It’s not particularly aesthetic. You don’t get great photo worthy ties with it; though you still get a restrained person, which is always good, and may be all you want in your photo. It’s reasonably light, and you can carry a lot of it around with you if you like using lots of rope. Because it’s a natural fibre rope with decent tooth, you can do shibari and other styles of rope that rely on friction over knots, which is pretty great. Pros:. Has really excellent tooth; you can feel quite certain that your hitches etc will do the job to hold things in place. The combination of the lack of weight and the lack of friction means it’s going to slide a bit over skin. Your ties may not stay in exactly the same place as you put them, riding up or down, etc. Because of the tight construction, it also doesn’t tend to “high strand” or deform with strands moving out of place. You don’t need to spend a lot of time maintaining it after the initial treatment.
So if you’re going to use it, keep those EMT shears handy. (On the plus side, it’s not expensive to replace when you do cut it.). Pro: Better “tooth”, so it grabs better and takes fewer knots to hold securely. Pro: Preferred for suspension as it doesn’t stretch as much and has more consistent stretch characteristics. For our purposes though, what’s great about this bondage rope is the way it feels. Which is basically incredibly soft and smooth, but with enough solidity and weight to it to give it a real feeling of authority when you put it around someone’s wrists, legs, what have you.
Hemp is one of the natural fibre ropes that is commonly used for shibari. It’s generally pricier than anything synthetic, and my understanding is that it’s used a lot over in the US. Jute rope is another favourite of shibari enthusiasts, and is extremely popular for bondage rope. Somewhat pricey, it comes in a variety of lays (“lay” refers to how tightly it’s twisted together). It’s not dyeable; you’re stuck with the colour you buy. The combination of the lack of weight and the lack of friction means it’s going to slide a bit over skin. Once I finally ordered some, I had a very different experience; which just goes to show, the supplier makes a huge difference in the quality of the rope you get. Click here for a full review of the hemp rope I ordered from Twisted Monk.
I had my Zen rope for quick synthetic ties, and I later moved on to focus on natural fibres. However, I snapped a couple of pictures of it while I was at Bunnings. Nylon Bondage Rope. I don’t actually own any of this stuff, because I’ve never felt the need. It takes natural fibre dye surprisingly well, given the already existing golden colour. Has a really, really nice smell – sort of earthy and warm.
The times when I’ve felt it most likely that I would need to use safety scissors to get someone out of rope, have all been times when I’ve been using this kind of cotton rope. So if you’re going to use it, keep those EMT shears handy. This is actually a hollow braid kind of rope; meaning it’s a polypropylene braid wrapped around a core of something. I found it at a Bunnings Warehouse. It actually polishes up and becomes shinier and smoother with use. That’s right, it doesn’t degrade. Because it’s a natural fibre rope with decent tooth, you can do shibari and other styles of rope that rely on friction over knots, which is pretty great. You can take some great pictures with it; the rope in these pictures is that same cotton braid. Exactly what I need. So, to sum up the whole post:.