UPDATE MAY 2020: The NobEssence Provoke and NobEssence Incite flogger are no longer in production. NobEssence still makes their lovely wooden dildoes – you just won’t find them with leather tails attached anymore. This review remains as a reference.
The “Provoke” flogger by Nob Essence is a wooden insertable flogger that has leather tails. The handle is about eight and a half inches long at about two inches at the widest diameter. The leather tails of the toy are twenty-one inches long which makes for about thirty inches of flogger length (which is really long for a flogger). The Provoke has the Nob Essence toy, the “Seduction”, as its handle. I could pretend that I could tell you the wood type, but I can’t. I’m lame like that.
I will be mentioning the P-Spot Flogger (also known as the “Incite” flogger) quite a bit as well since I think I must be one of the few people in existence who own both floggers.
The packaging was, admittedly, a big let down. I’m not sure if it’s Nob Essence or the retailer, but the Provoke does not come with any packaging. It comes wrapped up in some bubble wrap. For the price (nearly $300), I would at least expect my flogger to come in some sort of packaging. The Incite/P-Spot flogger comes in the traditional Nob Essence box that is padded and holds the toy well. The only explanation I can think of is about the size. The Provoke/G-Spot Flogger is a LOT bigger than the Incite/P-Spot flogger. There’s no way that the Provoke would have fit in one of the traditional Nob Essence boxes, so maybe they chose to just not package it instead. As a sidenote, the Provoke does include a little baggie which contains instructions about the toy as well as a hanging strap. The hanging strap will not work as a wrist strap, but it does seem to (a bit precariously) hold the flogger up if you want to hang the flogger for storage. The P-Spot/Incite flogger did not include this feature.
The handle is, personally, a bit too wide in diameter for me to comfortably want to insert it. I’m also picky about my leather tails, so I won’t pretend that I inserted the toy much beyond the testing to see how it effects the tails. The handle is coated in a sealant that keeps bacteria from seeping into the wood and causing a problem, so don’t worry about that. I will also say that the wood is ridiculously smooth and slick (think like a glass toy), so there’s no concern about getting a splinter from the wood.
The Incite Flogger had a natural “stopping” point in the handle that kept your body from wanting to insert the handle farther. This flogger does not. It has the bulb on the end of the flogger, but past that point, there’s really no “stop” point that naturally feels right. That means that, unless you are careful, you could self-insert the toy a bit too far and end up ruining a bit of the tails. However, jumping out on a bit of a limb here – most people don’t usually flog themselves, and as such, you probably will be playing with a partner. With that aspect in mind, a partner could eyeball when they don’t want to insert any farther for fear of injuring the tails.
The handle does get very slick with lubrication, so if you want to insert it, I recommend you do it after flogging or make sure you have something to wipe down the surface of the handle. The handle doesn’t feel nearly as “natural” in your hand as the P-Spot flogger does, but it still works just fine. I have a feminine hand, and my hand literally only takes up 1/2 of the handle. It’s a really, really big handle. It actually ends up feeling awkwardly large at times. However, it does function to allow you to control the tails of the flogger pretty well. As long as the handle isn’t lubricated, you aren’t going to feel like the handle is going to fly out of your hands.
The flogger handles awkwardly. It’s a mixture between the weight of the flogger, the length of the tails, and the length of the handle. Overall, it’s just a really big flogger. This is easily the longest/heaviest flogger I own. The leather is high-quality and heavy and the handle and tails mix together to make a really long flogger. This flogger does not work well for small spaces, and honestly, I think this is intended to be a “scene” flogger. It doesn’t seem like it was really intended for bedroom use. This seems more intended for BDSM/kink scenes just because of the length of the flogger. Unless you wrap the tails around your hands a couple times, the tails are way too unmanageable to use in small quarters. I live in an apartment, and we have to use specific planning to make sure the area we want to use this flogger in has the room.
The flogger doesn’t handle nearly as nicely as I’d like it to. The tails don’t group together unless you have some serious momentum going on. For that reason, the figure-8 type of stroke seems to work best with this flogger. The back-and-forth strokes don’t seem to get enough momentum to keep the tails moving as a group. I’m not sure why, but the tails just don’t seem to want to stay together unless your “gravity” forces them to. Added to the length of the flogger, this makes this flogger pretty difficult to handle unless you explicitly take some time to actually practice and make sure you can comfortably aim the flogger.
For when the flogger does hit, the sensation feels very thuddy. There is no sting to these leather tails at all. The sensation ends up feeling like a massage when used. When it comes to having an introductory flogger that is going to feel sensual instead of stingy, this flogger does a great job. The tails are pretty heavy, and there are about thirty or so of them. Compared to the P-spot flogger, the tails are larger. The P-Spot Flogger’s tails are only about 2/3 of the full size of the tails on this one. The leather is softened, but it still smells amazingly like leather, and when you are hit, it does leave the “sexy flogger” thuddy sound. (It’s hard to describe unless you’ve heard it.) Again, be careful with where you aim this because it can be a bit difficult to aim, so make sure you have practice before you attempt it.
Comparatively, I like the Incite/P-Spot flogger better. The Provoke flogger is larger, but it’s a lot harder to handle, and I don’t usually have that much space for use in my apartment to freely wield a long flogger like that. The weight of the Provoke flogger also makes it a bit more tiring to use. The Incite Flogger, however, has a more ergonomic handle, is lighter and easier to handle, and the tails end up feeling a lot softer. Because the Incite flogger is also smaller in diameter and size, we can also comfortably use the insertable portion as well. If given the choice, I will use the Incite Flogger over the Provoke Flogger in almost every circumstance.
For cleaning, you want to use different things for different parts. Leather does not like soap, so gently wipe down the tails with a slightly damp washcloth. The handle can be cleaned with warm water and antibacterial soap. It is small enough that it can be covered with a condom, but it will be a tight fit. A magnum may end up working better. Be sure to keep the leather tails away from bodily fluids when used as an insertable, and make sure to cover the handle with a condom unless you have intention of using it just with one partner. (The handle can be bleached for sterilization, but it’d be hard to avoid bleaching the leather tails.) For storage, I do recommend you store the flogger hanging upright with the hanging strap piece that is included. Something of note: The flogger tails do shed leather pieces the first couple uses, so be prepared to deal with the little pieces.
The Large G-Spot Flogger is a large, high-quality flogger that is very pleasurable if you enjoy BDSM scenes and unique floggers. Since it has an insertable right in the handle, it reduces the need to bring another insertable. The Provoke flogger does require a bit of practice in order to be able use it with accuracy, but if you are willing to put forth the effort to learn how to handle it, it’s a worthwhile experience.
