How to Lace Hiking Boots

You have been doing it for years. You were taught at a young age to tie your shoes and haven’t looked back since. But when it comes to lacing up your hiking boots, though, it’s time to start paying closer attention. The more typical lacing technique that we use for most, if not all, of our shoes and boots, works well for most situations but not all. First and foremost, you have to make sure your foot is firmly secured inside your boot so that it won’t slip and cause painful blisters. This isn’t always an easy task because many of us have found that either one foot is slightly different from the other, or that our boot size falls in-between half sizes. Because of these sizing issues and a few others, one common problem with hiking boots is that the heel of your foot does not stay in place.

Thanks to the team at REI, below are three different lacing methods for more comfortable feet while avoiding pesky hot spots which eventually lead to blisters.

1. Surgeon’s Knot: Simple and useful, prevents heel from slipping.
2. Window Lacing: Eases pressure points on the top of your foot.
3. Toe-Relief Lacing: Relieves pressure in the toe box.