (or ankles) of the submissive partner are reasonably comfortable until you start pulling them about, at which point they can feel a little coarse. This means you are able to gently restrain, or if the mood in the bedroom demands it apply a little gentle coercion by simply guiding your slave with the cuffs. Don’t over-do it though, synthetic fibres can mark skin and burn skin if used too harshly.

When used in the bedroom these cuffs stand up to all the demands we placed upon them, gentle but firm manipulation of the submissive partner (Suze) was easy. So long as you don’t cause the cuffs to slide quickly around their respective limbs you can exercise control without the risk of damaging skin. The series of rings between the cuffs allow you to grab them easily during play to guide your partner in a way that a pair of normal Smith and Wesson style cuffs with a short chain can’t.

So long as the submissive partner doesn’t pull too hard on these cuffs you could use rope or some other means to tie them to the bed. However the cuffs do have a limit. While the soft wrist sections would probably be strong enough to tow a small car (don’t try it please!) the interconnecting rings do spread if you pull the cuffs apart hard enough. This does not damaged the rings with the spring catch in them but the other rings begin to open up which could lead to an unexpected failure of the cuffs – the moral? Don’t use them for any sort of play like suspension where you’d be relying on them to support your partner. To be fair, this applies to a lot of cuff designs and you really have to apply a lot of force to make the rings spread but I have to mention it for completeness.

This is a really useful set of cuffs for adventurous lovers. There are going to be a lot of couples wanting to explore bondage in the bedroom because of the 50 Shades Of Grey series of books and I can see these cuffs working well for them. They are not a set of expensive and scary shackles, nor are they the sort of badly made and uncomfortable faux cuffs sold to stag and hen parties as novelty items. You can have a lot of fun with these restraints, especially if you combine them with a little spanking … Ouch!