No, stick with the plastic, but be sure you unlock the straps before opening the cover.
When installing covers and locks, we always tell the customer not to lock the back locks because they are always the first ones to break or damage the cover strap at that location. Especially with kids or teens, they unlock the front latches and proceed into the spa while pushing the cover back off of the spa, sometimes with force because the cover lock down straps are still attached.
The receivers that are attached to the spa are easily replaced. The "fork" insert that goes into the receiver, which is put in place prior to the strap being sewn on, can be easily replaced. First, take some wire cutters to cut the fork off of the cover strap. Take the replacement fork and cut a 1/8" gap in the center of the section where the strap attaches to, and then work the strap onto the fork piece sliding the strap onto the cut plastic part, moving it from left to right until the strap is flat on the fork attachment.
