It’s normally the case that when you buy your first guitar, they throw in a basic nylon strap that will more or less adequately suspend a guitar from your shoulder. This is especially true if your first guitar is part of a beginner guitar kit. These basic straps work just fine, but it won’t be particularly comfortable nor will it stand up to any kind of abuse. In order to best express yourself and comfortably wear your guitar, upgrade your stage look with the best cool guitar straps.
Handmade in Chicago, Souldier straps are made to stand the test of time. Design cues from vintage-style straps, usually incorporating floral and geometric patterns in a vaguely psychedelic theme. The material itself is recycled seatbelt material, which means that they’re absurdly long-wearing.
The ends are double-ply, hand-cut leather and are covered by a lifetime warranty. They come in solid colors, as well as versions with colored leather ends. These are two inches wide, adjustable between 30 and 60 inches long.
What’s cool about it: Memory foam padding and neoprene make this a very comfortable, breathable option – hidden pick pocket helps, too.
We naturally included a Mono option on our guitar cases post, but they also make a similarly excellent strap. Memory foam lies within the articulated padded segments, held together as one unit with neoprene. This allows for maximal airflow and ease of movement. These are cruelty-free, with the ends being made of Hypalon rather than leather. There’s a convenient hidden pick pocket, as well.
These are three inches wide and come in two sizes: Short, adjustable between 40 and 46 inches and Long, adjustable between 47 and 59 inches long.
What’s cool about it: Beautiful handmade art on high-end, full-grain leather.
If you want something truly unique, consider these lovely straps made from full-grain leather. With imagery that focuses on earthtones and nature themes, these are subtle works of art handmade in the U.S. You can even get their strap kit, which is only $45 and allows you to create your own design. All of them measure 2.5 inches wide, adjustable between 38 and 52 inches long. Examples of straps on offer in addition to the one pictured above include:
What’s cool about it: Secure, fast, easy to use strap lock system in unique designs.
Developed with the help of guitar god Steve Vai, these DiMarzio straps utilize a novel strap lock system. By fastening the clip ends to your guitar, you can quickly change straps just by releasing the clip mechanism. You can buy extra fasteners and hardware separately so you only need one strap for all your guitars.
The design pictured above is the Blue Universe signature, but the Blue Cherry Universe tends to be in-stock more often. If you prefer, you can also get them in solid colors or in a Jim Root Signature. These are two inches wide, adjustable between 43.5 to 63.5 inches long.
What’s cool about it: Comfortable, cruelty-free, and made of recycled materials in a variety of styles and colors.
Admittedly, it’s tough to choose amongst the different Couch lines. Their reclaimed Vintage Auto straps are pretty cool, and I personally use one of their Seatbelt straps on my main guitar. But I think the Racer X line has the broadest appeal, with the simple but stylish single stripe in an array of color combinations.
These are all made from reclaimed vinyl, hand stitched with a soft, comfortable edge. I can attest from my experience with the Seatbelt strap that the vinyl ends are ultra-tough and will certainly put up with several years of constant abuse. Fiberglass reinforced padding completes the package. Tough to go wrong with anything from this company.
What’s cool about it: Unique combination of leather and fabric creates a beautiful look.
These very high quality guitar straps from Anthology Gear pair full-grain leather with a stitched fabric inset showcasing the Southwest-inspired design. This strap will certainly help you stand out compared to the more typical nylon and leather only options, while also providing superior strength.
These are available in two and three inch widths, both adjustable between 39 and 54 inches. There are five colorways to choose from to best suit you or your instrument.
What’s cool about it: What’s not to love about smiling, mustachioed pizza slices over plaid?
Buckle-Down are known for their fun prints, both for guitar straps and for dog collars, many of which we featured on our cool dog collars post. This one is no different. It’s bold, ridiculous, and fun. Best used for extremely serious bands, I think.
This is a standard nylon two inch strap that adjusts between 29 and 54 inches. These are made in the US with very high quality printing.
What’s cool about it: Padded glove leather provides comfort and durability with a tooled detail finish.
Walker & Williams make a wide variety of guitar straps, primarily out of high-quality leathers. This one features baseball glove leather that has been weathered for a worn-in look, making it feel comfortable and familiar right out of the box.
The design has been carefully tooled into the leather for a rustic, traditional look. This 2.5 inch wide strap adjusts between 41 and 54 inches.
What’s cool about it: Comfort Edge provides a nicer experience than flat edge straps.
If you don’t have a lot to spend but still want to upgrade from those basic straps, consider this option from Dunlop. It’s such a simple, even obvious improvement, but the rolled Comfort Edge makes a big difference for wearability. Those thin, cheap straps dig into your neck and shoulder pretty quickly. I always found the edges annoying, and liked the few of these I owned.
I eventually moved on from these purely because of the styling, but they do a pretty good job of answering the major criticism of the cheap ones. The leather ends retain their shape well over time. These are two inches wide, adjustable between 38 and 65 inches long.
Admittedly, straps get a lot cooler than this, so think of it as your first upgrade.
You had to know this was coming. Levy’s is a monster of the guitar strap game, producing a wide range of quality options. Among their best has to be this fine model. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand those straps with the sheepskin pads. Sure, they’re padded, but they’re also super hot and tend not to move as easily as I’d like. Better for the padding to be sewn into the strap as it is on these.
Combined with the garment-grade leather, the padding is wonderfully comfortable and soft. Available in Black, Brown, and Walnut. These are 2.5 inches wide, adjustable between 38 and 53 inches long.
What’s cool about it: Enhanced padding and extra width will distribute the weight of even the heaviest guitars and provide moisture wicking.
If you have either a bad back or a truly beastly guitar, you’ll want to look into something like this. Made from a combination of neoprene and Lyrca, these give a bit more than other materials without being bouncy and stretching out of place. As you can probably tell, they took it a step further by adding “AirCell technology”, which are padded pockets of air to help distribute the weight better.
If you sweat a lot, you’ll appreciate the material’s ability to wick moisture away, as well as the smooth feeling against your skin. It’s also three inches wide, reducing the cut of narrower straps.
Three lengths are available to suit all instruments: Long (49 to 61 inches), Regular (46 to 56 inches), and Short (38 to 44 inches). Colors available include black, brown, gray, navy, pink, red, white, and green.
What’s cool about it: Wider, tapered strap with controlled stretching distributes weight well.
Here’s another option that relies on neoprene for breathability and that small amount of stretch to lessen the load. This one takes it one step further by tapering the padded section, expanding to four inches across at the widest point.
I’ve had straps that were this wide the entire length and they were really uncomfortable, so I appreciate the combination of the wider strap for weight distribution and narrower ends to save the chafing on my neck. Mmemory foam is used for padding for improved comfort. These come in five sizes:
What’s cool about it: Built-in strap locks without the need to change hardware on your guitar.
As I advocated in the intro, you really should consider strap locks. Not just so you can do rockstar things like throw it around your body mid-solo, but also that. In fact, it’s usually the mundane things that cause your strap to fall off, like gingerly handing it to someone across the practice space.
When it’s on your body, the tension usually keeps it in place, but otherwise you’re at some risk of it falling off. This strap comes with locks integrated into it. Simply release the side pin and you can pop the lock off your existing strap button.
If the leather isn’t for you, these also come in polypropylene versions. These are two inches wide, adjustable between 35 and 59.5 inches long.
What’s cool about it: High-quality Canadian leather built for durability in a variety of interesting colors.
The use of baseball glove leather means these straps are made for years of abuse. Cheaper leather straps tend to stretch or wear poorly – conditions these were designed to avoid.
These are somewhat wide at 2.5 inches and with the no-slip backing, these are meant for providing good stability for heavier instruments. They’re adjustable between 38 and 52 inches and come in black, blue, brown, green, red, tan, wine, and sunflower.
What’s cool about it: Subtle, interesting designs on soft cotton.
If you’re looking for something a bit more subdued, this line from Levy’s Leathers features faded single-color designs. In a world of overly-bold guitar straps, this is another way of standing out.
There are six designs to choose from, all printed on comfortable, lightweight cotton. Suede ends complete the look and features reinforced stitching. This is adjustable up to 65 inches.