What is Coated Webbing? A Maker's Guide to the Material Replacing Leather
If you have spent any time around custom dog collars, equestrian tack, or handmade pet gear over the last decade, you have seen coated webbing. It is the bright, wipe-clean material showing up on long lines at dog sport trials, on bridles at agistment yards, and on collars sold at every Sunday market. It looks a bit like leather. It behaves nothing like it.
For makers weighing up what to build with, "coated webbing" is often the answer, but it is rarely well explained. This guide covers what it actually is, how it is made, where it sits against leather and nylon, and what to look for when you choose a supplier.
What Coated Webbing Actually Is
For makers building pet accessories, equestrian gear, and outdoor equipment, that combination is the whole point.
1
The Core Material
At the centre is a woven polyester or nylon core. The same kind of high-tensile webbing used in seatbelts, climbing slings, and industrial lifting straps.
2
The Polymer Coating
The core is encased in a polymer coating that seals the fibres, blocks water, and gives the material its smooth, wipeable surface and colour
3
The Result
The result is a strap that has the tensile strength of technical webbing and the cleanability of a vinyl tablecloth. It does not absorb water. It does not hold odours. It does not stretch out of shape when a wet dog rolls in something dead.
How It Is Made
The process is straightforward in principle.
1
Webbing preparation
A roll of woven polyester webbing runs through a coating line.
2
Coating application
The webbing is either dipped into liquid polymer or passed between rollers that laminate a polymer film onto each side.
3
Curing and finishing
The coated webbing is then cured, heat-set so the coating bonds permanently to the fibres, and trimmed to width.
4
Colour integration
Colour is added to the polymer before coating, which is why coated webbing colour goes all the way through the coating rather than sitting on the surface like paint.
The strength comes from the polyester core. The performance: waterproofing, UV resistance, abrasion resistance, the matte or gloss finish, comes from the coating. Different coatings give very different products, which is where most of the confusion in this category comes from.
The Three Coatings You Will See
Not all coated webbing is the same. The coating chemistry determines almost everything about how the finished product feels, lasts, and behaves in cold weather.
PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is the most common coating. It is the workhorse of the category: durable, waterproof, available in vibrant colours, and produced at a price point that makes it viable for everyday pet gear and equestrian use. Quality varies enormously between manufacturers. Cheap PVC relies on heavy plasticiser loads that can migrate to the surface over time, leaving an oily residue or eventually causing the coating to harden and crack . Properly formulated, REACH-certified PVC coating avoids these issues and lasts for years of daily use.
TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) is the premium alternative. It stays flexible across a wider temperature range, resists UV more aggressively, and does not use plasticisers, so it does not develop the oily surface that plagues lower-grade PVC . The trade-off is cost, TPU webbing typically sits at a noticeably higher price per metre.
Silicone-coated webbing is a newer, niche option. Skin-friendly and hypoallergenic, but expensive and not widely stocked. You will mostly see it in medical or baby-product contexts rather than pet gear.
For most makers building collars, leads, harnesses, and tack, a well-formulated PVC coating on a strong polyester core is the right balance of performance, colour range, and price. PAWTEX® sits in this category. A polyester-core, PVC-coated webbing built to a specification rather than a price point, and REACH certified so there is documented evidence of what is and is not in the coating.
Coated Webbing vs Leather vs Nylon
Most makers come to coated webbing from one of two directions: they have been working with leather and want something easier to maintain, or they have been using uncoated nylon webbing and want something that does not stink after a season.
Here is how the three materials actually compare for pet and equestrian work.
| Feature | Coated Webbing | Leather | Uncoated Nylon Webbing |
|---|---|---|---|
Waterproof |
Yes. Does not absorb water |
No. Absorbs, cracks if dried badly |
No. Absorbs water and odours |
Cleaning |
Wipe with damp cloth |
Conditioner, careful drying |
Machine wash, but holds smells |
Strength |
High (538 kg on 25 mm PAWTEX®) |
High, but degrades with moisture |
High, but frays at cut edges |
Cold weather |
Stays flexible (quality grades) |
Stiffens, can crack |
Stays flexible |
UV resistance |
High |
Fades and dries out |
Fades over time |
Long continuous lengths |
Yes. Up to 30 m |
Limited by hide size |
Yes |
Look and feel |
Matte or gloss, modern |
Classic, develops patina |
Utilitarian |
Vegan |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
Maintenance |
Minimal |
High |
Moderate |
Leather still wins on the things leather has always won on patina, the way a well-made collar softens to a specific dog's neck, the look of a hand-stitched bridle. If that is what your customer is buying, no coated webbing will replace it. But for a long line dragged through wet grass, a harness used at the beach, or a bridle that lives in a damp tack room, coated webbing is a more honest material. It does the job and does not punish neglect.
What This Means for Australian Makers
Australian conditions are hard on materials. UV is brutal. Coastal salt and sand find their way into every piece of equipment. Dogs swim more here than almost anywhere else. A material that absorbs water and needs conditioning to survive humidity is fighting the environment.
UV
Salt
Sand
Water
Humidity
Coated webbing is built for this. The polyester core does not weaken when wet. The coating does not care about salt or sand. A long line used at an off-leash beach in Anglesea can be rinsed under a tap and hung on a hook, and it will look the same in two years as it did on day one, assuming you bought from a supplier whose coating actually meets specification.
That last part is where most of the variation in this category lives. Two rolls of webbing that look identical can have entirely different polyester deniers, coating thicknesses, plasticiser formulations, and breaking strengths. The reason we built Pawtex Oz was to bring one specification, PAWTEX® coated webbing, made in Europe to a REACH-certified standard to Australian makers without the import hassle.
16 mm
For lightweight collars and slim profiles
20 mm
As the everyday standard
25 mm
For heavy-duty leads, harnesses, and equestrian work
If you want to feel the difference yourself, PAWTEX® is sold by the metre in three widths: 16 mm for lightweight collars and slim profiles, 20 mm as the everyday standard, and 25 mm for heavy-duty leads, harnesses, and equestrian work. Buy a metre, build a prototype, and decide for yourself. If it works, wholesale pricing is available by the roll.