How can I tie my laces so they don't come undone?

Question

This might seem like a silly question but this is a constant issue for me when hiking or even in general. I have "double" looped my laces but I actually really hate it because it's a pain to untie. Is there a way I can tie my laces so they don't come undone AND so they can be undone by pulling the two laces like normal?

Answer 1

First of all if you are really interested in tying your shoes, check out Ian's Shoelace Site. All credit for the imagery used here and most of the information given goes to the author Ian Fieggen.

For me the requirements to my shoelace knot are the same as yours (and probably most of everyone's): Secure but still quick to tie and untie.

The Double Shoelace Knot you mentioned is very common but in my opinion completely useless. It is not more secure than a simple knot. It is just a simple knot done twice, so it has the get undone twice. Plus it is cumbersome to open.

The one knot I use is a slight variation from the Better Bow Shoelace Knot. Until the following step you do it the same way:

Instead of going through the first yellow loop as originally shown in the picture below you bypass the yellow loop and go directly through the middle (shown in red, added by myself). So this variation is essentially a standard knot with an extra loop.

This is much less fiddly than the original version and is still secure enough (at least I never noticed one getting loose). Untying is very simple, just poll on a loose end.

Answer 2

Instead of a knot, how about a shoelace buckle?

Simply pull the laces through with the button pushed in, and then release and let it hold them. To take the shoes off, push the button and pull the laces through to create enough slack to remove.