What's My Go To BDSM Bondage Rope?

Think about what you want to use the rope for. Will you need a lot of rope? For harnesses and art, you probably will. If you’re going for simple wrist restraints, you won’t need the rope to be as long.

Ropes tend to be anywhere between 16 feet/5 meters up to 32 feet/10 meters.

Interested in harnesses? Check out our best BDSM harness guide.

You can rest assured that the ropes we recommend are strong. If you’re practicing rope restraint a lot, though, you’ll want a long-lasting rope. One where you can rig it securely to carabiners and know that you’re secure.

The best natural rope in terms of strength, I’d say, is hemp. Jute is the weakest.

The strongest of all ropes is nylon!

The ropes I’ve reviewed here will all last you a while. However, I do have quite a few so I spread the love. The best ropes in terms of durability are synthetic ropes.

If you’re going for long-term ropes then these are much better. However natural-fiber ropes have much better grip. A jute rope is often treated with oils especially for the easier merging of your skin and the rope. (Much better than those stripy ropes you get in hardware stores!)

Durability can differ greatly between manufacturers, which is why it’s useful to check out reviews!

Ropes tend to be twisted, single-ply, double-ply, or braided. For bondage, it’s better to use twisted or single-ply ropes.

Single-ply is easy to use and is very bendy so you can work with it easily. Double-ply is stiffer, thicker, and harder to manipulate. It is, however, more durable.

A rope is quite often referred to as having a good “tooth”. This is basically the friction that helps keep your knots in place. Natural materials like jute, hemp, and cotton are exceptionally good on the “tooth” rating! Synthetic ropes tend to be slippy, so not so good.

Both have their pros and cons. With a cotton rope, the knot might hold better, but a nylon rope will feel silky soft on your body.

Ropes vary in softness. This is affected by the material they’re made from as well as the weave. The softest rope is nylon, cotton and hemp come in second, jute comes in last. Jute would be “medium” softness, though, not “hard”.

The more advanced you and your partner are with rope skills, the more you can experiment. Do not use a  bondage mouth gag when you are a total beginner.  

As a general rule, I’d suggest beginners go for thicker, softer ropes.

Start simply with wrist bondage to get used to the feel and practice. After this, move onto more advanced knots with longer, thinner rope.

To expand your practice you can start looking into BDSM swings. If you want more information you can read here our fetish fantasy bondage review or my bondage boutique enhancer review.