We’ve noticed lately that we go through a lot of shoe and boot laces around here. It seems to be because mass manufactured eyes are more commonly made without attention to quality, leading to rough or sharp edges. Cheaper, softer metals used in eyes damage more easily, creating rough edges where none existed before. And, many laces are now braided, a woven sheath covering a tougher inner core. These cords are only as strong as the sheath; when the sheath breaks or chafes through, the lace becomes practically useless.
As the quality of shoe and boot laces decrease, the price seems to rise. We’ve found a simple way to stop this trend dead: we use mountaineering line for shoe laces. Continue reading