Leather is the only lead material that improves with use, and the only one that can be spoiled by a puddle. Both halves of that are worth knowing before you spend on one, because the second half is on Ancol's own packaging.

This is 1m long and 1.9cm wide, cut from top-grain European bridle leather and sewn down both sides with industrial nylon bonded thread rather than glued or single-stitched. Ancol make them in the UK with their own workforce and rate this one to a maximum dog weight of 50kg. Matching Timberwolf leather collars are made in the same range, and the lead is supplied on packaging Ancol describe as widely recycled.

• 1m long and 1.9cm wide
• Top-grain European bridle leather
• Sewn down both sides with industrial nylon bonded thread
• Ancol rate it to a maximum dog weight of 50kg
• Made in the UK
• Matching Timberwolf leather collars available

On wet weather. Ancol are unusually direct about this and it is the most useful thing on the pack: leather is porous, the natural dye can run if the lead gets wet, and a soaked lead should be air-dried on its own rather than put near heat to speed it up. On a coloured lead that means a properly wet walk can put dye onto a light coat or a pale sleeve. They also recommend treating it with a leather conditioner once a year, which is a small job that nobody remembers. If your walking is mostly rain and rivers, a webbing lead is the more sensible buy and we would rather say so than sell you this one.

Who it's for: owners of a dog up to 50kg who walk on lead every day, want something that will outlast several webbing leads, and do not mind an annual bit of maintenance.