Most cow based leather is stiff when used in products like this. This pen holder's leather loop is extremely soft. The good news is, it seems to be made of genuine cow leather, as it did absorb the leather conditioner I applied to it. The conditioner I used also sealed the edges of the loop and should provide adequate protection when I place or take my pen in and out of the loop. I am using this pen holder to replace the inside pen holder that came with my Robrasim passport sized field notebook leather cover. The pen I use with this leather cover is the Zebra F-701, a fairly heavy, all metal pen. The clip on this pen loop is very tight and did leave marks on my leather notebook cover when I removed it, which is fine, since the marks show the clip was secure in place and the marks were the result of the leather conditioner I used on the leather cover and were easily buffed out. My only concern with this pen holder is the softness of the leather and the rivets holding said leather. Normally, I dread having to work-in new leather products, but this leather's softness makes me question how long it will last with normal use holding a heavy pen. Time will tell. I might be proactive and buy a second pen loop to secure the lower part of my pen to stop the torsional stretching of the leather loop.