No tie laces seem to be growing more and more popular among athletes – from runners to triathletes and cross-fitters to OCR runners – as they provide versatility without the worry of needing to stop and tie your laces at a critical moment.
I approached Caterpy Laces, being the market leader, about the Run the Peaks challenge and whether they’d be up for supporting the team. In response they have very kindly provided me with a pair to test and review ahead of the challenge. So I laced up my shoes and put them to the test over the 10 days. Here’s my review.
The hook
Caterpy Laces are a simple, no-tie alternative to a traditional lace.
What they say
Caterpy Laces are the world’s bestselling no-tie shoelace.
Featuring unique elastic bumps that pass through the eyelets or your shoes easily, they provide adjustable tension between the eyelets and can enhance a broad range of shoes.
Caterpy Laces are scientifically designed to promote healthier blood flow and reduce impact pressure whilst training be responding to the movement of your feet. Elasticated laces can increase the convenience and comfort of your shoes whilst removing the need to stop and tie your laces.
The look
Caterpy Laces come in a huge range of colours, I’m wearing Passion Orange, so you got a great choice which allows you to mix and match to suit your individual style or your shoe colour.
Lacing up
The laces take the same amount of time to insert in to the shoes as any normal shoe lace. As you pull the laces through the nodes obviously make this process a little more challenging than normal, but if it wasn’t then I’d be less confident in their ability to stay in place. The laces come in two sizes – 50mm and 75mm depending on your shoe size, so be sure to pick the right length. Important note here that if you try to pull the laces too tight the bobble will flatten and you will lose the no-tie effect. Any significant extra lace can either be folded in to the shoe or be cut off (thanks to the material used it won’t fray, as long as you remember to cut in between two bobbles as opposed to cutting through one). Personally I’ve simply pushed the end down through the eyelet, so the lace is brought inwards and not dangling around.
The feel
I’ll be honest, it took a couple of attempts and adjustments to get the tension right with these laces. Initially each shoe had a different tension and so that the pressure was even the way I first laced them caused a little bit of pinching at the top of the foot / ankle. Once I’d run once and got a feel for this I’ve managed to get the feel just right – to be fair I adjusted them on route which goes to prove just how quick and easy they are to use. To be fair, they do advise you start loose and then tighten to your desired tension.
The laces are elastic (made from interwoven strands of Rubber and Nylon), so as your feet swell slightly and your movements in the shoe change while running the laces expand without tightening, pinching or cutting off blood flow. I found only very minor slippage at the heel, but this is something I’ve always struggled with due to the shape of my feet, that said I never felt like my foot was going to come out of the shoe* or that I was getting any hot spots.
*Now at this point I will caveat my review with this – I wore these on road and hard trails, not loose or muddy ground – so I can’t say how they’d perform in boggy, wet conditions where you would experience more pull on the shoe.
What I liked about these laces are that I didn’t feel the pressure across the top of my foot that I would normally get, particularly on the longer runs. They just felt great to run in, simple as that really.
I also like the fact that I can quickly and easily slip my shoes on and off, so for my ‘brick’ (Run – Bike – Run) sessions it makes the changing of shoes so much quicker and easier. So, this got me thinking about how good they would be for multi-sport events such as Duathlons and Triathlons but also for casual and work shoes – the possibilities are endless!
The price
At £6.99 a pair Caterpy Laces are excellent value for money particularly considering the quality of the materials used. At this price point they compare favourably to other competitors on the market (Hickies £9.99, for example).
The Verdict
If, like me, you like to keep your running simple and cheap then Caterpy Laces are for you.
They look great, they keep your shoes looking neat and you’ll never need to worry about tying your shoes laces again. They remove pressure points created by traditional laces, while retaining a tight feeling fit.
I’m sold, I genuinely love these laces and will be keeping them in my road shoes for the foreseeable future. I’m yet to test them in trail shoes, but I will update this review when I do.
If you want to find out more and buy a pair head over to www.caterpylaces.com
You can find them on social media too at;
Guy Stapleford Ultra 