https://snag.gy/HNIEzo.jpg
What I really hate is that I can spend quite a bit of my hard earned cash on some decent hiking boot. However, always a major issue for me is how useless the laces are!! (I suppose the real problem is that I am tighter than a ducks arse). All too often and too soon, the laces on my boots start to fray. This causes the protective outer cover of the lace to cease protecting the threads. This is annoying in its self, but then eventually the lace ends up snapping in two.
I would in the past purchase laces that were advertised as strong or extra strong, but all would fail, some quicker than others.
I recently purchase some “Unbreakable Boot and Shoe Laces Graphite Colour” at ?13.50 and “IRONLACE UNBREAKABLE STRONG SHOE BOOT LACES BOOTLACES” at ?12.09.
Now both these laces appear to be very good and are lasting much longer than standard laces. But the price for me just seems rather steep for a little length of string.
The photo above shows the usual rubbish lace on left and the Ironlace on the right.
Anyone know of good cordage that will do the job and I can make the laces up myself?
Looks to me like the problem isn’t in the laces, but in the eyelets. The eyelets on these shoes are made from bent pieces of metal with rather sharp edges. They will, of course be very hard on laces.
One solution would be to wear a shoe with more traditional eyelets. Another is to use shoes with more lace-friendly quick lace eyelets, if you absolutely must have quick-lace (is that the term?) at the top which are not made from bent pieces of flat metal. The (patented) eyelets made by Wesco shoe company in Scappoose ,Oregon, and used on their shoes/boots, are machined from solid brass stock, and have rounded corners. I used to wear 16" boots (which had these quick-lace stud eyelets) day in and day out with no string wear problems.
Yes, I do agree with you regarding the metal eyes JP. If that is the case then expensive laces I have purchased seem to be good at dealing with this issue.
The boots above are my old boots and I have to say I recently purchased some new ones where the eyes are plastic. So I assume that this will be less harsh on any lace.
The material that I have found that last best under that kind of abuse is climbing cord of a suitable diameter (3-4 mm?). I have a pair of boots that are great, except that they have “locking” hooks, aka lace-eaters. Climbing cord has lasted quite a while, much longer than regular laces did.
That stuff also lasts well when working with a bowdrill, so there are two reasons for using it.
I use accessory cord as laces with my trail running/mountain biking shoes, but have gone one step further.
I rub the laces heavily with bees wax.
Keeps the mud and little bits from penetrating and acts like a lubricant at the eyelets.