Is a spreader bar the same as a spreidstang?

Yes. Spreidstang is the Dutch word for a spreader bar; it is the same object, a bar with a cuff at each end that holds the wrists, knees or ankles apart. In English material and at international shops it goes under spreader bar.

Who can you turn to with questions about a spreader bar?

Victor, a gigolo in Amsterdam with twenty-five years of experience in BDSM and a background as a psychotherapist. He works with spreader bars and explains, with no obligation, what a first time with one involves. Ask through the contact form or first chat for free .

Close-up of an open book with a pencil between the pages, in black and white

Glossary

Spreader bar

A bar with a cuff at each end, and where you put it decides what stays possible.

What is a spreader bar?

A spreader bar is a bar with an attachment point at each end, to which restraints are fixed to hold the wrists, knees or ankles a fixed distance apart. It is bondage gear that keeps limbs open instead of tied together.

What it’s made of	metal or wood; a DIY version from a dowel, a bamboo pole or a clothes rail
What it holds	wrists, knees or ankles, via ankle cuffs or wrist cuffs
Category	bondage gear that spreads, as opposed to the one bar prison that brings together

How a spreader bar is used

Where the bar sits decides what becomes impossible.

At the wrists it holds the arms away from the body, which makes the torso freely reachable. At the legs it allows nothing more than walking in the most awkward way there is. With one between the knees and one between the ankles at the same time, you have to stay bent at the knee, and walking is gone entirely. Several bars together produce the spread-eagle position. And the bar does not have to stay loose: it can be linked to a piece of furniture, to the floor, or to a hanging point.

A note on the name

The phrase is less overloaded than it sounds.

The English Wikipedia entry for spreader bar is about the bondage tool itself; the angling rig of the same name has been moved to its own entry. So when you look it up in this context, the term points here without much competition, and the word says plainly what the tool does: it spreads.

Where this fits on this site

Want to know how bondage gear like this plays a part in an evening? The page on the BDSM date explains what we agree on beforehand.

Sources

Spreader bar. English Wikipedia. Gives that the entry itself is about the bondage tool and points the angling meaning to a separate entry, the description as a bar of metal or wood with attachment points for cuffs at both ends, the DIY versions from dowels, bamboo poles or clothes rails, the fixing at wrists, knees or ankles, and what each placement makes impossible: at the wrists free access to the torso, at the legs that everything except “the most awkward walking” becomes impossible, with a bar between the knees and between the ankles forced bent knees, with several bars the spread-eagle position, and the option to link the bar to a piece of furniture, to the floor, or to a hanging point.

Bondage. The practice a spreader bar is a tool for.
One bar prison. The bar that instead forces wrists and ankles together.
Ankle cuffs. The cuffs that hang from the bottom.
Wrist cuffs. The same cuffs for the top.

Frequently asked questions

What people still ask about a spreader bar.

What is a spreader bar?
A spreader bar is a bar of metal or wood with an attachment point at each end, to which cuffs are fixed to hold the wrists, knees or ankles a fixed distance apart.
Is a spreader bar the same as a spreidstang?
Yes. Spreidstang is the Dutch word for a spreader bar; it is the same object, a bar with a cuff at each end that holds the wrists, knees or ankles apart. In English material and at international shops it goes under spreader bar.
What do you attach a spreader bar to?
To the wrists, knees or ankles, via cuffs at both ends. The bar can stay loose, but it can also be linked to a piece of furniture, to the floor, or to a hanging point. A bar between the knees and between the ankles forces bent knees and makes walking almost impossible.
Who can you turn to with questions about a spreader bar?
Victor, a gigolo in Amsterdam with twenty-five years of experience in BDSM and a background as a psychotherapist. He works with spreader bars and explains, with no obligation, what a first time with one involves. Ask through the contact form or first chat for free.