The 10 Best Shoelaces
Special Honors
Laced Up Laces Custom Projects What's that? You need to order 200 pairs of custom-designed shoelaces because, you know, that's just how you roll? Cool... Well, Laced Up Laces anticipated your needs, so do what you will. If you're a fraction less neurotic, check out the rest of their website and you might find some premade and surprisingly low-cost, high-fashion ties as well. laceduplaces.com
Kiwi Dress Laces If you've ever grabbed whatever shoelaces were available at the supermarket, convenience store, or elsewhere, you've likely come across Kiwis. These tried and true darlings of the shoelace world will please but could be easier to purchase online than they currently are. Their dress laces get 5-stars on their own website, which wouldn't be surprising if it weren't for the fact that the company apparently doesn't curate customer feedback at all, leaving other pairs with 1- and 3-star ratings. I think that sort of honesty deserves this sort of mention. kiwicare.com
Editor's Notes
June 10, 2021:
There haven't been any recent developments in shoelace technology, but we did add the highly convenient Lock Laces as the new #2. They're elastic and have a dependable locking mechanism to keep them secure, and despite their stretchy nature, they should last for just about as long as a frequently used pair of athletic shoes. Otherwise, the rest of our recommendations remain the same.
February 07, 2020:
When I picked shoelaces, I thought to myself, piece of cake. What a fool I was and probably still am. If you’re like me and you find yourself thinking, “They’re just shoelaces, what is there to say?” the thing you’ve got to realize is there is a lot to say about shoelaces if you’re writing about all types of them. But if you’re only writing about the best of the best and avoiding any laces that are intended just for boots, oxfords, boat or bike shoes, and so on, the pool you can pull from is greatly diminished, as the similarity between manufacture and materials greatly increases.
A number of factors went into weighing the worth of each pair of shoelaces on this list. Some seemingly great and widely reviewed pairs didn’t make it on simply because they were nearly identical to superior pairs or it was impossible to obtain enough verifiable information about their composition. The Mshega 1/4" Solids and OrthoStep Round Athletics fill out our round lace needs, because, even though brands such as Aomidi have round options, I can’t confirm what materials they’re made from. Meanwhile, one might think some Miscly’s would make the list, but most data points to the fact that polyester options like the Birch 5/16" Flats and the OrthoStep 2 Pair Pack are better than cotton when it comes to a number of concerns. Moving forward, we have a whole other ranking dedicated to elastic no tie laces, so it seemed like putting the renowned Lock Laces No Tie on was the most prudent option.
Finally, the warning in the metadescription is very real. There is a crazy amount of ways shoelaces can cause injuries that don’t even depend on them being ill-suited or cheaply made. Forget tripping over your untied laces—imagine where you might be and what you might be doing when that cheap pair of cotton laces you saved a buck or two buying gives out and your shoe flies off your foot. Better hope it’s the beach or a ball pit at a fast-food restaurant. Be careful, and pay careful attention when choosing the pair you wear and how you tie them.