Review: Rods by Rane Acrylic Rods

When Heather, Malignus and I were in Los Angeles, we attended an event called Bizarre Bazar. There were a bunch of vendors and lots of fun, kinky events. At the vendor fair, Heather picked out her first personal implement: a green, acrylic cane made by Rods by Rane, an implement seller local to California.

Photo from Rods by Rane’s site

The cane is very pretty, and it seems to vary intensities quite well. It’s also a good mid-length cane: a bit long for OTK, but easy to get locational accuracy and use in smaller spaces. Because it’s acrylic and not particularly long, it’s one of the most “stern” or rigid canes that we’ve used (aside from bamboo and thicker lexan canes). It has a deep, penetrating, straight-to-the-bone kind of cutting, thuddy pain when used with a lot of force. When the Top wants it to be, it can be one of more intimidating implements. When used lightly, it can be relaxingly percussive or fall into the area of “almost nice”.

Here’s a photo after 30 strokes I received from Malignus:

The bruise on the left was caused by a paddling I received the day before.

As my good friend Maddy can attest, (since she has a rod from them as well, affectionately known as “the blue thing”) these canes are killer when used on thighs.

Heather’s original cane broke when Malignus was giving me a beating with it, but when I emailed Rane about it, he was extremely personable and friendly. He sent a replacement piece, along with a thin, more flexible, stingy cane in pink acrylic to make up for the trouble. The thinner cane is ridiculously stingy. It takes minimal effort for a Top to snap it back and forth in a way that makes it look like little is happening, but feels like you are being stung by a lot of bees.

Photo from Rods by Rane’s Site

We used the green cane in our St. Patrick’s day caning video. I’d absolutely recommend the 1/2 inch canes for anyone who wants a nice, mid length, versatile acrylic cane. The color selection is great and you can find ones that fit various holidays or themes like we did in the video. The thinner, 3/8 inch cane needs to be used properly to be effective: using it like a heavier cane or with too much momentum would probably cause it to break. It doesn’t require much effort or force, but would be ideal for Tops with finesse in their spanking style.

Rods by Rane’s site also sells acrylic bundles to be used for sensation play and spiral canes. I’ve seen these “Unicorn Horn” style canes a few places and I’ve been curious about them, but I’ve yet to give them a try. They’re very pretty to look at, though! It’s a very specialized store: they only sell pieces made of acrylic and they only sell rods/canes/bundles. No paddles in their line up. It’s not exactly one-stop-shopping for all your beating needs, but if you’re looking for what they offer, it’s definitely a place to check out.