The Tantus Beginner’s Ballgag is a silicone gag with a unique shape. Rather than the traditional ‘ball’, it’s a plug or pacifier shape, which fits farther back in the mouth. Because the shape does resemble a pacifier so much, it could be worked into a scene with a ‘little’ if you are into age play. The ‘ball’ part of the plug is 2.5 inches long, and sits back in the mouth, but no so far back that you need to worry about your gag reflex being triggered unless it’s super sensitive. The silicone plug is attached to the leather straps by snaps that pass through holes on the side of the plug. These can be removed for cleaning, although the snaps do take some vigorous wiggling to get through the holes. The gag fastens with Velcro, rather than the traditional buckle closure, so you can more easily release your partner if needed. You could also switch the straps out with another pair if you prefer your gags to be less easily escape-able, which is what I am planning on doing, as I found that Velcro caught on my hair and pulled in an annoying way.
The gag feels quite comfortable during use, even with my hair getting caught a few times. The ball part of the gag measures 1.6 inches across, and doesn’t bother my mouth or jaw, even with extended wearing. The last male sub I had in this gag didn’t have any complaints about the fit either, or at least none I could understand… Where the plug tapers down to the base is where the teeth naturally want to sit, and the silicone is dense enough that biting doesn’t seem to affect it. I know I’ve bitten down hard on my gag several times during some scenes, and I can’t see a single mark on it. The base of the plug sits against the lips, and mostly covers them, although this will vary from person to person. I can spit the gag out if I *really* work hard at it, but it isn’t easy to do, so no worries if your submissive is a bit bratty. They’re going to be stuck in the gag until you decide to let them go. With the Beginner Ball Gag, there will also be drooling issues unless they manage to keep their heads back and somehow swallow around the ball every few minutes. Their protests at this indignity are going to be muffled as an added bonus. You should also have a non-verbal safe-word to stop the scene if your partner is unable to make themselves clearly understood, such as dropping something loud like a set of keys.
The care and feeding of your Tantus gag is as follows: for the silicone bit, you can boil it for three minutes, season lightly with the herbs of your choice and have a delicious gag soup. Well, ok, maybe not. But boiling it will kill any germs you or your partner(s) have left on it. Another disinfecting option is to wipe it down with a 10% bleach solution. Please, for the love of Cthulhu, let the bleach dry and maybe give it a rinse before putting this in your partner’s mouth! For the leather straps, you can wipe them down with a damp cloth, then let them dry. There are also leather cleaning products you can use to clean them with, such as Saddle Soap. However, these won’t totally sterilize the leather, so it’s something to consider before using this gag with multiple partners if you are worried about any kind of bodily fluid sharing.
I adore my gag, and it’s a something that always gets packed into my Bag O’Evil that I take to play parties when I am in a Domme-y mood. The only thing I would change about it would be to offer it with the option of buckling straps versus Velcro, but that’s it! It’s a great first gag, and definitely worth splurging on. I give it five paws up out of five!
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