3 Best BDSM Floggers, Reviewed by a BDSM Educator

My favorite BDSM flogger I’ve ever had the pleasure of using is the Stockroom 18″ Basic Leather Flogger. Brilliantly crafted by world-famous experts in everything to do with kink, it’s the most arousing, exciting, and fun spanking toy ever. Made from high-grade leather and designed to be both safe and versatile, it’s great for novices or experienced flogging enthusiasts alike. It’s a must-own BDSM toy you and those you play with will enjoy for a long time.

Why You Should Trust Us

Hi, I am M.Christian and BDSM floggers and I go way back. I bought my first one in the early 1990s and my most recent one just last year. But no matter which one I use, it’s amazing how intense yet sensual they feel. In the hands of a BDSM whip master, a flogger can deliver anything from a powerfully deep thud to a light, almost caressing touch.

My extensive experience with floggers and many other kinky sex toys makes me perfectly qualified to write this guide to the ten best floggers, especially because of what makes a great product and the hundreds of different ways they can be used.

How We Picked The Products

I put a lot of care and a considerable amount of thought into choosing the best BDSM toys. Floggers are no exception, but choosing these ten superlative BDSM whips was challenging. Many fantastic models are available today, often made by kink community professionals like Bondage Boutique.

Of tremendous help were my carefully worked-out test criteria that we could measure on a scale from 0 to 100. Combined with my team of dedicated BDSM sex toy testers, each made creating this list much easier.

• Manufacturer: Floggers are one of those BDSM whips that dish out and take a lot of punishment. Because they are swung many times and frequently with a lot of vigor, they must be excellently made. Poorly crafted BDSM gear can also be unwieldy; the worst of them are so hard to control that their strands might land where they shouldn’t. They could injure the person swinging it and whoever’s on the receiving end if they are especially tough to use. A Sportsheets saffron or any flogger from Bondage Boutique will serve you well on your BDSM journey.
• Materials: Right along with floggers needing to be manufactured well is what they’re made of. It doesn’t matter if it’s leather or faux leather, latex, rubber, silicone, or made of softer materials. They must be the right stuff or can be uncomfortable, irritable, or unpleasant.
• Design: Simple though they may appear, it can be extremely challenging to engineer one that’s the right length, with strands of the right width, perfectly balanced, and with a wrist loop. It’s why you should buy your floggers from BDSM community-recognized makers. It’s not just a stand of quality, but you’ll also know your whip was crafted by someone who understands what they’re all about.
• Safety: A major part of designing and manufacturing a great whip is making it as safe as possible. It may sound weird to say it, but BDSM whips and floggers shouldn’t be made to injure a recipient. Bruising, welts, and such are okay, but that’s about it. Safety is why these ten whips made it onto my list. However, using them correctly is also important, intending to reduce harm and maximize pleasure.
• Versatility: While many gears are created for a single BDSM activity, others are built to impact more than one body part or different kink play styles, like punishment play. I didn’t take points away from solitary-use floggers but did give a bonus or two to the more versatile whips.

I started my selection process with the current top-selling floggers. Using the above criteria, I winnowed them down to just twenty-five contenders. Next, I sent them to my test of BDSM sex toy testers, whose feedback helped me knock them down to fifteen potential candidates.

During testing, we rated each test criterion on a percentage scale from 0% (Worst) to 100% (Best). We then calculated the overall score using different weighted metrics depending on the importance of the test criteria. Half the total rating comes from Manufacturer (25%) and Safety Quality (25%). After that comes Design (10%), Materials (10%), and Versatility (5%).

Lastly, I consulted with many BDSM experts and sexologists before checking out what the Internet had to say about each of my top picks. Putting all this together gave me this list of this year’s best BDSM floggers.

Everything We Tested

In this chapter, you can see a comparison table with all the products we tested. As you can see, each row has the test criteria our team used during the testing. To make our testing process even more transparent, we also included the raw test data so you can see how the products performed with each test criterion.

1. The Stockroom 18-Inch Leather: Overall Test Winner!

Why We Love The Stockroom’s Eighteen-Inch:

The masters of everything BDSM are at it again with their astonishingly great and thoroughly exciting Eighteen Inch Suede Flogger, which we crowned as the best BDSM flogger. The main difference between this product and all the other review samples is that this one is built from super-high quality leather. Buttery smooth, tough enough to handle anything, balanced perfectly, the team reported that it’s a masterpiece of kink craftsmanship.

Sex floggers are hard to make, and great ones are much tougher. But everything the Stockroom creates, especially their Eighteen Inch model, demonstrates that great isn’t good enough for them. Instead, they always go above and beyond, adding extra care and craftsmanship as with this elegantly supple flogger.

As gorgeous as it is durable, this perfectly designed and professionally manufactured flogger can’t be beaten regarding pleasure, power, control, and versatility. Setting it apart from others is the care The Stockroom put into making its Eighteen Inch model ideally suited for a huge range of different play styles.

From light and sensual to firm and intense, it can do it all and then some.  All the better because this flogger is extremely comfortable to swing, allowing it to be used for longer and with greater force than other less-well-made whips. It’s one of those BDSM toys we highly recommend everyone get at least one of.

Minor Issues We Found During Testing:

Not really a criticism, as The Stockroom’s 18″ Basic Leather Flogger is a totally, completely, absolutely great impact play toy, but my partner and I both felt its thirty-two falls could have been a bit wider and thicker. Again, I’m not taking any points away from it or the brand, as it’s really just a matter of preference.

You can read my full review of The Stockroom 18″ Basic Leather Flogger here.

Features:

• Material: Leather
• Measurements: Falls are 12″. The rigid handle is 5.5″. The wrist strap is 8″ from end to end.
• Color: Black

Pros:

• Made from high-grade, natural leather.
• Boasts thirty-two, foot-long, relatively narrow falls.
• Solidly built, perfectly balanced, and super fun to use.

Cons:

• It may not appeal to people who prefer heavy impact play toys.
• $75 puts it more than slightly on the expensive side.
• Its falls could be a little longer, as twelve inches can be challenging to control.

View On Stockroom

2. Sportsheets Saffron: Our Budget Pick!

Why we love Sportsheets Saffron:

We picked the Sportsheets Saffron Flogger as our budget pick primarily because it had the best balance of durability, construction, and consistent performance of the products we tested in the budget segment. Many manufacturers in this segment cut corners with weak attachment points, poor balance, or material that wears out quickly. Not the Saffron though.

Build quality was the primary reason it earned this spot. The team reported that the metal handle was weighty and well-balanced, making it easy to control the swing and land the strikes exactly where you want them. They also appreciated that the falls are securely fastened with metal studs and stayed bundled together during use. Some other cheaper models splayed unpredictably.

The falls themselves were another key factor. As you can see in the image above, they are long, thin, and flexible, which we found produced a light and sharp sensation. This may not be appealing for kinksters who are looking for deep and thuddy impact. However, people who want something for warm-up play and sensation play will like the Saffron.

Materials also played an important role in its selection. The Saffron flogger is made of vegan-friendly material, which makes it a good option for people who don’t like leather. My colleagues said that the polyurethane falls held up quite well even during extended sessions. On top of that, the nickel handle showed no signs of loosening. This contributed heavily to the overall score.

Minor Issues We Found During Testing:

While my partner and I are not fans of floggers with thinner, non-natural falls, we respect the brand’s dedication to selling or creating top-notch BDSM gear. Sure, their Sportsheets Saffron Flogger may not be something we would have picked up, but if you DO like impact toys that deliver a lighter, more stingy sensations, then this might be the toy you have been waiting for.

You can read my full Sportsheets Saffron Flogger review here.

Features:

• Material: Polyurethane, Nylon, Nickel
• Measurements: In Total, The Flogger Is Twenty-Three Inches Long, Seventeen Of Which Are Its Dual Colored Falls. Each Fall Is About A Quarter Inch Wide And Less Than A Sixteenth Of An Inch Thick. Its Round Metal Handle Is Just Shy Of Six Inches Long And One Inch In Diameter. The Falls Seem To Be Secured To The Handle Via Four, Rounded Metal Studs. At The End Of The Flogger Is A Handy Loop, A Little Over Seven And A Half Inches In Length, And A Quarter Inch Wide
• Color: Red And Black

Pros:

• Crafted from vegan-friendly, non-natural materials.
• Solidly constructed to deliver maximum pleasure with minimal effort.
• Its red and black falls and smooth steel handle give it an elegant, fetish-fantastic appeal.

Cons:

• Some may prefer models with thicker, heavier falls.
• It may not appeal to leather flogger fans.
• Likely will require a fair amount of time to get used to how it feels to swing and be impacted by.

View On Stockroom

View On Shevibe.com

3. Bondage Boutique Advanced: Beginner-Friendly!

Why we love Bondage Boutique Advanced Extra Long:

The Bondage Boutique Advanced Extra Long Suede Flogger removes the two largest hurdles for newbies: the fear of hitting too hard and the difficulty of controlling the swings. This well-made product solved these issues beautifully. During testing, it consistently delivered light sensations even when the team swung it with force. This feature makes it less intimidating than heavier models.

The biggest reason this flogger works so well for beginners is the falls. As you can see in the image below, the falls on this model are long, thin, and very light. This combination produces soft and sensual impacts rather than sharp and heavy strikes. This makes it almost impossible to accidentally hurt someone, even if you still haven’t perfected your technique. One tester pointed out that the learning curve is much gentler with this one because newbies can focus on rhythm and communication instead of worrying about control.

Material choice also played an important role. “The suede leather is both supple and flexible, which I felt contributed to a softer sensation,” our lead product tester Tim Larson wrote in his test report. “During testing, I noted that the falls flowed smoothly through the air instead of snapping or wrapping unpredictably,” he added. That predictability matters for beginners because wrapping is one of the most common causes of pain during impact play.

Balance and handling further supported its beginner-friendly nature. The team found that the handle was lightweight and easy to grip. On top of that, they found that the overall balance made it simple to aim the strikes without overthinking (which is common with many other floggers). That ease of handling reduces fatigue and makes longer sessions more comfortable, especially when you are learning the proper technique.

Minor Issues We Found During Testing:

My partner and I may both feel the Bondage Boutique Advanced Extra Long Suede Flogger is far too light and, for lack of a better word, “fluffy” for our kinky desires that might hit you in all the right, and very sexy, places. Even so, I wish the handle weren’t suede wrapped, as after swinging for a while, I found it more-than-slightly uncomfortable. Far better would have been to use thicker leather, like the material used for its sling, but when all’s said and done, the Bondage Boutique Advanced Extra Long Suede Flogger is still a well-made impact play toy.

You can read my complete Bondage Boutique Advanced Extra Long Suede Flogger review here.

Features:

• Material: Suede Leather, Metal Grommets
• Measurements: It Is Approximately Twenty-Five Inches From The Tip Of Its Falls To Its Leather-Loop Strap. Of These, The Falls Are 13.5 Inches, The Handle Is 6.5 Inches, And The Strap Is 5 Inches. Each Fall Seems To Be About 16 Inches Across, With The Handle Clocking In At 1 Inch In Diameter. Meanwhile, The Leather Strap Is About Half An Inch Wide. Each Of The Nine Semi-Spherical Grommets Is About A Quarter Inch Across.
• Color: Black And Silver

Pros:

• Made of supple, sensual suede.
• It was a good number of fairly thin, light falls.
• Sturdy enough for all sorts of impact play scenes.

Cons:

• It might be too soft and gentle for those who prefer heavier, thuddier toys.
• The leather-wrapped handle can sometimes be uncomfortable to hold.
• Suede isn’t easy to care for compared to non-natural floggers.

View On Lovehoney

Other Good Alternatives

Next is something for those who want to pay extra for a premium product. Stockroom’s Sissoo Rosewood Long Handle Leather. Made from luxuriously sensual leather and fitted to a lavishly ornate rosewood handle, this one is a work of art. But looks aren’t everything, perfectly demonstrated by how it’s also a spectacularly intense flogger. A rarity among superior-quality models, it’s worth paying $160 for one. Equipped with an impressive 45 strands, it feels like being on the receiving end of a deep tissue massage. People lucky enough to be struck by this premium flogger’s multiple tails will praise its weight, power, and sensuality. Meanwhile, those fortunate to swing it will rave about its perfect balance and comfort.

KinkLab Electro Whip will pleasantly shock even the most extreme flogging fans. But in a good way, as only the mad geniuses at KinkLab could make a violet wand attachment as fun and tingly as this e-stim flogger. Fit it to one of their finely crafted, safe wands and watch the sparks fly! You can find more electrosex toys in this extensive guide.

Stockroom’s Elk Hide Flogger because sometimes more is better, and no flogger is as massive and massively intense as this one. Heavy but not hard on the swinger’s wrist or back, this Elk Hide model packs an arousing punch and will make your submissive’s buttocks twitch with happiness.

Stockroom’s Twenty-Inch Thong Whip is a beast of a BDSM metal flogger but in all the right and sexy ways. There are fierce floggers, and then there’s this metal-tipped monster. Think of it as the ultimate punishment, but so brilliantly crafted and perfectly designed to be more about excitement and less about injuring someone.

Gunmetal Flogger is the heaviest model I’ve ever seen–and I’ve seen plenty of chainmail BDSM whips. It’s a chain flogger that’ll strike fear into the hearts and buttocks of submissives everywhere. However, kinksters in extreme-impact play scenes will likely sit up and beg to be struck by this gunmetal flogger.

And One To Avoid

Of all the BDSM-related product reviews I’ve done, I can count on the fingers of one hand the ones I’ve given a two—let alone a single—star review. Enter The Fifty Shades of Grey Bound to You Faux Leather Small Flogger, which not only garnered that dubious honor, but if I could, I would have granted it a much more accurate zero. This product is poorly made, largely ineffective, and associated with an author who has perpetuated misleading and potentially harmful information regarding BDSM and kink practices. It is not recommended for purchase.

Are BDSM Floggers Safe?

Yes. Floggers are safe when used correctly and only to impact someone’s butt [1]. Though some of these sex toys are designed to be used on the shoulders or other places, anything but the receiver’s posterior can lead to injury during impact play. Due to this, do not strike those areas with a great amount of force and only for a short amount of time.

But Why Should I Buy One?

Floggers can be tremendous fun to swing and be struck by. Unlike single-tail whips, floggers are known and loved for delivering a less sharp, not-as-intense impact which has been compared to receiving a deep massage during sensation play scenes. They can be used for punishment play with a dominant partner or sensation play.

Floggers are also a relatively safe BDSM toy, perfectly suited for experienced players and novices to enhance their sex lives. As floggers can be manufactured from a huge variety of materials, they can be gentle, firm, tough, or soft. They can be made from real leather or faux leather, rubber, plastic, or metal chains for when you want an extra sting.

Floggers, more often than not, are safer than single-tail whips or riding crops because they tend not to break the skin. Another common feature is a leather wrist loop and a sturdy handle. But if you prefer riding crops for a little more sense of danger, please check our review of the best BDSM crop.

How To Use A BDSM Flogger?

It is not particularly difficult to safely swing a flogger. But before you do any swinging, let alone impacting, you must thoroughly negotiate how you and your partner want to use it. For example, where both of you agree your flogger will impact, for how long, establishing safe words, limits, red flags, and more.

That’s insufficient because everyone must understand, accept, and consent to proceed. If you or your partner haven’t done a whipping scene before, I suggest keeping it brief with a lot of communication before, during, and after. You can always play for longer lengths of time or with greater intensity after getting used to how flogging feels. And always use a safe word.

Don’t forget that leather floggers can be somewhat sneaky. I’m referring to how the receiver’s butt may get numb after being repeatedly struck by one. It can sometimes result in the receiving person not realizing they might develop a deep and long-lasting bruise. It’s why you should examine your partner’s butt now and again. At first, it may be red but tender, perhaps with some welts if it’s more intense.

Depending on the whip, the person getting smacked by it, or how hard it’s swung, the receiver’s butt may feel like leather. Don’t worry; it isn’t permanent but might indicate further impacts could result in bruising. Time and experience will help you understand how much your play partner or yourself can take and how either of your bodies may react to a flogging. Regarding the good stuff, floggers are well worth the time and practice.

Unless a flogger is specifically made to be used on different body areas, only use it on the butt during impact play or sensation play scenes. Even so, take care not to strike the base of the spine, which can be dangerous and painful. Even a mini flogger or something on the lighter side, like other models from Bondage Boutique, can be risky when used irresponsibly.

When swinging a flogger, strive to have its falls hit flat against the receiver’s butt, like when using a spanking paddle. If swung incorrectly, the strands will curl around their curves and cause an unpleasant stinging sensation. And if unnecessary pain isn’t your cup of tea, check out these best spanking paddles, which may be a better fit for you.

The most effective and pleasurable method for wielding a whip is to impact the same area repeatedly before gradually moving to other parts of the butt. This technique lets the receiver get used to how it feels and build up their endorphins.

Pro Tip: You can also slap on a spanking skirt to take the pleasure of teasing to the next level. Here are some of the best spanking skirts to choose from. And if you have the budget for it, we also recommend a spanking bench.

However, it also means the flogging person must repeatedly swing, not once or twice. It shouldn’t be difficult if one of these sex toys is well-made and perfectly balanced. Still, they must find a comfortable position that won’t strain their wrists, shoulders, or back or give them a stiff neck. Floggers also must be equipped with a sturdy wrist loop to be safe.

Primary Sources

1. TheCenterForGrowth. Flogging 101: Where and How to Flog

2. SubmissiveGuide. Getting Started with Flogging

3. SmartDATE. How to Use a Flogger—Useful Tips to Spice up Your BDSM Scenes (July 2020)

M.Christian

M.Christian loves nothing better than exploring the intersections of sex and technology. They regularly appear on sites like Kinkly, Tickle.Life, Sexpert, Queer Majority, Killing Kittens, Sex for Every Body, Future of Sex, and dozens more on topics like BDSM safety, sexual education, senior sexuality concerns, queer and gender issues, as well as reviewing numerous sextech products and adult entertainment sites.
Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Latest posts by M.Christian (see all)