Replacing your boot laces with 550 cord...

remmmm

remmmm

Joined
Mar 1, 2009
Messages
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I'm sure this is far from an original thought on my part, but is it taking it to far? Who out there has actually done this? I mean sure it could come in handy, but is it being too obsessive about trying to be prepared? This would be more in terms of improving your EDC vs. woods use since I'm sure 99% of the people on this forum don't head into the woods without some 550 cord in their kit...
 
Without my boots laced up their not much use to me! I just keep cordage in my kit.
 
i've used paracord for bootlaces. it's stronger than the laces my boots came with, and its a lot of extra cordage. if you had to use it, you could always leave the sheath as bootlace, and just use the inner strands for emergency cordage.
 
in iraq it was the only thing i could keep my boots tied up. everything else once it got in the dirty ass sewer water and heat and blah regular laces just couldn't handle it. the 550 cord worked perfectly all the time. and if you ever really needed it you had some
 
otis williams said:
i've used paracord for bootlaces. it's stronger than the laces my boots came with, and its a lot of extra cordage. if you had to use it, you could always leave the sheath as bootlace, and just use the inner strands for emergency cordage.
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Good point!
 
When I was in the military I did this also wrapped extra around my ALICE pack frame.
 
I did that with my woods boots. Ties a lot easier than the leather laces I had on them before. I carry more cord in my bag than I really need to, though, so I'd only rely on them for cordage if I was separated from my pack. :)
 
I have considered this - my shoelaces are currently fine, but when I need new laces why not just use a length of paracord. Sure, probably not my 'international orange' cord - maybe just some black paracord on my black shoes.

It wouldn't be my first choice to use my shoe laces for emergency cordage regardless of what the laces were made of, but if you have nothing else you can use and it is an emergency then the stronger the laces the better! I have noticed that when the little plastic ends on my shoe laces (*googles* I refer to the Aglet of course) break off then the laces are hard to fix properly, paracord can be melted at the end much better than any shoelaces I have ever owned.
 
I use to have 550 cord in my jungle boots, but you need to get them wet so they're stiff enough to hold. They stretch a little more than standard woven nylon laces, but just prefer the standard laces.

ROCK6
 
When the lace on one of my hikers broke one day, I quickly replaced both with Desert Camo 550 cord. It works well, but requires double knot or it unties itself.


MidwestDave
 
I have done it as a field repair but I don't usually do it to have extra cordage. I suppose it would work just fine as long as you used only the inner strands because properly fitting boots is one of the last things I want to give up in some situations.
 
I did in an emergency but changed it when I got home. no doubt it's tough and worked but not easy to tie and keep tied.
 
I put some desert camo 550 in my Timberlands and it works well. I preferred it to the laces they came with so I left it in there. A lot of boots come with pretty crappy laces.
 
550 cord stretches, comes untied easily, and absorbs water, mud, oil, etc.
I've never been without it for 20+ years, but suppose the main reasons I use it are that it's durable, easy to untie and reuse(< these ARE good reasons), and has a certain cool factor.
Depending on what you've worn it in or used it for, though, it can get gooey, slippery, or hard as a rock.
I've used it plenty of times as a temporary replacement, but it's not a good material for boot laces.
 
I put some paracord laces on my work boots a couple months ago because the original laces fell apart. It seems to be working OK so far, although you have to tie a very secure knot to keep them from coming apart. I'd call it a poor way to carry extra cordage, I want laces on my boots all the time dangit!

A set of good quality boot laces is probably a better option than paracord, although paracord is much easier to find than good boot laces.
 
Works great! Much better than boot laces when the plastic doo-hickey thingie breaks on the end and makes a mess of the lace.

Al
 
I had wondered about the sheath slipping and not holding knots well. Thanks for the feedback. I think some of the mixed results may have to do with different 550 cord. Of the sources I've bought it from over the years I've definitely noticed a difference in the sheath. Some have a sheath with a slicker feel and are looser causing it to stretch more and not hold knots as well.
 
i use it on my work boots but i find it does not stay tied very long but other than that i like it better than laces
 
My work boots are Carhartts and after about 8 months the original laces began unraveling and the outer casing began bunching up. I replaced the laces with OD 550 (this was about a year ago) and have since put the boots through absolute hell. The paracord has held up superbly, with so far no signs of fraying or scuffing. There is some slight darkening of the outer casing in common areas of high friction, but this has not so far affected performance.

Edited to include: I see some people mentioning that it doesn't stay tied as long, or of needing to double-knot it. In my experience, I have not had to re-tie a boot yet that I can remember, and I do not double-knot.
 
I have replaced mine with 550, but only after the original laces got worn out. I will hopefully never need it, and if I do, I would need to find a way to keep my feet warm without boots, cause walking without laces just won't work too well.
 
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