Hardtied is a site that has been around since 2006. The host is a man named PD who is proficient in all sorts of BDSM games. He actually hosts a few kinky sites, but on this one he promises female submission, punishment and bondage including Shibari, but he also uses leather straps and wooden devices, as well as a few other exciting things.
The members' area of Hardtied reflects the tour pages. It's a fairly typical look with episodes profiled from newest to oldest on a black background. A page-top menu whisks you to an about page where you can find out more about the site and to an interactive members' forum. Along the left-hand column of the page is a link to RealTimeBondage, which has live shows, but it looks like you will need to purchase access to these shows. There aren't any other extras or bonuses, but there are 315 lengthy Hardtied episodes.
Navigation is quite plain. You can choose to view the episodes in full or in brief view and if you know some keywords then you can just enter your word into a text box and make a search. However, there are no ways in which to sort the material, there isn't a model index and you have to figure out the search words for yourself because there isn't a list of category tags. I think the site could certainly benefit from offering more extensive or advanced search and filter features.
There are some seriously gorgeous submissives on Hardtied and you'll find professional fetish models, a few known stars and there are also amateurs. Photos come with each scene, but you need to download the ZIP files to view them. I'd rather be able to preview the pictures before downloading, but the option isn't offered and there isn't a slideshow to browse the sets, either. The photos are nice looking though. The average set can have around 175 pictures. Once you download a ZIP file you'll come across two folders. In one folder you'll find the director's selection of pictures and in the other there are scene photos. Photo sizes are 1200x795 and they are sharp shots. Scene pictures appear to follow the movie action and the director's collection are still images of the models posing clothed, nude and in various bound action sequences.
Videos can be played in an embedded Flash player and there are full-length episode downloads in high-quality WMV (1620kbps, 1280x720) and MP4 (1500kbps, 1280x720) formats, as well as in a medium-quality MP4. The movies are fairly lengthy and the average film is 50 minutes. However, you are also offered the opportunity to download shorter parts of the films. It doesn't take too long to save any files and download managers can be used here.
Final Verdict
Hardtied is a very large site with exclusive and thrilling BDSM content. I really loved the diversity of the bondage scenarios, but there are gorgeous punishment scenes and exciting hardcore ones. Navigation is one area that could be improved here and I have to admit that the site logged me out a few times, which I found irritating, but otherwise I didn't have too many issues. Films play with nice sharp images, although it would be nice to be offered HD versions of the formats, and downloads are quick. What makes this site truly stand out are the diverse range of scenarios. There is no question that BDSM fans will be thrilled by the lengthy and varied Hardtied scenes.