The harness Tantus Bend Over Intermediate is an ‘all-in-one’ strap-on kit. It includes a harness, two dildos of different sizes and a vibrating bullet.
Priced in a mid-range bracket, this harness appealed to me for its ‘two-in-one’ aspect. Choosing the size of a sex toy isn’t always straightforward, and this halves the risk of getting it wrong. Or two possible uses.
What’s more, it fulfils two important criteria. On the one hand, the included dildos are made from pure silicone. On the other hand, it is made in the United States, which suggests acceptable working conditions for the people who contributed to its creation.
In this test, we are also going to try to compare the Tantus Bend Over with the two harnesses we previously tested: the SpareParts Joque and the harness and dildo kit Sex and Mischief by Sportsheets.
Packaging
The Tantus Bend Over kit comes in a transparent plastic box, rather understated. This allows you to inspect the product before unboxing.
The presentation isn’t unattractive, but no storage accessory is provided. It’s a shame: a suitable bag would have been welcome so you don’t lose any item from the kit.
The dildos
Appearance
The two supplied dildos are black, plain and smooth: it’s hard to get more understated.
They can also be used separately, or fitted to other harnesses with an “O-ring” attachment system, provided the ring size is suitable.
The smallest dildo measures 2.7 centimetres in diameter, with an insertable portion 13 cm long. Its cylindrical base is 6.5 cm in diameter and 9 millimetres thick.
The longer one has a diameter of 3.8 cm, an insertable portion of 17 cm, and is 18 cm long in total. Its base is slightly wider (7 centimetres) and has a more rounded shape. It is slightly thicker at the head, then tapers progressively.
(Note: these two dildos are probably two versions of the Silk by Tantus – Medium and Large. The shape and dimensions match).
Both are angled and curved. This shape helps them stay properly upright in the harness. A sex toy in a harness always tilts a little downward, and the angle helps to compensate.
I find the large dildo rather nice to use separately from the harness as well. It is very smooth and slips in without needing eight tonnes of lubricant, even though it is fairly large. Its large, well-rounded head effectively stimulates the G-spot.
The label “Intermediate” corresponds to the size of these dildos. There is also a kit “Beginner” (‘beginners’), purple in colour and equipped with two smaller dildos.
Texture and material
Both sex toys are made of pure silicone, and therefore safe for the body. They are completely odourless, and have no taste.
As far as chemical compatibility is concerned, it’s better to use a water-based lubricant to be sure not to damage them. That said, I smeared one of the two dildos with Pjur Back Door, a silicone-based lubricant that we recently tested, said to be compatible with some silicone sex toys, and it didn’t seem to harm it.
They are soft, ‘squishy’ and flexible. Their surface is very smooth.
Note a slight tendency to attract hair and dust due to static electricity.
The ‘O-ring’ rings
As with the Joque and the Sex and Mischief, the system that allows a sex toy to be attached to the Tantus Bend Over harness is an elastic ring, or ‘O-ring’, which ‘clamps’ the base of the sex toy.
This system has the advantage of fitting any sex toy with a base that is flat and wide enough, regardless of the brand. The diameter simply needs to allow the toy to pass through the ring.
This is not the case, for example, with the Vac-U-Lock system patented by Doc Johnson, which is only compatible with sex toys of the same brand, which greatly limits the choice.
The Tantus Bend Over kit comes with two interchangeable rings. The smaller one (for the small dildo) is 4 centimetres in diameter, the larger one (for the large dildo) 4.5 centimetres.
At the end of each of the four straps at the front of the harness are the two complementary parts of a snap button. Each strap is clipped onto itself around the ring to hold it in place.
The largest ring can allow a flat-based sex toy, a little wider than those provided, to be attached to the harness. For reference, the Tantus Splash, which is still fairly substantial, fits, just barely, but it fits.
The harness
Apart from their interchangeable ring, the straps of the Tantus Bend Over harness are quite similar to those of the Sex and Mischief harness, just a little wider.
The harness has rigid straps, whose length is adjusted with plastic quick-release buckles, like backpack straps or those of the Sex and Mischief. One strap cinches around the waist, while the other two pass behind the thighs.
At the front, the harness has a very thick, soft fabric triangle, with four slits on the sides and, in the centre, a “sheath” that opens at the top, into which you can slide the supplied vibrating capsule, or a mini-vibrator.
The harness straps pass through the slits and meet at the front, around the ring.
I pulled hard on the harness from all sides to be sure: everything seems properly sturdy, and the snap buttons did not come open without my asking them to.
The vibrating capsule
Tantus is renowned for the quality of its silicone, not for the quality of its motors. The supplied vibrating capsule is the same as that of the Tantus Feeldoe.
Made of metallic plastic, with only an “on / off” button, it has only one vibration mode and runs on three watch batteries (included).
It has a sticker “Must close cap tightly” : “tighten the cap tightly”. And indeed, if you do not screw the cap on fully, the contact is not made, and the capsule does not turn on. The vibrations are fairly powerful, but their frequency is quite high; they do not really travel deep.
In short, this capsule seems mainly there to allow the word “vibrating” to be added to the harness description.
But in practice, we don’t really care about this so-so vibrating egg: first of all, that’s not the point of the harness. And if you fancy some vibrations, you can simply replace the supplied capsule by placing a proper mini-vibrator in the harness’s dedicated slot.
Usage
Putting on the harness
First, attach to the harness the ring that matches the size of the dildo you want to use.
Then, same instructions as for the harness Sex and Mischief by Sportsheets. So I’m going to slack off, thanks to this wonderful feature: copy-paste:
Slide the dildo into the ring, so that its base rests against the fabric. Then loosen the straps and slip each leg in. Then pull the whole thing up, like a pair of briefs. Finally, tighten the straps around the waist and thighs.
Comfort and handling
As for comfort, the Tantus Bend Over is quite comparable to the Sex and Mischief harness, if a little better. The straps are wider, so the tension is more evenly distributed, it ‘pulls’ less, and the front triangle is softer.
As for handling, it’s nearly identical. Once the straps are properly tightened, you have almost perfect control over the sextoy’s movements.
It’s still far from the ‘sports briefs’ feeling of the Joque, but you feel quite comfortable when wearing it.
Visual
Since the device has quite a few visual similarities with the harness Sex and Mischief, I’ll mainly point out the differences:
- The fabric triangle covering the pubic area doesn’t dig in. One less flaw.
- The straps still ‘bunch up’, but slightly less, because they’re wider.
- The two included sextos are understated, black like the harness, which is itself fairly minimalist in design. No frills in their shape either. In short: an all-purpose, very simple look that doesn’t claim to be groundbreaking in originality, but doesn’t risk being kitsch.
- The included sex toys don’t look like penises, but their dimensions are reasonably plausible for penises. Even with the smaller of the two: it’s not very big, but it’s not ridiculous. I really do feel like I’ve equipped myself with a cock, not a knacki.
Conclusion on the Tantus Bend Over harness
The good points:
- The quality of the gear: the harness is solid, and the two dildos it comes with are faultless.
- Its very understated look.
- Its price (€90) remains very reasonable for a quality product. Especially when you consider that the two dildos included in the kit are really lovely, and can be used separately without feeling like you’re using “spare parts”.
The bad points:
- The vibrating capsule included in the kit feels more like a gimmick than anything else, and is therefore virtually useless (but in practice, we kind of don’t give a damn about this capsule).
To sum up, the Tantus Bend Over kit may not be the top of the top when it comes to harnesses, but it’s a good, solid harness, made to last a long time, and it comes with two very high-quality dildos. I recommend it without hesitation to those who want to buy a reliable harness-dildo without breaking the bank.
Review score
Pros
- Sturdy
- Two cute silicone dildos included
- Quite easy to handle
- Very understated look
- Compatible with most flat-base dildos
Cons
- The included vibrating egg serves no purpose
- Not compatible with dildos
