Are You Tying Your Shoes Incorrectly?

As a child, one of the first milestones you hit was when you finally learned how to tie your shoes. Think about it: your world opens up as a child when you finally understand how to tie your own shoelaces. It gives you a freedom that you previously did not have. When you can tie your own shoelaces, you do not have to rely on your parents or other caretakers to tie your shoes for you any longer. Your ability to get up and go is greatly elevated, which both scares and delights your caretakers. You most likely learned the “bunny ears” technique when you tied your shoes. However, we might just rock your world today and inform you that you’ve been tying your shoes the wrong way this entire time!

Why?

Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, studied the mechanics behind the unraveling of shoes. In this study, they examined a woman running on a treadmill and measured the gravitational force that was pulling on the shoelaces. They discovered that different types of knots yielded different results, and the most common shoelace knots were not the most effective way to tie shoes. Traditional shoelace tying involves crossing over the left tie to the right, pulling the left end though the loop, and then repeating. The more effective way to tie a knot that stays put involves crossing the left lace over the right and then crossing the right lace over the left. This type of knot is known as the square not.

Other Reasons That Shoes Come Untied

The repeated action of the foot hitting the ground also causes a shoelace to unravel because of its high amount of gravitational pull. As the feet keep hitting the surface, the free ends of the laces swing around and slide out of the knot. The final blow to the knot’s existence occurs when one lace slips free of the it.

How Many Ways Can You Tie Shoes?

So far, we’ve only covered two different methods of tying shoes, but you can really go crazy here: Burkard Polster, a mathematician at Monash University in Victoria, Australia, discovered that there are “43, 200 different paths” to lace a shoe with two rows of six eyelets! Who could have guessed the multitude of methods that you can use to tie your shoes?

In fact, if you run a search engine on the different ways in which you can tie your shoes, you might be amazed by all the cool ways you can tie your shoes. After all, tying your shoes in an interesting knot could offset some of your favorite sneakers, such as your Yeezy Boost 750. These stylish and comfortable kicks come in grey, black, and brown, so it only makes sense to add a pop of color by pairing them withRed Rope Laces. If you would rather pair these shoes with more low key laces, then you might pair them withBlack and White Rope Laces instead. No matter what shoes you wear, Lace Kings offers a wide selection of cool laces to choose from. Shop our inventory of designer shoelaces today to find the best shoelaces available.