How to tie hiking boots? What stupid questions! But many people fail to do it properly. That’s why we are trying to provide short but valuable information about how to tie hiking boots which might help every newbie hiker.
Tying hiking boots is an essential skill for any hiker. Properly laced boots will provide support, help protect your feet from debris, and keep you from developing blisters while out on the trail. To make sure you’re doing it right, here are the steps to properly lace up your hiking boots:
Start by undoing all of the laces on your boots. Pull the laces tight to loosen them before completely undoing them.
Place both feet inside the boot and pull up to ensure a snug fit around your ankle and calf area. This will give you an idea of how much pressure to apply when tying the laces.
Starting with the toe area, feed one end of the lace through one eyelet on each side, then pull both ends through evenly until they are tight but not too tight around your foot. Make sure that each side has an even number of eyelets threaded through it so that when you tie off at the top there won’t be an odd number of loops on one side versus another.
Cross both ends over each other twice in a criss-cross pattern, threading one end through one eyelet above and below it before threading the opposite end in between them and pulling tight with equal tension on both sides of the laces to secure the criss-cross pattern in place (see picture).
Continue up until you have reached the top two or three eyelets (depending on how tall your boot is). Then do two or three more sets of crosses below where you started before ending with a final set at the very top. Once complete, tie a bow with both ends to hold it together firmly in place and check that all areas of lacing are secure and comfortable around your foot and ankle areas without any uncomfortable gaps or loose parts when walking around or doing basic activities like climbing stairs or lifting objects up off the ground with your foot fully planted into it during movement (see image for example).
Finally, double-check everything again before heading out onto trails – no hiker wants sore feet halfway into their trek!