The most common question we get about our impact toys is about sensation – what they feel like when you use them. 

Is this paddle stingy or thuddy? 

Every impact play toy you try will have its own unique sensation. And there are a lot of variables that determine what it feels like.

Why Your Impact Toy Feels Like That

In general, there a few things that contribute to how your kinky toy feels:

Let’s go through these…

Impact Toy Material

Leather feels different from wood. Wood feels different from plastic.

On its own, material doesn’t necessarily have a specific sensation to it because all of the other factors are important.

Getting hit with a random piece of leather, wood, or plastic will most likely create a smack of some sort. You’re likely to feel a sting rather than a thud with any material until size and weight become a factor.

Impact Toy Size

A lot of people get very nervous about large paddles, thinking they’re going to seriously hurt. And they might. But sometimes the worst pain is from a small or narrow toy – like a cane.

To be honest, if you want maximum pain, look at both ends of the size spectrum.

Small toys like evil sticks or canes hurt me (Kayla) so much more than most paddles. But the worst pain I’ve ever experienced from a paddle was from one of the largest (longest) ones we make.

Another size consideration is how thick or thin your toy is. A thin toy, in general, will have more of a sting, while a thicker toy will have more thud.

How do you measure thick, thin, small, or large? It’s all relative, especially when compared to other paddles or canes you already own.

Impact Toy Weight

In my experience, the biggest determining factor of sting vs. thud comes down to the weight of a toy, especially if you’re specifically looking for a thuddy sensation.

The heavier a toy – paddle, flogger, cane, whatever – is, the more likely you’ll feel a thud.

Other factors, like size, material, and how it’s used, may mean you also feel a sting, too. But if you’re craving thuddy impact, look for heavy toys.

What’s considered “heavy?” It depends. A toy that feels light in one person’s hand may feel heavy against another person’s butt.

How Your Impact Toy is Used

Anything can be mild or barely felt and anything can become unbearable – it’s all in how a Top or Dominant uses it.

JB knows I can’t handle too much from a cane, so he tap-tap-taps in a light but consistent way. This makes the sensation bearable…until about the fifth or sixth tap.

If he wants me to really feel it, he hits harder. We call that the exclamation point at the end of the scene because I can only take one hard strike from a cane.

We own heavy leather floggers that can feel like a deep tissue massage because of the thud, but with a snap of his wrist and at just the right angle, he can hit me with the tips of the falls, and now all I feel is a sting and burn.

While a light paddle can’t become a thuddy one because weight determines thud more than anything, a thuddy toy can absolutely be a stingy one depending on technique.

Which Toys from the Kinkery are Stingy? Thuddy?

Now we’re at the question we get asked most. 

Some people shop our paddles and haven’t tried much impact before, so they don’t have a preferred sensation (yet).

Others, though, know exactly what they like. I’m the same way. I’m a thud girl all the way. If I’m picking a new paddle, I’m looking for the thuddiest, most deep-tissue massage experience I can get.

JB likes anything that makes me yell and cuss, so…he gravitates toward whatever I’m backing away from, lol.

Here’s how you can figure out if the kink toy you’re buying from us is stingy or thuddy.

Kinkery Paddle Size and Weight

As of the time of publication, all of our paddles are made of wood. Though some, like Resin Inlay paddles, also use resin.

This means that you can expect a similar type of sensation from paddle to paddle – the kind only wood can create.

The two most important factors that determine if a paddle we’ve made stings or thuds is going to be the size and weight. The weight is most often determined by the type of wood we use.

Between weight and size, though, weight matters most.

Why?

Because a 7 ounce 12-inch long paddle will feel much different than a 7 ounce 18-inch long paddle.

But weight is also relative to size. Our Pocket Paddles are about 4 ounces but because they’re very small paddles, they pack a punch.

In general, there are certain woods that you can count on to create a thud or a sting.

Thuddy Wood:

• Black Locust
• Bloodwood
• Rosewood
• Purpleheart
• Redheart

Stingy Wood:

• Ash
• Maple
• Cherry

Other woods tend to fall somewhere in between sting and thud. Black Walnut, a very popular wood here at the Kinkery, can create both sensations simultaneously.

That being said, a type of wood can have a different weight from piece to piece, based on a lot of factors that happened while it was still a tree. So the best way to know if a paddle will be thuddy or not is to look at the overall weight of the finished product.

Small Paddles vs Large Paddles

What makes a paddle small or large? That’s subjective.

Here at the Kinkery, we classify any paddle that’s 12 inches long or less as “small.” Any paddle in the 18-inch range (or longer) is “large.”

Weights to look for in small paddles:

• Under 6 ounces: Sting
• Over 7 ounces: Thud
• Anything in the middle: Combination of both

Weights to look for in large paddles:

• Under 10 ounces: Sting
• Over 11 ounces: Thud
• Anything in the middle: Combination of both

The lower the weight, the greater the sting and smack. The higher the weight, the greater the thud. Just remember that any heavy paddle can also be stingy. But light paddles can’t thud.

Other Factors That Determine Sting or Thud

Type of wood, size of paddle, and weight all matter but there’s one other thing to look out for…so you’re not surprised when you get a sensation you didn’t expect with your new paddle.

Certain details on a wood paddle can change the sensation entirely.

Adding holes to a paddle will turn the thuddiest paddle into a sting so bad you’ll think your ass is on fire. We call those Holy Terrors.

A thin, lightweight paddle should be stingy, but when we weave rope across the paddle, it becomes thuddy. We call those Rough Riders. If you want a sharp burning sensation, use the knotty side.

Whether you’re shopping with us or anywhere else, consider those kinds of extra details and how that affects what your new toy will feel like.

A paddle made of a solid piece of wood with a specific shape and weight will be predictable, once you buy a few toys and get some experience. But add a few details to the paddle, and you’ve got a whole new sensation.

Do Canes Sting or Thud?

We use Delrin for our canes, and the answer to that question is neither. They burn like the fire of a thousand suns.

Maybe I’m being dramatic because impact with a cane isn’t my favorite sensation.

A lot of the same factors matter for canes just like with paddles:

• Material
• Size
• Weight
• How It’s Used

Cane Material

Delrin plastic is a hard polymer material. That’s going to feel a lot different from something like bamboo, another popular material for canes.

And carbon fiber rod feels different from Delrin, too. That’s what we use for our evil sticks. (We tend to classify the evil sticks as “mini canes” because of their shape and sensation.

Cane Size

The diameter of the rod makes a big difference, too. The smaller the rod, the more of a burn you get.

That being said, in our experience, our largest size cane size – ⅜” – is thuddy. But it still burns and stings, too.

Our smallest Delrin cane is ¼” and it’s all burn and sting with no thud.

Evil sticks use a 3mm carbon fiber rod. It takes very little effort to create marks and bruises and a burn that you feel down to your soul.

Cane Weight

The weight of a cane or evil stick doesn’t factor in as much as it does with a wooden paddle. The size of the rod is what matters most. The smaller the rod (Delrin or carbon fiber), the more the sensation burns. 

That burning isn’t like a sting that you get from a paddle, either. It’s a unique sensation all on its own. However, if you love a sting, you might enjoy the burn.

Do Diabolical Sticks Stings or Thud?

You might be tempted to assume that diabolical sticks feel like evil sticks since they also use carbon fiber rods.

But this is where impact play gets fun.

The part you’re being hit with in a diabolical stick is the resin tip, which has its own unique sensation in impact play.

In my experience diabolical sticks both sting and thud. 

Again, it’s about the size and weight. The larger the tip, the heavier the resin, the more you can expect a thuddy sensation.

However since size is relative, they’re all still smaller and lighter than a typical paddle, and there’s definitely a sting, too.

And how you use it matters.

Tap the resin against the skin, and you can make it barely felt or extremely intense. Pull the tip back just a little and let it go against the skin, and you get more of a thud/sting combo.

How You Can Tell the Size and Weight of Our Products

We try to make it as easy as possible to give you the information you need to know if a toy will be stingy or thuddy.

In the product description, we try to provide enough information so you can get a sense of size and weight.

And we have another section in our listings that lets you see the exact dimensions. The weight tends to be an average because – as we mentioned earlier – two pieces of the same type of wood can have a different weight. 

One paddle might be 6.9 ounces, and the other might be 7.2, and a third will be 7. We’re likely to list that paddle in that specific wood type as 7 ounces.

To find this information, choose the wood type of the paddle you’re looking at.

Now scroll down the page until you see a section that says Description/Additional Information/Reviews.

Select the Additional Information tab. There you’ll see the specific dimensions, weight, and other info about that specific type of paddle.

In Conclusion

It’s not always easy to look at a new impact play toy and assume you know how it will feel. 

If the sensation matters to you, dig a bit deeper into the details of the product. On our site, we try to make that easy for you. But don’t be afraid to reach out through the contact page to ask questions.

Impact toys can cost a lot of money, and no one wants to waste their money. 

If you can’t try it (in your hand or on your leg) before you buy it, you need to have enough information to make an educated guess about whether you’ll like it or not.