This article's web page actually has the essential note:
> NOTE: If your finished knot comes out crooked (eg. loops pointing heel-to-toe), it's probably because you tie your Starting Knot the opposite way to mine. This will result in an un-balanced knot, which sits crooked and comes undone more easily. See my Granny Knot page for more information.
Back when I still used to browse Imgur, there was a post illustrating how to identify and fix this easy to make mistake. It turns out that I was starting with the lace left-over-right as opposed to right-over-left (or vice-versa, not sure off-hand).
This quite literally changed my life, just a small muscle memory tweak and now my laces easily stay tied the whole day with a regular knot which is also super easy to release as well.
[0]: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/standardknot.htm
Edit:
I see he has a page dedicated to this mistake here: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm
My only advice is to start by approaching the problem. “Hey, do your shoelaces come untied often?”
It's like when you learn how to roll up headphone wires or properly clean glasses.
The temptation to do it for others (and get rejected) is way too high.
To put it more simply, many of them will simply ruin your headphones if they're done with reasonable frequency.
For thin earbud type cords, just coil them loosely in a small plastic bag or use a loose bundle secured with a broad velcro strap.
This is me daily.
It could make their lives so much better, but kind of awkward to broach. Perhaps sholladay‘s advice will work well.
[0] e.g. https://www.coachweb.com/gear/running-gear/heel-lock-lacing-...
You have bad laces. I thought this too before I tried different laces. Turns out different tensions and elasticities give different strengths of knots.
For example I have some military boots which came with slightly stretchy laces. They NEVER come undone, ever. They were the first pair that switched me on to this, and since then I have always bought laces with slight stretch to them, and the knots always stay done up.
In contrast when you buy a pair of fashion trainers, the laces in them are usually terrible and come undone several times per day as you have noted.
It was because I was essentially tying a granny knot instead of a reef knot and anyone who knows anything about knots would realize that of course they would keep coming undone.
And for the record, since learning how to tie the correct knot (over 10 years ago now), I’ve had no problem with laces that have come with any of the following brands of shoes:
- Nike
- New Balance
- Asics
- Converse
- Vans
>Makes a knot both tidy and tight.
I think I'd find this harder to remember than the principle.
If it landed up perpendicular, start over (i.e. the part before you make the loops) with doing the opposite of what you did before e.g. right-over-left rather than left-over-right.
For me it was very easy to fix the pre-loop stage, trying to change the loop stage seemed way harder to me as I was already so practiced at it.
Ditched the granny knot for the Ian's Secure Knot (https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm), and have been using that ever since for every pair of laced shoes I own.
https://cpbotha.net/2010/04/07/weekly-head-voices-20-a-lamar...
It has changed my life. I was also part of mountain rescue at the time, and nobody in the team knew about it. Now everyone swears by it.
So if you're part of any kind of first responder team - please tell your colleagues about this knot!
I never taught my children anything but the '(Fast) Ian knot', so they know no other way. They are older now, but when they were younger, they were often the friends of 'first resort' when it came to getting their shoelaces tied when they came undone.
They've also taught many other children 'their way' of tying their shoes.
I should probably donate. It's a small thing, but definitely something that has made our lives (and those around us) better.
I just tried to do the old fashioned knot, it might be the first time I've tied it in two decades.
Ian's has it's place in like camping and hiking and such, but for everyday use, it wastes precious seconds and you have to have the dexterity of a surgeon to pull it off efficiently.
Here's my story about the secure knot: I used to do a lot of road cycling, and I got back from my first 100mi/day ride pretty tired and went to untie my shoes. I couldn't, because I'd used the granny knot I learned when I was a kid-- so I wound up cutting them off. I'd learned Ian's Fast Knot before then, and decided to see about the Secure Knot. Well, happy to say, over the next 6+ century rides, Ian's Secure Knot was a dream-- it stayed put the entire day and always came undone for me-- a TERRIFIC knot!
- http://borntorun.org/shop/howtotie.html
- https://xeroshoes.eu/pages/tarahumara-sandals
- https://importantbutnotatall.wordpress.com/2011/08/22/huarac...
Infinitely many ways to tie these.
I've been rocking these almost daily for three years now. No other sandals like it. My feet feel extremely free.
They are also extremely easy to make; all you need is soling material, barge cement (if you're slapping two soles together), paracord and scissors.
Vibram soles can be had on Etsy or from cobblers. You'll probably want a molded EVA midsole if you want arch support; I haven't made sandals with any, so YMMV.
Leather's a great upper and can be found at leather shops (Tandy's here in Houston is great, and they deliver). You can also use EVA or the inside of a bottom sole as an upper for more friction.
I primarily use these for walking. (They're awesome for running; my knees, not so much.) The arches in my feet are as flat as tables. Getting the knots right enough to prevent the heel strap from stretching out was a massive challenge that I recently figured out. Once I did, these became unbeatable.
I've been debating making a video on the entire process. I'll do it if there's enough interest here. (I don't post on Reddit anymore.)