For guitar players, a good strap is one of the most important accessories to have.
Chances are, if you’re playing for a group of people, you’ll likely be standing for your entire set with your guitar strapped across your back.
Depending upon how long your set is, your back and shoulders will likely start to hurt from the added weight of the guitar. Additionally, if you like to move around a lot there’s a chance that your guitar strap may become undone mid-solo or it’ll just eventually wear itself out over time if it isn’t built to last.
That’s why, if you’re serious about getting a strap that’s reliable, strong, and comfortable, your best bet is to get a premium leather guitar strap. Today I’m going to be reviewing what I believe is one of the best leather guitar straps currently on the market – the Italia Leather guitar strap.
Cody’s Take
If you’re looking for a high-quality strap that will last you a lifetime, is comfortable, and looks great I have no reservations in recommending Italia Leather Straps. The quality they provide is second to none and although you will pay a higher price for these compared to most other guitar straps, it’s something that will last forever.
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About Italia Leather Straps
Based in California, USA, Italia Leather Straps first started in 2003. Since inception, they’ve managed to sell over 50,000 premium straps to guitarists and bassists worldwide.
Over the years they’ve also managed to gather a loyal following of musicians who seek premium quality leather guitar straps. A few highlights about Italia Leather Straps include:
- Each strap is backed by an exclusive Lifetime Replacement Guarantee for materials and workmanship. If the strap fails to meet your expectations, Italia Leather will replace it free of charge.
- Each strap is handmade-to-order in California by skilled craftspeople
- They use extremely high-quality leather, imported directly from Italy
- They offer a wide range of colors combinations and styles (2.5 inches wide and 4 inches wide, both available in standard and long sizes)
Besides their current selection of straps available for purchase online, you can also contact Italia Leather directly to discuss custom orders with them. For instance, if you need a specially sized strap or want a custom color, then Italia Leather will work with you to fufill those requirements.
Italia Leather Straps also believe very strongly in providing leather straps that don’t use hardware or buckles that will dig into your shoulder or potentially damage your instrument, which I absolutely love.
Their goal is to offer a simplistic yet elegant strap that is comfortable to wear and looks great.
Italia Strap Specs and Pictures
Now let’s get into the actual strap itself. I decided to go with a 2.5 inch chocolate leather strap and a golden brown backing color. Depending on your requirements, you can define the length of your strap:
- Standard Model: Adjusts 37-49 Inches
- Long Model: Adjusts 42-54 Inches
The strap itself is basically 2 pieces of leather with holes and slots punched out in order to accommodate various lengths. The front side of the strap in the image below shows both pieces of the strap once they are separated.
Additionally, here is another picture of the strap, this time with the back side up.
Italia Leather also include their name and logo on the front end of every strap but do so in a way that isn’t overly prominent and goes very well with the overall look and feel of the rest of the strap.
Italia Leather’s stitching is also top-notch. The company mentions on their website “High-Tension stitching provides extra strength for those with active playing styles.”.
As you can see from the image below, their stitching is uniform and precise which is another indicator of how great the overall quality of this leather strap is.
Italia Leather Straps’ philosophy is “Highest Quality Materials + Superb Craftsmanship + Customer Specific Fit = Outstanding Style, Durability and Comfort.”.
Just from using this strap for a little while I call certainly get on board with their motto. It is by far the most comfortable and best looking strap I’ve owned in my 13 years of playing guitar.
2.5 vs 4 Inch Wide Straps
A cool option that Italia Leather provides is the ability to choose the width of your strap. You have the option of either going with a 2.5 inch or 4 inch wide strap. Some players might not think that the width of their guitar strap matters much, however, depending on your instrument and your size, the width of a strap can make a difference in regards to how comfortable it is. Italia Leather essentially breaks down both width strap sizes as follows:
- 2.5 Inches Wide – Suitable for most solid-body or acoustic guitars.
- 4 Inches Wide – Suitable for taller players – over 6-feet – or players of heavy instruments such as bass guitars.
Therefore, depending upon which category you fall into, you may want to consider going with a 4 inch wide strap vs a 2.5 inch wide strap or vice-versa.
The 4 inch strap is slightly more expensive (about $10) as obviously it takes more materials to make. To get a better idea of what the difference is in size between both straps I’ve included a side-by-side comparison of both below.
Comparing a Premium Strap to a Low-Quality Strap
When you’re looking to purchase a premium guitar strap there are four main questions you should ask yourself:
- Will it be comfortable for extended periods of time?
- Is it likely that the strap will detach from the guitar while playing?
- Are there any buckles or pieces of plastic or metal that might damage my guitar or cause discomfort to me while playing?
- Is it built to last for years to come?
The answers to the questions above are essentially what distinguish a premium-quality guitar strap from a low-quality guitar strap. I’ve owned a few straps over the years and can say that the holes on a low-quality strap become worn out over time and essentially make it much more likely for your guitar to detach from the strap if you tilt your guitar the wrong way.
Low-quality straps also aren’t very comfortable, leaving your shoulder and back in pain if you’re practicing or playing a concert for extended periods of time. Additionally, certain straps also have hard pieces that can potentially scratch or ding your guitar and most low-quality straps just aren’t built to last a lifetime.
On the other hand, if you’re purchasing a premium guitar strap such as an Italia Leather strap, the answers to the questions above will be: Yes, No, No, Yes. If you’re serious about guitar and you know that you’ll be playing this instrument for the rest of your life, it’s definitely worth investing in a premium guitar strap. It’ll help out your back and shoulder, last you a lifetime, and will look great each time you play.
Final Thoughts
Hopefully, this Italia Leather guitar straps review post has given you more insight into why it is beneficial to choose a premium-quality strap that may cost a little more upfront but will pay dividends for years.
As I already mentioned, if you’re a guitarist who knows you’ll be playing guitar for the rest of your life it’s definitely worth investing in a strap that will last.
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