Good aftermarket boot laces?

[Philip Tschersich]

My Salomon Aero mids have sharp edges on some of the eyelets and have chewed through a few sets of laces. I have now hit the offending eyelets with a diamond dremel bit to radius the edges, but I still need some replacement laces. Something not too thick, holds a knot well without needing 3 double-ties, and decently durable. And not hot pink. Any faves out there? I did not like the stock Salomon laces much. They were thick and would not stay tied.

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

I like Lawson’s, as well as liking to support cottage industries.

https://lawsonequipment.com/

 

[Rex Sanders]

Bought a pair of Lawson Technora ToughLaces for trail runners. Very tough looking but kind of thick, stiff, and overkill for those shoes, so they didn’t stay on long.

Switched to Lock Laces and I’ll never go back to tie-them-yourselves, and it’s not because lazy. Probably not tough enough for @philip-ak eyelets if Dremel bits were involved.

— Rex

[Philip Tschersich]

Does Technora cord stay tied? Some of these modern ‘stronger than steel’ fibers like Spectra are slicker than snot on a doorknob and don’t hold a knot well.

I sometimes have to do a bunch of steep side-hilling and don’t think I’m a candidate for elastic laces at this stage.

[Rex Sanders]

In my very limited experience, the Technora cord stayed tied without problems. They are woven, not slick:

Reviewers on the Lawson website love them. Just didn’t work for me on my shoes.

— Rex

[Rex Sanders]

NM – web site hiccup or user error. Your choice.

[SIMULACRA]

I’ve found that flat’ish oval shaped laces fit and feel much better than round and in my experience hold a knot very well. Round laces tend to dig into the top of my foot. Not something you can buy easily aftermarket, but Garmont offered this type standard on their Dragontails lineup.  If you contact, they might be able to offer a “replacement” pair to you.

[J R]

++ to Lawson’s. They stay tied for me.

[Philip Tschersich]

I grabbed some Lawson’s and will give those a try.

Cheers, folks

[Jon Fong / Flat Cat Gear]

BTW, most people tie their shoes incorrectly.

 

[Rex Sanders]

I literally never think about knotting shoes anymore. My shoes slip on and off, when I want, without even bending down. And they stay secure enough while backpacking on reasonable trails.

Doesn’t work for all types of shoes or all situations. But I can snug them up for more challenging conditions.

HYOH TYOK – tie your own knot.

Or not :-)

— Rex

[jscott]

My local rei sells flat laces. I find these stay knotted far better than round laces. I always replace the round laces that invariably come with a new pair of shoes or boots.

they also sell the Lock Laces that Rex mentions, and I may try those for my at home boots and shoes.

[Philip Tschersich]

BTW, most people tie their shoes incorrectly.

Whew. At least user error is not the origins of my auto-untying Salomons.

[Roger Caffin]

BTW, most people tie their shoes incorrectly.
Oh really?????
I did not know there was a government-approved Standards-endorsed, legislated ‘correct’ way.
But who believes YouTube videos anyhow?

We have always found the New Balance laces very good, but we never do our laces up tightly. Even on some of the most difficult terrain, a soft touch with the laces has always worked for us. Having the correct size and width always helps.

Cheers

[Gary Dunckel]

I made a pair of laces from a 50′ hank of Lawson’s Technora cord. He gifted it to me once when we were doing lots of projects together. It was a bear to cut (like impossible) with my burly leather scissors. When I finally got it cut, a bunch of the internal strands frayed a good bit. I trimmed them as best as I could, then I “painted” the ends with some Gorrila glue to keep things together.

Then I had a hard time running the cord through the tight eyelets of the boot. When I got it all assembled, I slipped a 3/4″ length of aluminum tubing over the ends, which I pinched tight to prevent them from slipping off. This worked out nicely. The second lace was easier to make, as I figured out how to do it.

These laces are amazing – no detected slippage at all, and I fully expect them to outlive me. If I decide to make another pair for a different pair of boots, that will leave me with about 30 feet left over, which might be perfect for the planet’s strongest bear hang cord.  It was interesting to me that my final pair of these boot laces weigh just a gram more than the stock Salomon laces.

So I highly recommend these laces. I’m sure that Lawson knows how to cut this material, and his come with sexy looking metal tips. Like I said, these should last a lifetime.

 

 

 

[Philip Tschersich]

I have 2 hikes with mine so far. I did not double knot my bow just to tempt the laces to come undone. They didn’t take the bait. They are indeed fat and barely fit through the eyelets, but beyond that they seem to be a fine solution.

With a nod to Rex, I do actually like a slightly dynamic lace and wouldn’t mind a tiny bit of elasticity so that it doesn’t feel like you are being retained by a cable, but other than that so far so good.

[SIMULACRA]

..so that it doesn’t feel like you are being retained by a cable

I’m telling ya’, get the flat laces..

I custom made a set of paracord laces for their strength, durability and multi purpose use (was kind of in the same situation you were). Two problems with them. They never liked to stay tied with one knot. Required double knotting. And they dug into my foot like a cable. Took a couple years to figure it out and switched them with a pair of flat laces. It was like night and day. My feet never felt better.

YMMV

[Roger Caffin]

And they dug into my foot like a cable.
Maybe you had them too tight?
We tie our laces very gently, not at all tight. The right sized shoes of course.
Never have any problem, with grip, blisters, pain or whatever.

Cheers

[SIMULACRA]

Yes perhaps. Tied the other laces with the same intensity with no issues though.

mazel tov

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