Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review

8 out of 10
Price:
£90.00
Brand:
Liberator
Shop:
SheVibe
Materials:
Foam

Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review

By Louise Lace

I was thrilled to be selected to review one of the special collection of Liberator items that Cara had available to VIP reviewers on her sex toy tester program. The list was amazing and it was hard to choose. I passed up a variety of goodies including sex toy holding support cushions, a fluid proof blanket (which I am sure I will regret at some stage), then there was the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar – which is what I opted for in the end after much to-ing and fro-ing.

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Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review Official Pic

Funnily enough Cara had already thought that I would choose the Liberator Talea – she really does get to know her reviewers personalities, likes and dislikes. I cant thank Cara, the contributing companies and the sex toy testing community enough for giving me the opportunity to review such fabulous, high quality items free of charge in return for my honest thoughts and opinions.

Around a week later my parcel arrived. I had been supplied with a tracking number which meant that I was able to trace my parcel every step of the way and was ready and waiting with a big smile on my face, when delivery driver Ben dropped off my parcel. There was a huge delivery note stuck to the top of the box with sender and receiver details along with other import/export data but nowhere visible on the paperwork did it state what the box contained.

The Liberator Talea Spreader Bar box itself was about the size of a box of copier paper. Quite small for a spreader bar was my initial thought; it would barely separate my legs more than hip width if it was as wide as the box. My fears were unwarranted though, as upon opening the box I was greeted with a ‘Vacuum Compressed’ notice informing me that my product would ‘expand to full size upon opening’. A memory foam sex aid – wow, that is definitely a first for me!

Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review | Liberator Spreader Bar Reviews

The design of the box is rather masculine: mainly black with either ‘Liberator’ or ‘Bedroom Adventure Gear’ printed in a bold white font. There is a lift flap portion which features a picture of the product in use by a lingerie clad lady which for me makes the box unsuitable for future storage – but as the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar is going to expand upon opening I’m assuming the box isn’t going to be big enough anyway. The underside of the lift flap gives details of the product; the size, materials used and a variety of suggested positions to use the spreader bar in. Liberator have named these positions as;

Thick as Thieves
Carnal Clutch
Sunday Driver
Pull Out Patrol
The Mouse Trap

Nope… I hadn’t heard of those positions either but thankfully there are some helpful diagrams to help decipher who and what goes where, I took a quick picture of the box on my phone for later as it would be discarded once the Talea Spreader Bar had expanded and there isn’t a printout sheet included in the box – this would be a helpful addition, Liberator.

Inside the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar box there are two information leaflets, one which contains a photograph of the lady on the box in another of the suggested positions and on the reverse basic assembly instructions. The second was another set of the same instructions in multiple languages but contained more information on why the item is vacuum packed… *doffs hat* to Liberator for caring about their carbon footprint. I did note that neither of these instruction sheets included information on how to use the straps and cuffs contained within the pack, but I’m sure they will be self explanatory… I hope.

Disappointingly, when I opened the box the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar didn’t shoot out of the box like a Jack-in-the-Box, which is what I had imagined when I read the ‘expands to full size upon opening’ notice. The Liberator Talea Spreader Bar actually requires a little manual assembly which only takes a few minutes.

The box contains the following parts;

Faux Leather Cover
Contoured Foam Bolster
High Impact PVC rod
Wrist and Ankle Cuffs and Connectors
Green storage bag for connectors and straps

The contoured foam bolster expands once removed from its zip bag which doubles up as a storage bag for the straps and connectors. It’s a shame it’s green in colour; black would have been my preferred colour for a storage bag. As described it does just take a few minutes to reach its full size of 30 inch length x 5 inch diameter. The foam is placed in the faux leather cover and the 3 part high impact bar screws together and fits in the centre of the foam. Zip the cover up and attach the cuffs to each end using the side release buckle connectors and straps. All rather simple.

I’m not going to lie, both hubby and I were confused over the connectors and straps. Unfortunately the instructions didn’t elaborate past the assembly of the cushion. After a few different combinations we felt a little more clued up but I would definitely recommend you familiarise yourself with the combinations available before you start playing with the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar.

One half of the plastic buckle connectors and 2 plastic D-rings – hubby and I didn’t know which bits we were supposed to connect to the D-rings, are permanently attached to the ends of the spreader bar, sadly this means that you can’t just chuck the bolster on the sofa or bed as an extra cushion when not in use. I was beginning to wonder how and where I am going to store the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar, its a rather mighty piece of kit!

Both the wrist and the ankle cuffs are made from a super soft velvet material with velcro fastenings, I have very slim wrists but was able to wrap the excess material round and still have enough velcro available to fasten it securely. The size range for the cuffs is vast so would suit both male and females of all builds. The cuffs feel very nice against the skin and didn’t leave any marks once removed but the material does attract fluff and dust. There is a discreet Liberator logo tab on each cuff which is also a little masculine due to the font but doesn’t distract from the overall look and feel of the items. There are no washing instructions and due to the attached plastic buckle I would suggest sponge clean only to be on the safe side.

Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review | Liberator Spreader Bar Reviews

The Liberator Talea Spreader Bar, whilst similar in style to a traditional spreader bar, has bolster cushioning which doesn’t immediately scream BDSM so I didn’t find it intimidating in the slightest. It feels cool and smooth to the touch and the cushion is firm but moulds easily to your body. I find metal pole with cuffs style spreader bars offer up a harder, more domineering style of play. I love it when my hubby uses the bar of an ankle spreader to flip me over from front to back with a quick flick of his wrist. This wasn’t going to be possible with the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar due to the bolster cushion, but I was hopeful it will offer an alternative experience when being restrained. I guessed I’d find out throughout the testing process.

Speaking of which… hubby and I began our Liberator Talea Spreader Bar review with an upright version of the Mouse Trap position. I often find myself kneeling in front of my hubby when giving him oral and weirdly this hurts the back of my knees rather than the part resting on the floor. From the diagrams on the box we thought the Mouse Trap position, where the cushion sits behind the knee with the arms leaning back, wrists cuffed and the ankle cuffs with the extension connector attached ensured that I was secure in my position with my legs supported by the cushion, thus alleviating the pain I usually endure in my knees. By positioning the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar behind your knees you can either kneel up, pop another cushion under your knees if you are on a hard surface, or lay on your stomach as pictured on the box.

The restraints felt very secure but I was reassured to know they could be loosened in a second by my hubby by either squeezing the clasp or pulling the velcro if needed. At no point during the session did I feel the internal PVC rod; the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar felt really comfortable and it sprang straight back to its original shape instantly after use. So far so good for the Liberator Talea. The Mouse Trap is a position we will definitely use a lot.

Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review | Liberator Spreader Bar Reviews

Next play session, we took the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar up to the bedroom to give it a whirl on the bed. Once again I was the one to be restrained but I was sure hubby would get his turn at some point. We started with the cushion under my bum with both my wrists and ankles cuffed on the shortest connectors in the Thick as Thieves position. The length of the spreader bar ensured that I was restrained in a way which exposed me fully to my hubby, giving him easy access to all of my girlie bits. The cushion positioned in this manner tilted my pelvis upward a little at the same time as supporting my lower back. This was perfect for me to receive oral and for penetration – an additional cushion behind your head might offer extra support. It was another thumbs up from us.

Needing to straighten my legs a little, we continued with me laid down on my back, but with my wrists unfastened and my legs lifted by the cushion. This placed me in the Carnal Clutch position by holding the cushion to his chest. With me at the edge of the bed, hubby was able to stand and enter me, supporting my legs at the same time. Tiring a little, he hooked the cushion over his neck, the backs of my calves resting on his shoulders in the Sunday Dinner position. My knees were able to bend as he leaned forward over the top of me. This time the cushion felt more of a hindrance than a help and wasn’t one of our favourite positions with the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar so we swiftly moved on to the Pull Out Patrol.

Liberator Talea Spreader Bar Review | Liberator Spreader Bar Reviews

I was a little concerned over the choice of name for this position, ‘Pull Out Patrol’ to me hints at the ‘Pull Out’ method of birth control, which is highly documented to be a very unreliable way of preventing pregnancy and is a high risk method for spreading sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Please have a rethink for future editions Liberator.

In the Pull Out Patrol position, I am on all fours with the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar resting under my hips. We attached the longer straps to the wrist cuffs and fastened so that my wrists met in the middle, over the top of the cushion with my hands resting between my legs. So close yet so far from being able to touch myself, I was basically face planted on the bed with my ass in the air! This position is perfect for both vaginal and anal sex and one that we will both be using in the future. I’m not so sure about the suggested positioning of the hands in this position but we can either skip the restraints and just use the bolster cushion, or alternatively, we could use the straps and extra connectors to adapt the Pull Out Patrol position to suit us better in future sessions. Yet another tick in the box for the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar.

Overall we found the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar to be a useful product offering additional support and comfort during our love making sessions and we are sure to be using it again, especially during my kneeling sessions. We would recommend this to all couples regardless as to whether or not you enjoy restraint play. The Liberator Talea Spreader Bar can be used without the cuffs if you prefer and offers much more support compared to a normal bedroom pillow or cushion. It took the weight of both of us and I did not feel the bar inside at all.

Storing this product may be tricky for some people as it is a rather bulky item. We found that it could be squished underneath our sofa for quick access during our sofa sessions, or with a little patience I found by removing the internal rod from the Talea Spreader Bar, fold the bolster in half, secure it by wrapping the straps around it and unbelievably I was able to squeeze the whole thing back into the original box – though admittedly, it was a similar experience to closing a suitcase when packing for a holiday!

We rate this product 8/10, losing a few points because it is not too easy to store and with the very obvious clasps attached it can’t really be left lying around. A more colour coordinated storage bag would be nice and lastly some comprehensive instructions on the different ways to connect the extensions would be really useful for beginners. Hubby and I did struggle a little and honestly, we still don’t know what to do with the D rings lol.

Thank you so much to Cara and Liberator for providing me with the fabulous Liberator Talea Spreader Bar free of charge in exchange for this honest review from myself as a VIP member of the Pleasure Panel, hubby and I really appreciate it.

Louise x


Thanks to our reviewer Louise Lace for this review of the Liberator Talea Spreader Bar.

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This product was sent free of charge, in exchange for a fair and honest review by the Cara Sutra team. 

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