One thing I’ve always maintained is that you simply cannot beat leather for durability.
The material has lots of other great qualities, of course, but in this day and age one of the main things we’re all thinking about is sustainability.
A quality piece of leather kit can last you decades, and mean you never have to buy a replacement in all that time.
Most of us would tend to assume that when you say leather, though, you mean the leather of a cow.
In fact, goat leather is just as popular, and even has many advantages over cow leather.
Goat Leather vs Cow Leather. What are the differences and which is better?
Goatskin items tend to be smoother, softer, lighter and more flexible. It’s a softer material, much easier to work with and often more comfortable to wear. However, cow’s leather is stronger, more heavyweight and thus a better insulator, as well as being overall more durable. Both have advantages.
So, the key difference as you can see is in the hardness of the two materials.
Cow’s leather is harder, and thus more durable.
Goat’s leather is softer, and thus more malleable.
Which is best for you, then, depends on the item itself, and what exactly you want out of it.
Let’s look further into this.
Is goat leather softer than cow leather?
Yes, is the simple answer.
Goats have thinner skin than even a calf, and so they produce a much softer and more flexible leather.
This, many would argue, is the root of all the main advantages that goat’s leather has over cow’s.
Goat’s leather is very soft, and so it is much more stretchable and flexible.
This means, in a simple sense, that goat’s leather can be used to make a much wider variety of items than cow’s leather.
It can be stretched and changed to its limit, in a way cow’s leather is too hard to do.
Goat’s leather, as a result of its softness, also weighs considerably less than cow’s leather.
There is not a huge difference in this area, but goat’s leather is more lightweight than cow’s.
Again, you can therefore make items with goat’s leather which you could not with cow’s.
But, yes, ultimately, goat’s leather is much, much smoother than cow’s leather.
Indeed, this, and its flexibility, is the main area where cow’s leather fails.
But what about cost?
Is goat leather cheaper than cow leather?
This question will depend a great deal more on where you are and what kind of goat leather we are talking about.
Both kinds of leather are mass-produced in many different parts of the world, so naturally, that has also led to more artisanal and better-quality pedigrees of leather.
In general, though, goat’s leather is relatively cheap compared to cow’s leather.
Goats that can be used to make leather are, surprisingly, more abundant than cattle in the world.
For this reason alone, it is usually cheaper.
The fact of its lessened durability, too, has made it cheaper.
When you are paying for something of cow’s leather which you may use for decades, the seller knows this and sets their price accordingly.
Again, though, this won’t always be true.
Some special breeds of goat are claimed to have superior quality leather, and this may well be more expensive than most typical cow leather.
What about calfskin, then?
Is goatskin more durable than calf leather?
No, it isn’t.
While leather generally is taken from mature cows and not calves, it really makes no difference to the durability of the leather.
Calfskin leather is somewhat more flexible and lightweight, but typically not enough that it makes any great difference to the durability.
Goatskin is always lightweight throughout the goat’s development, and so you always end up with a leather that is less durable than cow’s leather.
Again, though, leather is almost always quite durable, relatively speaking.
Goat’s leather is still a very hardy material.
What is the strongest leather?
There have been a number of contenders over the years, but the answer is not cows, or goats, or sheep, or really anything you might expect.
The animal that has, pound for pound, the strongest leather, is the Australian kangaroo.
I must stress the issue of pound for pound, though.
Given the animal’s strength/weight ratio, kangaroo leather is more lightweight than others, but based on its strength alone, cow’s leather is still stronger.
However, given its relative thickness, kangaroo leather is stronger.
So, kangaroo leather provides a lightweight garment while still being extremely strong.
Of course, cow’s leather is stronger, but it’s not as lightweight—so there’s a trade-off.
How long does goat leather last for?
The first thing to say is that it all depends on how well you care for it.
You need to know exactly what you’re doing and how to keep the leather in its best condition, or it will not last half as long as it could.
Properly cared for, a goat leather item could easily last 15-20 years.
This is probably about the upper limit on it before you are in outlier territory, although longer than this is entirely possible.
There isn’t a definitive way of saying which one is better, then.
It all depends on what you’re looking for.
The simplest and most concise way to highlight the differences is that cow’s leather is stronger and more durable, goat’s leather is softer and less durable but much more malleable.
If you want your item to last a long time, cow’s leather is your best option.
If you want it to be smoother and more malleable, then go for goat’s leather—it will still last a very long time!