There are so many different factors that go into finding the right shoe. You might worry about the fit, the style, and the color. Have your ever found what you thought was the perfect shoe just to learn that your heel slipped out slightly? You can be in the correct size shoe and still experience heel slippage – a frustrating and painful phenomenon.
So what do you do? Find a different pair of shoes? If you are set on that perfect pair that just has a bit of heel slippage, then we might have a solution for you: Butterfly Lacing. It’s an alternative style of lacing up your shoes that cinches the shoe more tightly around the heel, eliminating that pesky heel slippage. It’s simple and we’ve broken it down into 6 easy steps:
Step 1: Start with an untied shoe. Tighten the bottom laces as tightly as you would like to.
Step 2: Unlace the top two pre-laced holes on both sides of the shoe leaving a total of 3 open holes on each side.
Step 3: Put the lace on either side through the last hole on the opposite side.
Step 4: Lace each lace through the previous hole on the same side of the shoe. A loop will be created by doing this.
Step 5: Put each lace through the opposite loop that was created in the last step.
Step 6: Finally, tighten the shoe by pulling the laces and making the large loop (created in step 4) as small as possible. Tie your shoes! This can be tricky at first because you might not be able to tell which lace is coming from where. Take your time and figure out how to tighten the laces so the heel is secure in the shoe. Watch this video demonstrating the Butterfly Lacing technique.
Now you’re ready to go on a run or walk with a shoe that your heel doesn’t slip out of! If you are having trouble tying your shoes like this, stop by our retail store and we will gladly help you! Remember that this technique works for many people, but occasionally it still won’t fix the heel slipping problem. If this technique isn’t working for you, then you may want to try some of the “speed laces” that we stock in our store.
Both Xtenex and Yankz (shown above) are great laces that you only have to tie one time and that can help eliminate heel slippage. Hopefully one of these methods can help rid you of heel slippage and let you stay in that favorite pair of shoes. Now get out there and hit the trails!
~Tobin Villalva, GH Staff
Leave a Reply