🖤 DESIGNS YOU WON'T FIND ANYWHERE ELSE

🎯 PERFECT FIT GUARANTEED

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Real leather or vegan leather?

We make our boots in both. One came from a cow. One was made in a factory. Here is how to tell them apart, in about a minute.

The short answer

Turn it over and look at the back

The front of both looks almost the same. The back does not. That is the whole trick.

Real leather

Fuzzy and messy

  • The back is hairy and uneven
  • Loose fibers along the cut edge
  • The back is paler than the front
  • It came off an animal, so nothing is perfect
Vegan leather

Flat and even

  • The back is smooth felt, like a mouse pad
  • Clean edge, nothing comes loose
  • One flat colour all over
  • A machine made it, so it is very tidy

Our real samples

See it for yourself

These are the two materials we use, photographed at our factory.

Back side of real leather compared with vegan leather
The back tells you everythingReal leather on top is pale and hairy. Vegan below is dark, flat and even.
Front side of real leather compared with vegan leather
The front tells you nothingBoth are smooth and black. This is why looking at the front alone does not work.

Try it at home

Four easy tests

Do all four. If they all agree, you have your answer.

Test Real leather Vegan leather
1 Look at the back Hairy and messy, fibers going everywhere Flat felt, all one colour
2 Drop water on it, wait one minute Soaks in and leaves a dark spot Sits on top like a bead, wipes off dry
3 Zoom in with your phone, two spots far apart Every spot looks different The same pattern shows up again and again
4 Fold it, then let go Soft wrinkles that relax back, like skin A sharper crease that stays longer

One more thing. If the back is woven cloth or a net, it is neither of these. That is cheap plastic leather glued onto fabric, and it peels.

Side by side

What you actually get

Neither one wins. They are good at different things.

Real leather Vegan leather
Made of Cow hide Very fine nylon fibers held together with a soft plastic
Thickness 1.8 mm 1.4 mm
Breathes Better Less
Rain and spills Soaks up water, needs a spray Better, just wipe it
First week Stiff, then softens Comfy right away
Stretch Grows to fit your foot Stays the same size
After 3 years Gets a nice worn-in look Looks the same as day one
Weight Heavier Lighter
Animal materials Yes None
Care Cream every few months Damp cloth and soap

Sizing matters here. Vegan does not stretch, so measure your foot and go up half a size if you are stuck between two. Real leather stretches, so a snug fit is fine.

Do not get fooled

Three things people get wrong

"It looks too perfect, so it must be fake." No. Our real leather is sanded smooth on purpose so the print can sit flat on it. Smooth does not mean fake. Look for a pattern that repeats instead. Animals never repeat. Machines always do.
"It has no chemical smell, so it must be real." No. Our vegan material is made with a water based plastic, so it comes out of the box smelling of nothing. The cheap ones are the smelly ones.
"The tag says Genuine Leather, so it is the good stuff." No. Genuine Leather is just the name of a lower grade. It is real, but it is the weaker part of the hide. The good grades are called top grain and full grain.

Pick one

Which pair is for you

Choose real leather if
  • You want boots that shape to your feet
  • Your feet get hot and you want them to breathe
  • You like things that look better as they get older
  • You do not mind rubbing cream on them a few times a year
Choose vegan if
  • You do not want animal materials
  • You want them comfy from the very first day
  • You walk in rain and mud and want to wipe them clean
  • You want a lighter boot and a lower price

Facts and photos come straight from our factory. Real leather is natural cowhide at 1.8 mm, with good softness and breathability. Vegan is an artificial synthetic material at 1.4 mm, with better water resistance and a lower price.