Hot Octopuss—who made the JETT vibrator (which was one of my favourite toys of 2021) and PleX Plug—have recently launched a new collection of BDSM and kink toys, and reached out to me to see if I’d be interested in reviewing any. There’s a really good variety on offer, from impact toys to restraints and sensation toys. With the exception of some stainless steel only toys—like the Pinwheel Set I’m reviewing here, a stainless steel collar, some anal plugs, and some steel nipple clamps—the collection is real leather. Products I’ve had similar to and of similar quality to the blindfold, spike collar, and leash have lasted five years so far, and aren’t showing any sign of wear and tear.
I chose two items from this collection— the Pinwheel Set, as I loved the presentation and uniqueness of having multiple heads for the same handle, and the Leather Riding Crop, as I wanted to review the most budget friendly toy from the collection.
Leather Riding Crop
As I mentioned, the Hot Octopuss Leather Riding Crop is the most affordable item in Hot Octopuss’ BDSM collection, and with some digging through my sex toy/kink gear spreadsheets, I realised it may actually be the cheapest impact toy I own! At £12.95, it’s extremely affordable, and it’s honestly nicer than some of the slightly more expensive crops I own. It’s quite a long crop at just over 26 inches from end to end, with a handle wrapped in incredibly soft leather (I want clothing made out of that leather so bad, it’s so soft and lovely), with the end made of a thicker, rougher piece of leather folded into two. While quite a square shape at the fold, it tapers towards the stem, which is sewn into place. As a whole, it feels a lot more sturdy and better made than a lot of other crops I’ve seen at the same price point—the stem is sewn into the end rather than just glued and the leather wrapped handle is a lot more comfortable than just a plastic one. It doesn’t have a strong leather scent, which while unfortunate for a leather fetishist like me does mean that it may feel
The end of this crop is a lot wider than the other crops I’ve had—about two inches at the widest point—and I didn’t realise what a difference that would make until I lined up the Hot Octopuss crop with all my other crops. The sound it makes is very dramatic, both satisfying as a top and nerve wracking as a bottom. It also means that the sensation is a lot thuddier than other crops have been, which tend to be more intense and stingy. I am very much a thuddy over stingy bottom, and while I tend to pick paddles and batons when bottoming specifically for that reason, I do love the aesthetic of a riding crop. It’s a very classic dominatrix vibe that really works for me. That, or getting bullied at horse riding camp when I was a child did a number on my psyche that I don’t wish to examine. Either way, I love a riding crop vibes-wise, but much prefer thuddier and broader pain, which the Hot Octopuss crop is much better at. It does come with a couple of caveats—I wish the thuddier pain came with a bit more intensity, and it’s not as suitable for direct genital spanking as crops with a smaller surface area—but I’m alright with those caveats. Plus, the less intense pain thing works really well for my partner, who is not as heavy a masochist as I am.
I would generally describe the Hot Octopuss Leather Riding Crop as a really good beginner’s impact toy. I know that phrase is often used to mean ‘oh it’s not great quality’, but I promise I don’t mean it that way! What I mean is that it’s at an approachable price point, is very well made for being at that price point, and has a very dramatic sound and feel to it without actually doing a huge amount of damage, which I can see reassuring both nervous new tops and anxious new bottoms. I would also recommend it to people who are into D/s over SM, looking for a kind of impact toy that heightens a powerplay dynamic without causing severe pain.
My one bone to pick with the Hot Octopuss Leather Riding Crop is the stem. It’s wrapped in tape, and while I do prefer this to it having just a plain plastic rod—which the affordable beginners crops I picked up when I first started exploring BDSM did—I would definitely have preferred another kind of wrapping. I do acknowledge this would drive up the price point (especially if the wrapping was leather) so I am on the fence about this critique. However, I can’t deny I would personally like it just a little bit more if the stem was covered in fabric of some kind.
That said, overall I’m really impressed with the Hot Octopuss Leather Riding Crop. And I think it’s doubly great at it’s price point—when I asked my partner to guess how much it was, she estimated about double the price! If you know you prefer intense and stingy crops, it’s not for you, but I think it’s a really great impact toy for people new to kink and/or those who love the aesthetic and vibe of a riding crop while preferring a less intense sensation!
Pinwheel Set
I love pinwheels— the first kink toy I ever actually bought was a pinwheel! Originally developed for the medical field (where they were used to test nerve sensitivity), pinwheels (also known as Wartenberg wheels) found their way into the BDSM world, where they’re used for sensation play.
My favourite way to use pinwheels is for slower sensation play. They may look painful—and you can draw blood with them if you press down with enough pressure—they can also be used for more gentle sensation play. I’m a chronic nail-biter and don’t really have the nails to gently run over somebody’s skin, and I find with very gentle pressure, pinwheels can substitute in for them. As a bottom/masochist, I also love the way a pinwheel gently drawn across my skin makes me shiver a little, the little rush of dread and excitement I get not knowing where the pinwheel will be drawn over my skin, and I especially love having a pinwheel used on my butt after a paddling.
As well as the classic single wheel pinwheel, there’s a number of pinwheels that come with multiple spiked wheels. I generally don’t find there to be too much difference in what the sensation is when I play with a three-wheeled pinwheel versus a single-wheeled one, except when it comes to intensity. The Hot Octopuss 4 Piece Pinwheel Set has a lot to play around with when it comes to intensity, with four different sized pinwheel heads that all screw onto a single handle, packaged in a leather-look carrying case.
To be up front, I think the Hot Octopuss 4 Piece Pinwheel Set is a piece of gear to get if you already know you like the sensation of pinwheels, and want to experiment with intensity. £59.95 is a fair price for the set, but I also acknowledge it’s a lot of money to gamble if you don’t know if you like pinwheels, especially since there’s not a huge difference in the actual experience of using different sizes.
But if you know you like pinwheels, it’s a really good set! The rolling mechanism of each head works really well, and I really like the ‘guard’ on the back of the each wheel.
I was initially a bit worried that it would prevent me from using the wheels at some angles but I haven’t found this to be the case in practice, whereas I have actually accidentally stabbed myself while using a non-guarded pinwheel on a partner. Switching out heads does take longer than simply switching between pinwheels would, but it’s a simple enough process that I haven’t found it interrupts the flow of a scene. There’s even the possibility of playing around with the length of time, slowing the process and making a bottom wonder which pinwheel head they’re about to experience.
My one bugbear with the Hot Octopuss 4 Piece Pinwheel Set is the handle. It’s completely rounded and untextured and this is… mostly fine? But I find that if my hands are lube-y or sweaty, I can find gripping it a little more difficult. This isn’t the absolute end of the world, and I’m not going to unrecommend the pinwheel set because of it, but if Hot Octopuss did make a change to a flatter or more textured handle, I would appreciate that immensely.
Buy the Hot Octopuss Riding Crop for £12.95 or 4 Piece Pinwheel Set for £59.95
These products were sent to me by Hot Octopuss, in exchange for a fair and impartial review. Affiliate links were used in this post.
