Never Tie Again

My current pair of house shoes is an old pair of white canvas Keds. Although the shoes were still comfortable, after years of wear they had too many permanent stains and looked dingy to go out of the house. When they made the move to inside-only, I loosened the shoelaces so I could slip the the shoes on and off without tying, then secured the laces with a double knot and controlled the floppy lace ends by typing them with a conventional bow.

The problem was that the bows were forever coming undone. It was very annoying (and potentially dangerous) to be in the middle of carrying something heavy up the stairs and feel the ends of the laces flapping on the floor. Today I was at a shoe store and saw a pair of "no tie" laces hanging from a hook. I thought maybe they could solve my lace issue, so I decided to buy a pair.

Look like giant springs, don't they?

At home I unknotted and removed the old laces and replaced them with the curly ones. It was hard to get the springy tension just right, but once I did the shoes fit comfortably on my feet and I didn't have to worry about the laces coming undone.

It will be interesting to see how they wear, but now, after a couple of hours I'm a real fan.

Five years ago today: Memories