Shoe laces upgrade

[Quixoticgeek]

For a while now I've been a bit fed up with the rapidly disintegrating shoe laces on my every day shoes (a pair of TNF approach shoes). Alas, due to a curious quirk of the way TNF make them, the eyelets the laces go through are smaller than pretty much every set of after market shoe laces I could get from the local blacks. Even too small for standard paracord.

But tonight, after having a fun evening getting very tangled up measuring out the 2mm dyneema from the group buy, I thought I would see if this stuff fits the shoes. It does.

Is it over kill to be walking around with shoe laces rated to 280kg breaking strain? The only downside appears to be the lack of aglets...

J

 

[kiltedpict]

That's what I have in my Salamon shoes- they had a sort of cable lacing system where you pulled a toggle to tighten. The cable wore through on the TGO Challenge so was replaced with 2mm cord!

 

[Dark Horse Dave]

Call me sad, but this thread lead me to google "aglet". I was surprised to find this entire site dedicated to shoelaces; even more sadly I found it quite interesting....

 

[bigjackbrass]

Don't think of them as overspecified shoelaces, consider it a convenient way of carrying emergency cordage

 

[ozzy1977]

I thought those lace ends were called flugelbinders

 

[John Fenna]

Call me sad, but this thread lead me to google "aglet". I was surprised to find this entire site dedicated to shoelaces; even more sadly I found it quite interesting....

I just had a look at that lacing site....
Some folk have too much time on their hands!

 

[ozzy1977]

That has to be one of tne saddest sites if have seen

 

[IanM]

I suspect you will find that the shoes keep coming untied.

Shoelaces need a little stretch to keep the standard knot locked without any direct tension on the knot and that is one thing that Dyneema doesn't have.

Double tying (overhand the loops) will help a little.

 

[Dark Horse Dave]

I thought those lace ends were called flugelbinders

see the FAQ - it's a myth!

 

[Hog On Ice]

I suspect you will find that the shoes keep coming untied.

Shoelaces need a little stretch to keep the standard knot locked without any direct tension on the knot and that is one thing that Dyneema doesn't have.

Double tying (overhand the loops) will help a little.

I had a similar issue with gutted paracord I use for laces so after threading the cord through the eyelets I take the two ends and feed them through a fairly strong cord lock then tie a knot with both ends at the end of the laces so as to keep the ends from coming out of the cordlock - I have found this to be a good approach that is easy to adjust for comfortable tightness plus it allows me to use the shoes with the laces loosened without tripping over the loose laces. After tightening the cord lock I tuck the end under the most forward part of the laces on the shoe, loop the knotted end back under itself and then tuck again (sort of a simple lashing) just to keep the end from flopping around.

 

[santaman2000]

....Is it over kill to be walking around with shoe laces rated to 280kg breaking strain? The only downside appears to be the lack of aglets...

J

Try making your own aglets. just get some heat shrink splice of the correct diameter from an electronics shop.

 

[ZEbbEDY]

kevlar laces with metal tips

 

[Quixoticgeek]

Update:

Been wandering around with these laces now for a few days, and managed to cover quite a few miles in that time. Conclusion so far is that there is no issue with them coming undone. Tied with your standard double bow shoe knot (does it have a real name?). They stay secure and comfy. Better infact than any shoe laces I've used in recent times. Time will tell how durable they are to abrasion. But I am hopeful.

J

 

[Big Stu 12]

Try making your own aglets. just get some heat shrink splice of the correct diameter from an electronics shop.

YOu may mealt the Dynemma as well, butworth a try..