Bondage cuffs are restraints designed for use in sexual bondage situations. Compared to conventional handcuffs, they are wide wrist and ankle restraints generally made of leather, often padded with soft leather or fake fur. Bondage cuffs may be fastened at the wrists and/or ankles by a locking mechanism, by a buckle, or by velcro. They are secured around the wrist or ankle, and the cuffs may then be attached to each other or to another object. They may be fitted with D-ring attachments or buckles to which nylon webbing, chain, or another restraining strap may be attached. The straps may have a loop mechanism to allow the tightening of the straps. Bondage cuffs are typically secured to each wrist and ankle, and to each other and other objects depending on the needs of each play.
Hogtie, frogtie, and spreader bars
A set of cuffs may be used to create a hogtie, and a pair of ankle cuffs can be used together with thigh-width straps to create a frogtie. They are typically used in conjunction with other bondage equipment, such as leg spreader bars. The cuff is the attachment point; the rest of the kit decides whether the body is folded, opened, or locked to a bed, a frame, or another person. Wrist pairs, ankle pairs, and the hardware between them are how most bedroom and dungeon restraint actually happens.
Safety versus steel handcuffs
Bondage cuffs are designed to be safer than conventional handcuffs. Unlike bondage cuffs, the primary design goals of handcuffs are not comfort and safety, but immobilization and prevention of escape, and they are not padded to try to reduce the risk of nerve damage and other injuries. Nevertheless, as with all restraint devices, it is still possible for the use of bondage cuffs to cause serious injuries if misused or not monitored carefully. Ordinary bondage cuffs are not designed to be safe when used to carry any significant load. Suspension cuffs are a specialized form of bondage cuffs, designed to be used to suspend the body during suspension bondage. Related hardware includes bondage collars, bondage positions and methods, BDSM harnesses, gags, legcuffs, testicle cuffs, and thumbcuffs. For restraint play the rule is simple: padded leather or fur-lined cuffs for negotiated sex, steel cuffs only if you accept police-grade risk, and a different cuff entirely if the body is going off the ground.
