Furthermore, what the heck do bunny ears have to do with it?

November 17, 2006 1:06 PM

Do flat shoelaces stay tied better than round ones?

I first heard this as an adult, and it sounds preposterous to me. Sure, I think all of us have experienced laces on one particular pair of shoes that seem to come untied a lot, but is that due to shoelace shape, construction of the shoe, or some sort of coating (waterproofing maybe?) on the lace?

posted by ilsa to clothing, beauty, & fashion (14 comments total)

When I started running circa 1991, every pair of running shoes had flat laces. They were usually made of cotton. Somewhere along the line, maybe in 1992 or 1993, every shoe manufactrer seemed to switch over to round laces made of synthetics. That's athletic shoes. I had a pair of waterproof timberland wingtips that had extremely thin waxed laces that just would not stay tied and there I think it was the coating.
posted by fixedgear at 1:28 PM on November 17, 2006

I can run three miles in my gym shoes (flat) without having to retie, but my damned dress shoes (round) come undone at least three times a day. Think of removing an arrow from your abdomen (an experience any of us can relate to, amirite, people?); the circular shaft slides out easily, it's the flat head that can't make it through the mostly circular wound.

If only all askmes were analogous to 11th century hunting accidents.
posted by Terminal Verbosity at 1:31 PM on November 17, 2006 [1 favorite has favorites]

Flat laces stay tied better
posted by Packy_1962 at 1:36 PM on November 17, 2006

i'm not sure but on personal experience, yes - to a point. the older the flat laces get the "looser" they get, which results in a looser tie. or maybe that's just because my flat shoelaces are thick? not sure. (i wear pumas)
posted by sporky at 1:38 PM on November 17, 2006

i am almost positive i read once that oval laces stay tied the best. i wish i had a clue how to find the source...
posted by ZackTM at 1:40 PM on November 17, 2006

Ok, so this brings me to part two and three of the question (which I thought of about 10 minutes after hitting "Post"):

Why would this be so?

If flat shoelaces really stay tied better, why on earth does anyone make/buy/use round ones?
posted by ilsa at 1:46 PM on November 17, 2006

yes, flat laces ftw.
posted by sophist at 1:48 PM on November 17, 2006

Cross-Section Shoelace Diagram

1. On my New Balances - stay tied all the time
2. On my dress shoes - double knotting required or I will be tying them all day
3. On my boyfriend's shoes - stay tied most of the time, but require one to two re-ties a day

(can anyone tell I have lots of work to do today?)
posted by youngergirl44 at 1:49 PM on November 17, 2006

Perhaps round laces are easier, and therefore cheaper, to weave than flat or oval shaped ones...
posted by youngergirl44 at 1:50 PM on November 17, 2006

For anything shoelace related you can usually find the answer at Ian's Shoelace Site. A lot of people tie Granny Knots in their laces causing the knots to pull against each other. In this situation the flat laces would have more surface area in contact with the other, making it a bit harder for the knots to come untied.
posted by hamhed at 1:55 PM on November 17, 2006

There is a view that flat laces generate more friction in the knot than circular laces due to the greater area of lace in contact.
posted by youngergirl44 at 1:57 PM on November 17, 2006

Wikipedia adds that laces can be coated to increase friction.
posted by youngergirl44 at 2:01 PM on November 17, 2006

A few years ago the winner of the Boston Marathon had to stop several times during the race to retie the laces on the sneakers that his sponsor (one of the big sneaker companies) gave him. They were newfangled round laces.

He still won the race, but he missed breaking the record time by less than a minute. The sneaker company apologized for giving him the crappy high-tech laces and paid him the bonus money that he would have gotten had he broken the record.

Moral: keep it flat.
posted by alms at 3:35 PM on November 17, 2006

yes, yes, yes
round laces are a scourge, especially for athletic shoes
posted by caddis at 5:48 PM on November 17, 2006