Most of us learn how to tie our laces when we start going to school and give no more thought about it. But lacing hiking boots is different from our normal shoes.
Just purchasing the right kind of footwear doesn’t mean you won’t get blisters. You have to pay equal attention to the way you lace hiking boots.
This article is going to teach you how to lace hiking boots. Let us know the right ways of lacing hiking boots:
3 Different Ways to Lace Hiking Boots
There are three top ways in which you should lace your boots so that you can avoid any type of problems such as blisters. Let us know how to lace hiking boots in the right manner:
1) Surgeon’s Knot
There may be a time while hiking when you feel as if you are slipping away too much. This is probably because you have space in your shoes near the top of your feet.
Secure your hiking boots (or mountaineering boots) on a leveled plain and hold them in place with two surgeon’s knots. This lacing style is quite effective, and your boots won’t get loose anymore. Let us know how to perform this lacing technique.
- Tighten the laces and remove all the slacks out, securing the boot on top of your leg with no or little space, just enough to breathe.
- Find the two sets of hooks that secure the lace that is closest to the point where your foot starts flexing forward. These are the points where you have to tie the surgeon’s knots.
- Take the laces and wrap them twice around one another and pull to tighten them. Make sure that you straightaway insert the lace into the next hook so that the knot’s tension can be locked.
- Repeat the third step again with the other topmost hook.
- Now you can lace the rest of the boot in the way you regularly do and go back to hiking again.
2) Window Lacing
While hiking, if you ever feel your nicely tied boots have started exerting too much pressure on a single point located at your foot’s top, the way to get rid of this problem is through window lacing.
Widow lacing is also known as box lacing. Let us get to know how to go about this style of lacing:
- The first step would be unlacing the boot until you reach the hooks near or just below the point where there was too much pressure.
- Now start re-lacing. Do this by going directly to the hook next and then cross both the laces over.
- After you’ve done the crossing, you can finish lacing your boot the way you would normally do. An alternative to that would be tying a surgeon’s knot on the upper and lower edge of the snugger hold’s window.
3) Toe-Relief Lacing
While hiking, if you are experiencing too much pain in your foot and you think you won’t be able to continue anymore, this type of lacing can get you back in the game.
Toe relief lacing works wonders when it comes to relieving the pain and pressure in your feet. Let us get to know how to go ahead with this style of lacing:
- The first step in this lacing style is to completely take off your boot’s lace.
- Now, after you’ve removed the lace, start putting it back by skipping both the hooks that come first. By skipping the first hooks on both sides, the tox box gets opened, which takes away some of that pressure on your feet.
Final Thoughts on How to Lace Hiking Boots
Now you know which lacing style to follow when you are facing problems during hiking. All the lacing styles are easy to follow, and you will have no problem while doing them. Keep in mind that learning how to properly lace your hiking boots helps to break in your hiking boots quickly.
But even if trying all the three styles does not give you relaxation, it means that it is time for you to get a new pair of boots. The reason why your feet are always hurting while hiking means there is some problem with your boots.
A footwear specialist can guide you during these times and can find the best fitting boot for you, which will not only be perfect for your feet but will have space for them to breathe. Further, read our guides on how to waterproof hiking boots and how to clean hiking boots.
