How to lace your hiking boots

Sales Consultant, Transa store Europaallee Zurich

Published on: 20.11.2023Updated on: 02.07.2024

Blisters can turn a lovely walk into a painful experience – but lacing your boots the right way can help prevent this. Sales advisor Andy explains how to properly lace your shoes ahead of your next hike to avoid blisters.

When you’re on a hike, having the right footwear is almost more important than the views. After all, you won’t be able to enjoy panoramic scenery – no matter how stunning – if you’ve got blisters on your feet. And this depends as much on your lacing technique as on your boots themselves.

Your hiking boots need to give you a secure footing: you’re more likely to trip up in looser boots and put you and your hiking companions at risk. However, your footwear shouldn’t be too tight, either. A good trick is to retie your boots after about 45 minutes, ensuring that the tongue is positioned centrally above your instep. After all, your feet might swell or the material might give a little over the course of the hike.

«It seems like there are 1001 ways to lace boots and everyone does it differently. Before you drive yourself mad trying to figure out the right approach, I’d ensure your footwear has the best possible fit.»

Andy

Sales Consultant, Transa store Europaallee Zurich

These tips will help you lace up your hiking boots or trekking shoes correctly before you set off on your next adventure.

Avoid heel slip

One of the golden rules for wearing hiking boots is that your heel needs to be held securely by the boot. You can put this to the test in-store by walking up the stairs or along a trial section. And even if your heel is snug, your shoes may rub, or even cause blisters, during your hike.

Make sure your heel is sitting firmly in the heel box when you’re lacing your hiking boots or trekking shoes, too. If you pull the lace tightly through the lace hooks, this will keep your foot securely in the shoe and your heel down.

If your heel is narrower than the heel box, you need a hiking boot with a narrow last, thicker socks or an insole inside the boot.

Pulley lacing as a helping hand

If your heel isn’t being held securely enough by the boot, pulley lacing can help. This works as follows:

Once you’ve threaded the lace through the last eyelet, start by wrapping it around the first lace hook, without crossing the lace across the shoe first.
Photo © Lowa
Then, thread the opposite end of the lace through the part of the shoelace between the eyelet and the hook ,before continuing to lace as normal. This will push your foot more firmly into the heel box and keep your heel down. 
Photo © Lowa

Lacing the tongue properly

The patented LOWA X-Lacing® hooks on the tongue of some trekking and mountaineering boots enable you to position the tongue perfectly in the centre. This prevents it from moving around while you’re walking and reduces the pressure points. The lacing doesn’t depend on the height of your instep, so it’s suitable for every foot.

Instructions: how to correctly secure your boot’s tongue:

Interlace your shoelaces at the bottom of the X-Lacing hook; this will secure the shoelaces laying on top of each other.
Loop around the X-Lacing hook from both sides, return the shoelaces to their initial side and thread them into the next lacing hook. This will secure the tongue in its central position.

Adjust your shoe’s width

If the shoe is pressing on the top of your foot, just lace the shoe through two eyelets on the same side, rather than going across the middle where the pressure point is. This enables the shoe to expand.

If you want the tip of your shoe to be tied tighter or looser than the rest, simply tie a loop behind the place you want to correct in the lacing.