How To Prevent Shoelaces From Untying - Best Tips And Products

Do your shoelaces keep coming untied despite your best efforts? Well, this can be not only frustrating but also incredibly dangerous, especially during physical activity. Fortunately, there are several effective tips, techniques and products designed to keep your laces secure throughout the day. This guide will cover all of the practical tips and products you can use to prevent your shoelaces from coming undone so that you can choose the solution that’s best for you.

 

Why do shoelaces come undone?

There are several factors that could be at play if your shoelaces keep constantly coming undone. The repeated impact of walking or running gradually loosens the knot and some lace types, such as smooth laces and round laces are more prone to coming undone than others due them sliding against each other more easily. However, the two main factors which will affect how long your laces stay tied are your knotting technique and the length of the shoelace itself.

 

Best tips to prevent shoelaces from untying:

1. Use a shorter length of lace

Most shoes and sneakers are produced with a single, excessively long length of lace to accommodate for all shoe sizes and lacing styles. For most people, this will mean a large, annoying excess length of lace that gets in the way and makes frequent contact with the ground, causing knots to come undone easier and more frequently. The best way around this is to simply purchase a slightly shorter length of lace. You can use our shoelace size guide to easily find your ideal length and browse our collection to find the perfect replacement pair.

2. Try the "Unlaced" style: A trendy alternative.

An increasingly popular trend among sneaker enthusiasts is the “unlaced style”. Again, this style involves using a shorter length of shoelaces which is short enough to allow the lace tips to hang freely from the top ‘eyelet’ without the need to tie the laces together as shown below. This style has benefits not only aesthetically, but functionally too. If you do this correctly, you’ll never have to tie your laces again. Again, the trick to achieving this style lies in choosing the right type and length of laces. Visit one of our product pages for a comprehensive guide on how to choose the right length for your shoes.

 

 3. Try a different knotting technique.

If you’re not ready to invest in a new pair of replacement laces quite yet, the best thing to do is to try a different knotting technique. Most of us were only ever taught the one method, commonly known as the ‘bunny ears’, however, did you know that there are various other, much more effective techniques for tying your shoelaces that are certain to keep your laces tied for longer.

In our experience, the two most effective shoe lacing techniques are:

1. The Surgeons Knot

And

2. The Ian Knot.

Both these techniques require practice to get right, but if you follow along with the easy video guides linked below these techniques shouldn’t take you long to master.

 

1. The Surgeons Knot

 

2. The Ian Knot

Conclusion:

Shoelaces constantly coming untied will likely be a persistent issue unless you take steps to address it. The easiest way to ensure your shoelaces remain tied and secure throughout the day is to buy a shorter, higher quality pair of shoelaces to address the main factor which comes into shoelaces constantly coming undone, which is excessive length. Alternatively, you can also opt to learn new lacing techniques such as the Surgeon’s knot or the Ian Knot which are safer and more effective.

By following this guide and choosing the solution that works best for you, you’ll enjoy a more comfortable and secure fit, no matter what shoes you’re wearing.