On the advice of a friend, I decided to replace my old thick leather strap with a handmade one From Dave Schenk of Dogwood designs. We spoke on the phone several times so he could get an idea of what I wanted. I told him I wanted something flexible, soft and comfortable. He suggested several of his leather materials, sent me photos by email so I could choose the color I wanted, and we went from there. I chose the dark buffalo hide color, and he suggested to keep the strap as soft as possible to use deer hide as a backing. The hook ends are made of a very strong thin horse hide. What I ended up with has got to be the most comfortable and attractive strap I've ever laid eyes on. When I opened the box I was thrilled just by the incredibly soft materials, but I guess the real test comes by using it. So I put the strap on with the one end on the 3rd bracket behind the neck, and the adjustable end fed under the tailpiece and hooked to the 2nd bracket beyond the tailpiece. When I put the banjo on, it felt so perfect. I am probably gushing now but I just can't say enough great things about this amazing addition to my banjo. I've spent lots of money over the years on things that didn't really work out so well. I've sometimes wondered how rich I'd be if I had all that money back. In this case, I decided to go ahead and pay for quality, and my expectations were far exceeded by the excellent craftsmanship of Dave Schenk. Highly recommended A+.