The Best Way to Lace Hockey Skates

Lacing hockey skates correctly is essential to a well-played game. Improperly laced skates can hinder your performance and put you at risk for injury. The stability of a well-laced pair of skates is a sound preventive measure against discomfort, circulation problems and unstable ankles.

  1. X-Pattern

    • The best basic scheme for lacing hockey skates is a simple X-pattern, the same pattern you normally use to tie tennis shoes. The X-pattern is the most efficient, as it uses less total length of lace per eyelet. Start by threading the lace through the bottom two eyelets, with an equal length of lace on each side. Criss-cross the laces to the next eyelet on each side, then reverse and continue up the skate.

    Lacing the Whole Skate

    • When lacing your hockey skates, do not forget that your entire foot must be stabilized and secure. If the lacing is too tight, it could inhibit circulation and cause pain; if the lacing is too loose, you lose stability and risk injury. After you put on the skate, start tightening the laces from the very bottom, pulling each criss-cross snug before moving on to the one above. Pulling from the top, the way you might with tennis shoes, will not provide adequate support.

    Personal Wrinkles

    • Some hockey players have personal preferences for lacing. Some like to wrap the laces around the top of the skate ankle; others insist on a double- or triple-knot; and others stretch lower laces across each other to increase the tightness. These wrinkles are a matter of personal choice. Try a few different arrangements and see which is most comfortable for you, but make sure you start with a carefully tightened and tied X-pattern.