Why are hiking boot laces round?

November 30, 2010 7:25 AM

Does anyone know why hiking boots have round laces? While sneakers seem to always have flat laces, it seems like hiking boots often have round ones. I'm just curious.
posted by snofoam to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (15 answers total)

I'm not so sure this is true. Converse sneakers do have flat laces, but all of the running sneaks I've owned have had round laces. And although synthetic hiking shoes usually have round laces, leather hiking boots often have flat laces. I thought this was interesting, though, and googling lead me to this thread on the straight dope.
posted by pintapicasso at 7:34 AM on November 30, 2010

Round laces are generally easier to untie, which is useful in situations where you'd actually want to untie them -- cold hands and wet boots at the end of a long day hiking. (They also sometimes need a bit of persuasion to stay tied.)

That's a slight rationalisation, though: hiking boots are pretty much descended from military boots, and military boots have round laces because they work better with grommet eyelets (as opposed to punched holes in the upper) and flat laces eventually twist out of shape.
posted by holgate at 7:35 AM on November 30, 2010

When I first started running, in 1991, running shoes had flat laces. Shortly after they all pretty much switched to round laces. So, yeah, Chucks have flat laces, as do my Stan Smiths, but they are more like fashion shoes than athletic shoes.
posted by fixedgear at 7:42 AM on November 30, 2010

Most boots, in addition to the grommets found on sneakers, also have those hook-type things (I don't know what they're called) as you get higher up the boot. These are for quick lacing and also so you can adjust the tension a bit easier. Round laces fit a bit better in these hooks, whereas flat laces tend to get caught in them. The "hook" part often snags on the flat side of the lace.

Round laces are a bit less prone to breaking and can be lot easier to untie when wet. In fact, the untying is one of the best reason for round laces.

I have purchased many boots in my years and I know at least some of them have come with flat laces. I usually buy round laces if this is the case.

None of this is based on any knowledge of the boot industry or any facts I am privy to. This is based on personal experience with both types of laces and lots of boots. I am not your boot salesman, this is not legal boot-buying advice.
posted by bondcliff at 7:46 AM on November 30, 2010

I'm wearing a pair of hiking boots that came with flat laces; I recently replaced them with round laces which I've discovered don't work nearly so well with the metal hooks on these particular boots. (Though this may be as much about size as shape.)
posted by advil at 7:50 AM on November 30, 2010

I've had lots of pairs of sneakers and hiking boots, but none have come with flat laces.
posted by Ahab at 7:57 AM on November 30, 2010

I think flat laces, where they appear, are generally more of a fashion thing rather than a functional thing. Round laces are more functional overall.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 7:59 AM on November 30, 2010

Round laces are usually sturdier, like a piece of cord instead of a piece of cloth... It would make sense that hiking boots would have the toughest kind of shoelace.
posted by mdn at 8:16 AM on November 30, 2010

As others have said, hiking boots generally have round laces for ease of tying/untying. Also, most hiking boots have high ankles, and they're typically meant to be tightened up quite a bit - most salespeople at outdoor stores that I've gone to recommend to tighten the boots up as much as possible without constricting circulation or being uncomfortable, which isn't always the case with sneakers, especially if you're just wearing them as casual shoes. The reason for tightening up hiking boots so much in comparison to sneakers is to prevent blisters or having your toes hit the front of the shoe when you're going over varied terrain. On a long hike, I'll even stop after a couple miles to re-tighten the laces, especially if the next stretch is predominantly downhill. On really long hikes, I'll loosen the boots up when I stop for lunch or something to let my feet get a break, and it's easier to get things tightened back up with round laces. Generally, I'll end up wearing hiking boots for a much longer period of time engaged in strenuous activity than I will with sneakers, and boots are typically a bit less forgiving comfortwise than sneakers - their primary function is to provide support and protection for your feet. It's also important that they be comfortable, but they typically aren't as cushy as sneakers.
posted by LionIndex at 8:19 AM on November 30, 2010

This is just a shot in the dark, but back in the days before synthetics, the difference would have been between round leather and flat woven cotton. Hiking boots, based on leather army boots had round leather laces. In fact, any decent leather shoe has round laces. Sneakers wold have been made of canvass, so woven cotton laces would be a more flexible and comfortable choice.

Another benefit of leather laces not mentioned above is that they can be cut very quickly. My uncle used to show me the proper WWII way of trying them so they were parallel and raised along the top. (as opposed to criss-crossed).
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:26 AM on November 30, 2010

...that they can be cut very quickly to remove the boot if the soldier is injured.
posted by bonobothegreat at 9:30 AM on November 30, 2010

Thanks for all the answers. I live in a warm place, so I actually have hiking shoes now and forgot about the hooky things on the ankles.

Also, bonobo's comment about the leather laces was very interesting!
posted by snofoam at 10:37 AM on November 30, 2010

I read an article about this a while back.

Round laces: strong, come untied easily
Flat laces: weak, stay tied better

Hence the recent development of OVAL laces, an attempt to capture the best of both worlds.

- AJ
posted by Alaska Jack at 3:43 PM on November 30, 2010

The round laces also are easier to pull tight when you are lacing up.
posted by gjc at 7:24 PM on November 30, 2010

Here's an answer I don't doubt you'll find ridiculous:

Round laces, as was pointed out at least a couple of times, move through the grommets and hooks much more easily than flat laces do. This has the effect of making the tension over the whole length of the round lace on the side where it forms a loop much more nearly constant than it would be for a flat lace.

This is best for a boot because the mission of a boot meant for rugged terrain is to suspend your foot inside a cushioning cocoon that will spread out concentrated impacts and pressure over as great as possible an area to ameliorate them, much as a football helmet does for your head.

The laces I've had on my mountaineering boots were placed over heavy cushioning material above an often integrated tongue, and really tightening the laces was kind of like pumping up a tire. I could feel it all over my foot, and that really enhances the suspended cushioning effect.

Flat laces on the other hand, do not spread out the tension nearly as evenly. You can make one section of the laces tight and another much looser. That means you can make one part of the shoe tight against one part of the foot (say the ankle) and leave others much looser for things like easier balance and less stressful decelerations.
posted by jamjam at 9:52 PM on November 30, 2010