# Elastic Shoelaces **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 6, 2026, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269 "2026-03-06T23:28:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/61 "2026-03-08T03:56:23Z")
Nah— art would be using two colors and making a smiley face, or cat, or something! If you want to make a checkerboard, it is pretty straightforward. Here is a guide: [Ian's Shoelace Site – Checkerboard Lacing](https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/checkerboardlacing.htm) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/62 "2026-03-08T03:59:50Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > A regular lace-up style shoe or sneaker with elastic laces can be cut significantly higher on the foot [![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/25/b1/9325b1a4363a3fd3cb1400e44d0f42a4.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/93/25/b1/9325b1a4363a3fd3cb1400e44d0f42a4.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/63 "2026-03-08T04:52:29Z")
Yeah. Well. That’s a thing, all right! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/64 "2026-03-08T04:54:31Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > Crocs are great. Crocs _are_ great, but not outside in snow and ice. They were featured in an article in the NYT about the top things ER docs wish people would stop using, because of the soles being too slippery in snow and ice. [https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/well/er-doctors-tips.html?unlocked\_article\_code=1.RlA.UvFU.f1JE0FnLUuBc&smid=url-share](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/well/er-doctors-tips.html?unlocked_article_code=1.RlA.UvFU.f1JE0FnLUuBc&smid=url-share) > [@](#): > > I was chatting with him about the situations he’d witnessed in the E.R., specifically the ones that made him change his own behavior. To start, he told me, he would never wear Crocs when it’s snowy or icy outside. > > I sheepishly confessed that, just the night before, I’d slipped on a pair and traversed my frozen driveway to take out the trash. > > “No way,” Dr. Pratt said. “Please don’t tell me you broke your ankle.” > > In winter, he sees “Croc-specific injuries” once a week. The shoes “don’t provide traction, and they don’t provide any ankle support,” he said. “People go flying, and so do their Crocs.” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/65 "2026-03-08T05:09:13Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Ok, tell me why I’m wrong. I have a pair of Kiziks, which happen to be slip-on with elastic laces. There’s _no way_ they could slip off my feet. Maybe other brands could, Idk. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/66 "2026-03-08T19:29:38Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Ok, tell me why I’m wrong. Because I now have real world data (a single two mile walk) and you are wrong at least so far. They are just as secure as regular laces. Shout out to **Dr P**. I thought that this was going to be a silly thread and it ended up being a great life hack. I may never tie shoelaces again with the exception of the one time every year or two that I have to wear dress shoes. ---
**Author:** ![sunacres](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@sunacres](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sunacres)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/67 "2026-03-09T14:01:44Z")
Those ultra-high top All Stars bring back a long-forgotten memory. Back in the 80’s, I partnered with my wife and another woman to enter Joanie Greggin’s City Sports Aerobics Expo competition in San Francisco. That was when Reebok, Avia, and a dozen other shoe makers were grappling for market share in high-status dance exercise shoes. We decided to side-step that noise and wore canvas Converse All Star high tops, originally white but we dyed them dayglo yellow. The typical exercise routines in the competition generally featured both stand-up and floor exercises, and the convention was to remove shoes for the floor work (all of this set to loud beat-heavy music of course). To make removing the high tops quick and graceful, I devised a lacing strategy that included a thick copper wire down the middle that the laces from each side looped around instead of crossing all the way over, so pulling out the wire from the top instantly unlaced the shoes all the way down. It was very cool, but of course it was quite a task to put them on so we ended our routine with the floor work and just tossed the shoes into the audience for dramatic effect. The audience went wild and at the end of the competition it was clear that we were the fan favorites, but they awarded us second place. We were young and had not appreciated the fact that the event was sponsored by the fancy shoe companies, not Converse! The judges made the excuse that we lost points because throwing our shoes into the audience was a safety hazard. I’d forgotten all about that! This board continues to delight. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/68 "2026-03-09T17:03:11Z")
That is a great story, and I like your quick-release invention! Interestingly enough, we can’t see it from that angle, but if you actually look up those extra-extra-high All Stars on the Converse web site you can see that some or perhaps all of them have a zipper going all the way down the back, saving you a good few minutes getting them off and on after the laces have been adjusted. An analogous principle, except the zipper goes down the front, was used on Gemini astronaut pressure boots, firefighter boots, some motorcycle/engineering boots (those have something other than laces to tighten them and the zipper would be on the side or back), or pretty much any boots as you can get a special zipper insert that laces in. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/69 "2026-03-09T17:30:47Z")
Those knee high Converse All Stars have a zipper up the back. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/70 "2026-03-09T18:03:40Z")
Ehh. Real world data here: Never slipped on Crocs. YMMV. But yeah, I’m good. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/71 "2026-03-09T18:13:36Z")
I haven’t untied my shoes since I was a teenager. I have always been so lazy and slipped them on and off. I started using the aforementioned Lock Laces about a decade ago myself, and they are great! The best feature is the ability to loosen or tighten. They last a really long time, too. I’ve taken them off of 2-year-old shoes and slipped them on to new shoes and got more years out of them. Only problem is they look more goofy than any of the other options shown here. With the big ol’ lock in the front. Thankfully I’m over 40 now and could not give a damn how goofy my shoes look. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/72 "2026-03-09T22:22:09Z")
Canada has more ice than most places in the Continental US. But in twenty years as an ER doc _I have not seen a single case_ of someone foolish enough to wear crocs in cold and icy conditions and injure themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/73 "2026-03-09T22:33:49Z")
That’s legit. ---
**Author:** ![vbob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vbob/32/4439_2.png) [@vbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vbob)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/74 "2026-03-09T23:03:33Z")
> [@Dr\_Paprika](#): > > But in twenty years as an ER doc _I have not seen a single case_ of someone foolish enough to wear crocs in cold and icy conditions and injure themselves. It was a minor miracle my most recent croc-slip didn’t sent me straight to the morgue. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/75 "2026-03-10T01:41:18Z")
They’re no good for climbing mountains either. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269/76 "2026-03-19T21:20:17Z")
I got my new shoes yesterday, the lock laces came today. I might keep the locking mechanism, but put back the regular non-elastic laces. I’ve only done one test walk, so will keep the elastic laces for now. Nothing horrible about the elastic ones, just not what I’m used to. Reminder, my previous shoes had a similar locking mechanism. but the laces had zero or very low elasticity. Brian [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/elastic-shoelaces/1028269.md?page=3)