Vegan Strap comparisons/reviews and misinformation about what is vegan

[fazool]

I am not vegan but am actively reducing my use of animal-based products, where I can. In doing so I decided I would like to have a conscientious alternative to real (animal skin) leather strap.

There are some options out there but I had to do research and testing to find a good solution. Since some people are faithful vegans, this information may be even more important for them, so I wanted to share.

My preferences: a nice "suede" replacement, wider than 2", all one solid color, no metal hardware - basically a Taylor style strap (which are made by Levys Leathers).


The first and most important thing for actual vegans: There are a number of straps being mislabeled as "vegan" by online retailers and big-name sellers. The most common mistake is Levys Veg leather listed as vegan. These are *NOT* vegan. They are real leather tanned in VEGetable oil, also called "veg-tanned" leather or, in this case Veg-Leather. Do not order these if you are looking for animal-free products. Even the sellers don't understand this and they continue to falsely advertise these straps as vegan.

I once ordered a veggie burger from Burger King and it came with bacon in it..........seriously.........so if you are expecting something animal-free and get the exact opposite it might be very unpleasant.

Vegan suede is actually a polyester microfiber thread material that is manufactured in a way to have a soft "fuzzy" feel like suede.


Similarly, many strap makers are offering really nice woven straps of nylon, cotton or wool. But almost all of them proudly advertise genuine leather tabs on the end, which kinda defeats this purpose of getting one that isn't leather. And the ones that are woven with non-leather ends are only inexpensive straps with low-grade vinyl or plastic tabs. Nothing nice.

I looked at a variety of straps and tried a few different ones. All those discussed here range from $20-$40

The first one I looked at was a P. Perri's leather Vegan strap. Perri's is made in Canada just north of Toronto. I emailed Lou Perrie a few times (read later on) and they are terrific and supportive and responsive. Seems like a nice company.



I picked the brown version and got mine from Amazon. It was totally fine but I noticed it felt a little "stiff" and didn't feel quite as supple as real suede. It met all my other criteria. The build quality was nice, the surface felt great. The appearance was a little bland - the sheen and color wasn't a pretty brown but more of a cardboard appearance. So this one was OK - not great, not bad but "OK".


The next one I looked at was the an Onori "cowless" suede. Onori is a bizarre company and very hard to find any info from their dysfunctional website. Richie Onori was a (non-original) guitarist in Sweet and a pro musician. He started a guitar strap and accessory company. You cannot do anything at all on their "website" onorintl.com



You can buy their straps on Amazon but the suede style have bad reviews for poor quality and flaking off of material. I bought one anyway to try it. It felt nothing like suede - it felt like cardboard. And I returned it because it was folded so sharply the material was creased and looked like it was about to tear. Absolute junk.


The next one I tried was an Ortega faux pebble-grain leather instead of faux suede leather - different than my original intent but still worth looking at.

Ortega straps are manufactured in Brazil and advertise "A new revolutionary non-animal laminated synthetic material is the basic for one of the world's first ECO-friendly straps. The unique material is so close to leather that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference."

The product was impressively packaged and truly very thoughtful about the product they make. There was a nice tag listing the environmental impacts they avoid so they really put thought into this.

The product looked beautiful and was a convincing leather look material. It had a very nice Ortega logo actually embroidered right into it (much like more expensive straps).



The problem was that it felt nothing at all like leather. It felt exactly like plastic with a slight rubbery surface. It was also a little stiff. The nicest looking strap of the bunch but the worst feeling to wear and hold. I returned it for failing to meet their promise of "so close to leather that it is nearly impossible to tell the difference."

I looked at Levy's woven hemp straps which were very intriguing but I wasn't sure of the strength of the cork tabs and their statement that they "can support most guitars". How would I know (until it drops my guitar) if mine is too heavy. And if there isn't enough 'factor of safety' in the strength it seems more likely to break from use. Also, these were only 2" wide and I prefer a little wider strap which, to me doesn't feel like it cuts into my shoulder as much.

I looked at Perri's all cork straps but had the same questions as above.

I looked at LM straps which are very similar to the Perri vegan suede but only 2" instead of 2-1/2" and they were two colored which I didn't prefer.

I looked at the Taylor very nice vegan straps but they had some oddball strap adjustment hook mechanism with metal parts that I really didn't trust or like.

With no better alternatives, I bought two more Perri's vegan brown straps and they were exactly the same as the first - "OK" but a little tiny bit stiff.

Resigning myself to the fact that this is the best I can get, I bought a black version of this from Perri's



*WOW*

This one is perfect! I corresponded with Lou Perri several times and I took caliper measurements to give him manufacturing feedback. This black one was a 10% thinner and a tinny bit narrower. That sounds like an inconsequential amount but the black one is so soft and so supple it is exactly what I've been looking for. I ordered another and it was exactly the same - perfect in every way.

I asked Lou if they made the black batch at a different time and maybe used some different material (thickness). Whatever it was I told Lou "Make all your straps like the black batch" and asked him "when can I get brown ones just like the black one?".

So, after a thorough and detailed review of most options, the "best" vegan suede strap (for me) is the Perris brand vegan suede leather in black, part number P25VGN-6887. The (distant) second best choice is the brown variant of this strap and no other vegan suede strap is even close.

I recommend deciding you like only black straps and get this best one - that's what I am now doing.

[darylcrisp]

thanks for this, interesting post and one that I would be drawn to(using less animal products) if I wore a strap much at all.

wondering, have you tried rolling tightly and working the brown straps to see if they loosen up any, or feel better?

the brown and black look good to me, just a simple basic functional look.

d

[NotALuth]

Hi Fazool,

This looks like it might meet most of your criteria (however ‘leather’ not suede finish):

https://www.richterstraps.com/screen...enReload=true#

Brown, more than 2” wide, no metal parts. Quite expensive though! There is also a light brown version.

Hope that’s of interest,
Clive.

[Scotso]

no clue. I am reducing my use of plant based and increasing animal based so if you have a really nice tooled leather strap, I am a buyer. Good luck with your search

[murmur70]

So are all vegan straps petroleum based? Are any plant based?

*Edit* Nevermind, I see there is a cork option.

[tadol]

Rather than looking for options that mimic leather, why not use woven plant materials? Linen, cotton, hemp, sisal - all that don’t rely on synthetic chemical processes. Seems like there are many options that would do the job rather well -

[rogue3]

I guess all of my acoustic guitar straps are vegan!...never was aware of this till now...

my lespaul and telecaster straps however...

[fazool]

Originally Posted by tadol

Rather than looking for options that mimic leather, why not use woven plant materials? Linen, cotton, hemp, sisal - all that don’t rely on synthetic chemical processes. Seems like there are many options that would do the job rather well -

Yes I looked into woven (see above) and even cork (see above)

[Conomor]

Etsy can be a good resource for things like this.

[merlin666]

The few "vegan" products that I bought turned out to faux leather that disintegrated soon. It's nothing else but the new marketing spoo for what once was known as pleather.

[Italuke]

Fazool is to be applauded for the PSA on various straps being advertised as "vegan" when they are not. Personally, I don't care.

ONE possible way to view these kinds of issues is to draw an analogy from the energy/fossil fuel debate. There are those who frame it something like, "it's fine for humans to use fossil fuels as lubricants, but not as fuel by burning them." Various factors support that thought, according to those who espouse it.

Could the "leather" issue be similar? Example, as long as the leather is not being FARMED specifically for this purpose, is that okay? I mean, animals exist. And they eventually die. Do we just discard the carcasses?

Probably most people are on some place on a continuum...

[Wade Hampton]

Fazool, thanks for taking the time and making such an effort to review the options for this sort of strap. I plan to stay with the leather straps that I own, but you’ve provided an excellent guide for anyone who wants to delve into vegan straps.

You should keep that post available so that anyone looking for that information can find it.


Wade Hampton Miller

[AZLiberty]

Levy's has hemp straps with cork ends.

I have no clue how well cork holds up over time compared to leather.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/lev...-guitar-straps

[Peter Z]

Fazool,
thank you for that interesting post and all the work you did!
Why is there still no 'like' button in this forum?

Also great that you point you finger on the misleading advertising! That became a big bad part of our culture within the past 20 years. A total misuse of the free speach - before we called that lying. Nothing else, simple as that ... and who really wants to deal with liars.
So everyone standing up and telling is my personal hero!
BTW I'm not vegan but I try to live reasonable.

[Dirk Hofman]

Originally Posted by tadol

Rather than looking for options that mimic leather, why not use woven plant materials? Linen, cotton, hemp, sisal - all that don’t rely on synthetic chemical processes. Seems like there are many options that would do the job rather well -

This makes a ton of sense to me, in this and most things plant-based. Mimicking animal products always seems to fall short in many ways when just using plants as they are works beautifully.