Vegan strap options mini-review.

[fazool]

TLDR: Perri's vegan collection = best choice for animal-free suede strap. Not a perfect strap but good and very inexpensive.


Just as a personal choice, I've decided to slowly reduce my use of animal products. Nothing drastic but casually phasing out where i can.

I decided to look for a leather-like guitar strap and searched for vegan options (because they are animal free). The options were very limited but basically fell into four main categories:

1) seat belt straps made from automotive material
2) cotton or poly woven material
3) exotic materials like cork or hemp
4) microfiber suede

I preferred #4 and the choices were narrowed down to

a) a few boutique strap builders
b) P. Perri's Leathers in Canada
c) LM Straps in Indiana

The LM straps appeared nice but were only 2" wide and had a lighter-colored underside. So, I selected the Perri's which is 2.5" wide and the same color on both sides.

It's terribly confusing trying to buy these things. They are not really popular and I think folks sell them almost begrudgingly. For example, the brown one is only $16 on Amazon, but the cream and black ones are $25. I found a shop in Canada but they aren't allowed to ship them to the US. I emailed Perri's and they said I can get any of them for $16 from them but shipping is $25. You also can't buy the natural (tan) version on Amazon at all.

So, finding a vegan leatheresque strap is difficult. But I got the brown one from Amazon.



https://www.amazon.com/Perris-Leathe.../dp/B078MPG4QT

Vegan suede is really a polyester microfiber, more correctly called microsuede. It's basically polyester fibers formed in a special way to feel like leather.

OK, so my observations:

It has a bit more of a "rubbery" feel when folding or bending it. This is likely due to the synthetic nature and it is not "rubbery" feeling - it's just more "springy" that real suede or leather.

It feels slightly more "stiff" and less supple for the above reason.

It does, however, have a wonderfully soft surface that feels great to the touch and comfortable to wear.

It is extremely light weight.

It feels very solid and structurally sound - it does not feel cheap or "fake".

The build quality is quite good - it has open edges but stitching all around.

The strap holes are nicely snug and feel very safe and secure.

The good:

It is the best animal-free alternative to a suede strap I found. Others (even Taylor) make "higher end" straps but these all seem to have hokey length adjustments or metal buckles which I want to avoid. This is a traditional "weave tail".

It is very inexpensive. $16-$26 delivered.

The build quality is great and it feels very durable.

The less good:

The brown one is fine but the color is deceivingly vibrant in online pictures. In real life it's a very muted almost drab appearance. Not ugly but not the beautiful chestnut in their pictures.

Because of the springiness or slight stiffness feel, it doesn't mold to your shoulder as perfectly as a supple leather. It's not objectionable and I am keeping these on two of my guitars. Just something to be aware of.

The tail strap hole squeaks when I move around - this troubled me so I wet and squeezed it a little, then after a couple days of use it seemed to go away, but be aware of this - if doing a quiet acoustic performance I imagine this could be amplified into a pickup.

Because of it's springiness the "drape" is too man-made looking. Again not a big issue but just something to be aware of.

Overall Conclusion:

If you want a convincing non-leather suede style strap, then the LM or Perri's are your only good choices. The Perri's edges out the LM slightly and for such a low price you can't really go wrong.

[KarenB]

Thanks Fazool for the detailed reviews. I've been wanting to get a vegan strap. I made one years ago, but it wrapped around the headstock which isn't good for the neck. You can also find a good selection of vegan guitar straps at Etsy.

[The Bard Rocks]

Just keep this in mind if you are vegan and are vegan for the reason that you do not want to be the cause of any animal's death: that domestic animal would probably never have been alive in the first place were not for its (non-vegan) end use.

We'll make an exception for chickens. (Not sheep, cause no one wears wool any longer, some flocks never get sheared now as the cost of doing it is greater than the return from the wool.)

[beatcomber]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

Just keep this in mind if you are vegan and are vegan for the reason that you do not want to be the cause of any animal's death: that domestic animal would probably never have been alive in the first place were not for its (non-vegan) end use.

The reasons for people choosing a vegan lifestyle are more likely related to not wanting to be a cause for an animal's suffering, and being opposed to animals' exploitation by humans. There is no death involved in harvesting eggs or milk or honey.

Back on topic...

My daughter is vegan, and she owns vegan boots and shoes, and the material they use nowadays is quite impressive. My main concern would be whether or not plastic-based straps (or footwear) would lead to ventilation probems, ie: will they make you sweat more.

[TBman]

I have 3 or 4 Perris straps that are the same visually as the one posted, but I don't know if they are vegan or not. Comfortable straps for what I do.

[EZK123]

Originally Posted by beatcomber

The reasons for people choosing a vegan lifestyle are more likely related to not wanting to be a cause for an animal's suffering, and being opposed to animals' exploitation by humans. There is no death involved in harvesting eggs or milk or honey.

Back on topic...

My daughter is vegan, and she owns vegan boots and shoes, and the material they use nowadays is quite impressive. My main concern would be whether or not plastic-based straps (or footwear) would lead to ventilation probems, ie: will they make you sweat more.

A good source for vegan straps of the synthetic leather variety is Couch straps. They make some very cool stuff at of recycled upholstery material and such. I hesitate to use them with my acoustics due to metal buckles and the like, but use them on some of my electrics.

As to leather. . . . I tend to NOT worry too much about leather as in my opinion (and vegans will obviously disagree with me), it's very rare that a cow is killed for it's leather and buying a leather product, in my opinion isn't causing the death of that animal or really supporting it. . . . with the mass amount of beef being consumed, the hides would be thrown away if not used as leather products, so I typically don't try to avoid leather.

As to synthetic straps . . . . I'd also be concerned with how the materials in those straps would interact with nitro finishes, etc.

[Morrill]

The vegan straps taste horrible though.

[EZK123]

Originally Posted by Morrill

The vegan straps taste horrible though.

LOL. Well played sir .

[brianmay]

Oh boy . . .

[zmf]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

Just keep this in mind if you are vegan and are vegan for the reason that you do not want to be the cause of any animal's death: that domestic animal would probably never have been alive in the first place were not for its (non-vegan) end use.

Perhaps I'm missing the logic here, or the logic is not there.

If something was never alive, then there can be no concern about its death.

Hardly the same as breeding an animal for the purpose of killing and eating it.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by fazool

4) microfiber suede
Vegan suede is really a polyester microfiber, more correctly called microsuede.

Not an attack, but an honest question. While back, I was rebuked, and perhaps rightly so, for recommending microfiber for cleaning guitars. It was pointed out that plastics in general, and microfibers in particular, are doing a number on the environment. Fish in particular.

Is there a reasonable trade off here?
I'm not vegan myself, so I don't have a dog in that fight.

[Thrillhouse]

Originally Posted by The Bard Rocks

Just keep this in mind if you are vegan and are vegan for the reason that you do not want to be the cause of any animal's death: that domestic animal would probably never have been alive in the first place were not for its (non-vegan) end use.

Yeah, we already know that.

On topic: Thanks for the nice review. I personally like Couch straps a lot for electric and don't use a strap for acoustic but good info nonetheless.

[Kerbie]

We don't really need to argue the merits and morals of vegan vs. nonvegan. That doesn't seem to be emphasis of the OP's post. Let's get back to the guitar straps.

[guitar12]

Nice review Fazool, and good info.

I bought my first mandolin in November and wanted a non leather strap and ended up getting one from Souldier. They're based in Chicago and I liked the ability to pick from different designs and customize it. It's a cotton webbing strap and I really like it. They make guitar straps as well (from recycled seatbelts I believe). My mandolin strap was about $30 but the guitar straps are more.

I like the idea of microfiber suede so will check that out for my next strap. Nice to have so many options these days.

Rob

[KarenB]

Originally Posted by Kerbie

We don't really need to argue the merits and morals of vegan vs. nonvegan. That doesn't seem to be emphasis of the OP's post. Let's get back to the guitar straps.

Thank you Kerbie.