Quicker than Sand

One allowance here buys 21,830 EXP, which places it 5th of the 6 Lv 25 Leatherworker tradecraft leves that record EXP. The best of them, Campaign in the Membrane, returns 41,630 EXP for the same allowance, 91% more.

Across that rung the return runs from 18,490 EXP to 41,630 EXP per allowance — 6 distinct figures spanning 125%, so the wrong pick leaves 23,140 EXP of the allowance unspent.

On whether to wait: the best Lv 30 Leatherworker tradecraft leve returns 67,730 EXP per allowance, 63% more than the best on this rung, while the Lv 20 rung behind tops out at 24,710 EXP.

At Lv 25 this data holds 52 leves paying EXP across 2 categories: the 48 Tradecraft ones average 31,772 EXP per allowance, the 4 Fieldcraft ones 204,269 EXP, which puts this leve 31% below its own category's average.

Gil ranks it differently: 107 gil per allowance is 6th of 6 on the same rung against 5th on EXP, with the best there paying 562 gil.

Padded Leather Duckbills ×1 is a Lv 21 Leatherworker recipe, 4 steps deep through 6 intermediates, costing 6 units of raw material and 11 crystals.

Handing that in returns 3,638 EXP and 18 gil for every unit of raw material the order swallows, and the tree needs Leatherworker and Weaver.