Welcome to My Discerning Specialist Premium Utility Leather Collar Review
What happens when an experienced kinkster has the skills to make bondage gear of their own – the type of gear they’d want to use? You end up with high-quality bondage toys like the options offered by Discerning Specialist. A serious kinkster and a long-time kink blogger, Discerning Specialist took to making BDSM gear that was high-quality – the type of gear that people who have used hundreds of toys before would consider treasured options in their collection.
While Discerning Specialist has a full selection of amazing bondage gear on Etsy (talk about easy ordering!), I received their Premium Utility Leather Collar – complete with a short leash/lead (in leather). Available with multiple hardware color choices (for the metal bits) and ring sizes (for the O-ring on the front), the Discerning Specialist Premium Utility Leather Collar is a serious beauty to behold – from the very first moment you put it on.
Weeks after receipt while writing this review, I can still smell the tantalizing scent of leather – and that’s just really a testament to the build-quality and the materials use. Everything about this was clearly designed for a human neck – and designed with care, too. The outermost leather is made from a rigid, firm leather that’s going to hold – even if you’re playing really roughly. However, that rigid leather isn’t the most comfortable against skin, so underneath that layer, softly sticking out, you can see the soft, plushy leather that makes up the layer that rests against the skin – and even sticks out above and below the “tough” leather to help cushion the neck and collarbone area from the weight of this thicker collar.
The giant O-ring on the front of the collar (which you can select the size of when ordering!) makes that satisfying “jingle” with every movement of the wearer. It’s the mating call of the submissive kinkster. It’s that lovely sound that reminds the submissive of the collar they’re wearing (alongside the heftier weight of this collar) in addition to just generally sounding hot.
That made-for-play O-ring on the front of the Premium Utility Leather Collar from Discerning Specialist isn’t the only bondage point, though. This leather collar is still made specifically for all the bondage situations you might find yourself in – which is why it’s also equipped with two D-rings on the sides of the collar. You can flatten them down when you’re not using them (if you want), but even if you’re not using them, I think they add a visual appeal to the collar. It makes the Premium Utility Leather BDSM Collar look even more “hardcore” – like a version of BDSM lingerie.
One of my absolute FAVORITE additions to the Premium Utility Leather Collar – and one that I’ve never seen in bondage collars before – is the addition of velcro to the back portion of the collar. As someone who plays with a submissive who has a smaller neck, we constantly have excess/overlap material at the back of the collar – and it’s usually sliding around. By the end of the scene, it usually is twisted and pointing towards the ground while the fastener on top of it is nicely horizontal. The soft-velcro installed in the back of the Premium Utility Leather Collar fixes that. The excess material velcros nicely to the opposing side – and even after hours of wear, the back-side of the collar looks as nice and clean as the front side of the collar does.
Not to mention, this velcro keeps that excess material from moving around – which had previously been a source of itching and weird sensations in the past. All gone. All of it!
The buckle-type fastener on the backside of the collar makes it simple to fasten the collar onto someone’s neck. Excess slack is kept behind two oval rings that keep the slack tight against the collar. The fastener isn’t locking – but it is very high-quality. It’s extremely simple to fasten onto someone’s neck, and while the leather is still pretty stiff a month in, I expect the leather on this to soften up a bit as it gets used again and again. (Because I’m definitely using it over and over!)
(Note! I received a wide/tall version of the Premium Utility Leather Collar from Discerning Specialist. If the height is a selling point for you, feel free to reach out and inquire about it – otherwise, the Premium Utility Leather Collar you receive will not be as tall as mine is.)
Matching Bondage Gear Sets?
Something I’m absolutely into is matching bondage gear sets. If I’m going to have a collar, I love to ensure that I have wrist restraints that can match it. You can get that with Discerning Specialist. They make wrist cuffs alongside their collars – and if you want matching ankle cuffs, just provide ankle measurements when getting your “wrist” cuffs sized.
Lucky for anyone else who feels the same, Discerning Specialist’s gear all tends to have a very iconic look to it – which makes putting together matching “sets” way easier than it usually is – and with a lot more options! All of the different Discerning Specialist items really look cohesive and on-brand – so you can mix and match all of their different options to make a set that looks like it belongs together.
The Discerning Specialist store is also one of the few places where I’ve seen a couple super-important BDSM options – like a choke collar made of leather. I know a lot of kinksters (myself included) started off with those metal chain choke collars made for pets when we started – and choke collars hold a bit of a special place for me. Well, if you want the “adult” version, Discerning Specialist is there to help.
In addition, Discerning Specialist is one of the few places where I’ve seen handcuff covers and leather handcuff wraps. Essentially, metal handcuffs can be damaging to the nerves in your wrists – which is why they’re such a big no-no in the BDSM world. However, when you cushion them with soft, plushy leather and reduce any of their harsh contact points with the skin, you end up with a much-safer way to explore metal handcuffs – perfect if you’re super into the world of metal handcuffs but also are super into harm reduction for your partner. (I know I’ve sent more than a few kinksters to Discerning Specialist for their leather cuff wraps.)
Discerning Specialist also has bungee straps – which are really awesome. The stretchy design of the Bungee Tension Straps provides a bondage tether point – but when the “captive” needs to stretch their limbs, they can temporarily fight against the tension of the straps to get some movement in. I own a set of these, and I’ve found that they drastically increase how long my partner is able to stay in bondage; it isn’t super comfortable for them to fight the tension of the Tension Strap – so they mostly stay in the spot I’ve put them in, but my partner is able to stretch out when they need to.
Discerning Specialist Builds for Some Serious Durability….Seriously
I have a lot of collars. Like, a lot of collars. It’s probably over 100 different collars at this point, and while a lot of them just sit in drawers aside from the chosen few who make it into the most-loved collection, the Discerning Specialist Premium Utility Leather Collar is just never going to even get near those drawers. It’s too high-quality – and way too gorgeous – to sit inside of a drawer.
Let’s talk about that build quality, though, in our Discerning Specialist review.
Like all the paragraphs that came before this, I’m pretty sure you already know what my answer is going to be: the built quality is fantastic. The outermost leather layer is some of the sturdiest leather I’ve ever felt. It’s very thick, doesn’t bend easily, and feels like it could be at-home in leather-crafted tools just as much as it is in the bedroom. (Thankfully Discerning Leather has that softer, plushier leather underneath it because, while this leather is very strong, it isn’t the most comfortable.)
Each one of the bondage points (the O-Ring and two D-Rings) are riveted onto the sturdy leather with color-matching metal. Each one gets FOUR rivets (damn!) – which is well beyond what I usually see on BDSM gear. From there, you can see that smooth, leather strap that wraps around the entirety of the collar (but through the D-Rings and O-Rings) which gives the collar a smooth appearance, hides the rivets, and has the bonus of reinforcing the bondage points even more.
I can not come up with any conceivable way that you could break this collar – at least not before you did some serious damage to the person wearing the collar. It’s designed for some serious, serious tugging – and to withstand it really nicely.
Is this Discerning Specialist Collar Comfortable?
Perfectly so for play – but it might not be your favorite choice for 12-hour wear.
The collar was definitely built for comfort – and it is as humanly comfortable as this collar could be with its build. The plushy leather layer closest to the skin really helps soften the rigidity and the weight of the collar.
And that’s part of it. The Premium Utility Leather Collar is serious quality – and serious durability. And with that comes three layers of sturdy, thick leather. That is noticeably heavier on the neck than a lot of thinner collars – and it’s also more weight that presses down onto the bottom of the neck.
Aside from our metal collars, it’s one of the heaviest collars we own; that isn’t a bad thing. Not only does it feel more “weighty” on my submissive (which he says has a very nice headspace effect), that weight comes from the added durability – which is what makes it such a shining star for rough play.
Three layers of leather also has the very-predictable effect of being warm. It’s definitely a collar that will leave your neck very sensitive to cool breezes of air as soon as the collar is removed. My partner equates it to a neck corset – or a very, very snug hug. It feels amazing and headspace-reminding while it’s on, but it’s also surprisingly “woah!” when it’s removed.
As long as we keep our Premium Utility Leather Collar to play scenes, we have zero problems. He never notices any sort of weight or heat, and the durability of the collar really lends itself to play-scenes anyway. You don’t necessarily need 3 O-rings secured in the strongest fashion possible just to walk around the house.
That being said, the Premium Utility Leather Collar is so goddamn gorgeous that we have HAD to experiment with having it worn around the home as a constant collar on specific days. That’s where he starts to experience more of the fatigue. The collar’s thicker height makes it harder to comfortably move his head around (just like a posture collar, though!), and the warmer material can get a bit uncomfortable for him. It also can start to feel a bit heavy on his very pronounced collarbones. (He’s a smaller-framed guy). That’s after 8 hours, though, and that’s not the stereotypical use of a bondage collar.
That being said, that’s mostly an us-error – but still something to be aware of. This collar is freakin’ gorgeous, and by-far one of my favorite collars. However, despite how beautiful it is and how much I want to see it on him all the time, it works best when we keep it limited to 4 hours or under.
Let’s Talk about the Leather Short Leash
As you can see in the pictures, a fantastic accessory for this BDSM collar is the Short Leash that Discerning Specialist also makes. (It’s basically the perfect add-on!) The shorter length works really well for close/intimate situations while the sturdy, leather-only design of the Short Lead for BDSM ensures that it’s as durable as possible – and it doesn’t make any aggravating jingling sounds during use.
While I still prefer longer leashes for kink events (or anywhere else where my partner might need more room to avoid obstacles, running into people, or generally getting a bit more split-up from me in busy rooms), the Short Leather Leash has been great for intercourse – in particular. Since it’s a short leash, it’s about the perfect length to be easily used during intercourse – or anywhere else where I want that lovely body-on-body sensation. It doesn’t require me wrapping or unwrapping a longer leash around my wrist to get the proper tension; it’s just already right.
Like your BDSM collar, you can order the Leather Short Leash in matching hardware. (Sexy AF. Can you tell this femdom is sucker for matching sets?). The snap-clip (which is large enough to work with Discerning Specialist’s larger O-rings) is attached to the sturdy leather loop (made of that durable leather that matches the outermost layer of the collar) via two rivets that run through three layers of leather. It feels sturdy – just like the collar.
(It also makes a perfect match for the Leather Choke Collar if you’re into that!)
Tips for Buying a Collar
When you’re looking to purchase a bondage collar for BDSM (and that’s probably why you’re here, right?!), there’s a few things you might want to pay attention to. Most notably:
- Ensure the collar is thick enough to be safe. All of the Discerning Specialist collars are (with no concerns), but on occasion, some “collars” out there might be pretty razor thin. That isn’t much of an issue if you don’t plan on playing with it, but if you’re going to be doing lots of tugging on it, a thin collar can leave marks and just feel painful. That also leads me to….
- Make sure you know what activities you want to do with the collar. Is this a display-only collar? Is this for tugging someone around? You can get away with much-cheaper collars if you’re just wearing something for display and show; it won’t need to have the high-quality build in order to hold up to serious tugging.
- Don’t forget about the attachment points. How will things attach to your potential bondage collar? Is there an O-ring? A D-ring? Multiple rings? Depending on what you plan to use with the BDSM collar, you’ll want to plan your collar’s set-up accordingly. For example, if all you want to do is use a leash, a small O-ring on the front of the collar is totally workable. However, if you want to bind your partner to the bed from the sides of their collar, you’re going to want a collar that offers sturdy bondage points on the sides of the collar too.
- Remember cleaning: This collar will need to be cleaned to stay in tip-top shape. Make sure the collar’s material matches the activity level you’ll need to clean out of it. For example, if you like facials, a velvet collar is probably not a great choice; it’s going to be hard to get some of the semen stains out of it if it isn’t cleaned properly ASAP. If you’re going for all-day wear, you might choose a material that’s easier to remove body oils – versus one where those same oils might build up.
Final Thoughts on my Collar from Discerning Specialist Review
The Discerning Specialist Premium Utility Leather Collar from is high-quality, clearly-made for kink, and probably going to outlast pretty much every collar out there. (It probably will even outlast me.) It lends itself best as a play-focused collar (at least this particular BDSM collar from them), and it just LOOKS sexy too.
Honestly, this is the magic of hand-crafted BDSM items. It feels like better quality than pretty much all of my other BDSM collars, automatically feel more “treasured”, and was clearly crafted with the needs of people who use collars in mind. Every inch of this collar feels durable and long-lasting for the toughest of play – and the super-sexy design is just a bonus after-the-fact.
Seriously, I love this collar. Abso-freaking-so-much.
