I can't tie my shoes!

[Dick]

Now that I've got your attention...()

I've always had issues with tying my boot laces. It's not always a simple issue of tying a bow and letting it go at that. Once, on Mt. Emmons, someone taught me how to lace boots for hiking descents that helps (marginally) to keep toes from pressing into the toe box. My bigger issue is simply that my two most recent pairs of boots won't stay tied! I now have an EMS boot in summer (I forget the specific model) and a North Face "Baltoro" boot for winter. In both cases, no matter how I tie them, they loosen, and rather quickly. Earlier boot models laced with no problem what-so-ever. The issue now is not the knot itself, which stays tight (usually, but not always), but that the boot laces themselves "relax" their grip on the boot itself, so no matter how tight the knot is, the lace material is still loose beyond the knot. There's not enough lace to wrap them around the boot, but I don't think that would solve the underlying problem.

Has anyone else experienced this problem? Any solutions? Different knots? Different laces?

Thanks.

Dick

[Rick]

Dick -
If it is those big round laces, get rid of them or consign yourself to double knots. I have had several pairs of boots like this and they were quite annoying until I finally broke down and just replaced the laces.

[sacco]

don't know if this helps at all but i know some laces are actually designed to be tied with a square not - not a bow.

military boots all come w/ laces like that - or they used to anyway.

[Dick]

don't know if this helps at all but i know some laces are actually designed to be tied with a square not - not a bow.

military boots all come w/ laces like that - or they used to anyway.

I was never taught to tie a square knot in my boots when I was in the Army -- and I'd hate to have to untie a frozen one! But my point is that I could tie a quadruple square knot and the lace would STILL loosen in the lace grommets of the boot.

[Judgeh]

I always double knot, else I have wandering laces.

[redhawk]

You just have to retighten them now and then. Also depending on whether you are ascending, descending or walking on level ground, the tightness should be different.

Can't you just train Joanne to tie them?

[ken999]

Dick- give your laces one more wrap, then pull tight... (before you tie the "loops" around one another)

[Judgeh]

I also find that as the leather warms and loosens around my foot during the first hour or so of hiking that I have to tighten my laces.

[Rivet]

I have the same problem (laces becoming untied). I think it may be the laces. I find that it helps to tuck the free ends under the tied laces.

Somebody should design boots with velcro straps.

[Bill40]

Try tying half knots at different places between the loops. Also, if you have hook loops try the lace going reverse; take the lace over the top of the loop, then down around and over itself on the wayto the other loop. This locks that protion tight; even if other parts of the shoe become loose. Good Luck.

[Neil]

I think flat laces are better than round for staying put.

[percious]

I concur, flat laces are better, but for some boots, round laces fit the grommets better. An example of this is La Sportiva's Glacier, which has ball bearings in the grommets. I too have a problem with my laces, I do use double knots and they still loosen. I just have gotten good at catching up when I have to tighten them, and I learned if I undo my gaiters from the top down, I can quickly get them back together without taking my snowshoes off.

-percious

[lumberzac]

I found this site and thought it might be helpful here.
http://www.newbalance.com/productbro...type=&feature=

[sacco]

that's a nice link zac. i just switch my lacing

[starbaby]

I recently purchased a pair of North Face Chilkats and it exhibits this same problem. In my life, I have never had problems with laces loosening until I wore these boots (they have flat laces too). I found a small amount of success in mediating this problem by tieing a half knot (the part you tie before you finish with the bow) on the loops before the last ones and then finish on the top loop with a regular double knot. I hope that was understandable, but I don't know my knot lingo very well. However, unless I make some progress on solving this problem, I will just replace the laces with a regular, high end lace.

SB