When you’re on the ice, you need the best hockey skate laces for you—laced in the pattern that keeps you secure and comfortable in your boot without triggering the dreaded lace bite. If you’re new to hockey, or a new-to-hockey parent, it’s important to know your general sizing guidelines, common lacing patterns, how to prevent and treat lace bite, and the differences between waxed and unwaxed laces. This guide to hockey skate laces provides the relevant information you need to make an informed decision about buying the proper laces for you or your child.

How Long do Hockey Skate Laces Need to Be?

Your skate size determines your skate lace length. Of course, some seasoned players may prefer laces a little longer or a little shorter. But, if you’re just beginning with the sport, use this chart as a starting point.

Common Hockey Skate Lacing Patterns

How you lace your skates is important for proper ankle support, stability, and comfort. Proper lacing keeps the energy and motion of your body directed toward the skate blade instead of lost within the boot. It also mitigates lace bite—pain on the top of the foot and ankle from stiff boots and tight laces. Hockey players normally use one of two main techniques for lacing up their skates: under criss-cross or over criss-cross.

Under Criss-Cross

This traditional lacing method is simple, relatively quick, provides all-around comfort, and gives your skates a classic look. We call this “under criss-cross” because the lace starts across the eyelets, threading through from the outside and under the first set. This style elevates the bottom of the lace over the eyelets, taking direct pressure off the top of the foot.

• Begin straight across the bottom at the toe so that the lace sits on top of the eyelets.
• Feed the ends of the laces from outside to inside through the eyelets.
• At each eyelet pair, cross the ends, feed the laces back under the sides and out through the next higher set of eyelets.
• Repeat until the skate is laced.

Over Criss-Cross

This second most common lacing technique helps if you have trouble keeping your skates tight. We call this “over criss-cross” because you start by placing the lace directly on top of the boot, then threading the laces through and over the first set of eyelets.

• Start straight across the bottom, with the lace directly on top of the tongue. Thread the lace ends through the inside of the eyelets then out.
• At each eyelet pair, cross the ends, feed the laces over the sides and out through the next higher set of eyelets.
• Repeat until the skate is laced.

How to Tie Hockey Laces

Whether you’re in practice, on the pond, or in a game, you never want to look down and see that your laces have come untied. Here are a few tying patterns that keep your laces in place while supporting your ankles, reducing heel slippage, and improving forward flex (the flexibility at the top that allows you to get more forward over the skate).

Double-Cross

This method keeps your laces firmly tightened and reduces slipping.

• Lace the skate using the criss-cross method of your choice.
• Once you’re at the top, cross the laces twice (instead of once) before you begin tying the bow.

Lock Lacing

Try the lock lacing method if you’re having trouble keeping your laces tight or your feet are slipping in the boots. For this technique, you don’t cross the laces at the top eyelet, but “lock” them into the eyelet on the same side.

• Lace up the skates using your preferred criss-cross method, leaving the top two eyelets open on each side.
• Cross the laces. From inside to out, put the laces into the lower pair of corresponding eyelets.
• Next, simply thread each lace through the outside of the top eyelet on that same side. The laces don’t cross. Right lace goes through the top right eyelet; repeat on the left side. From here, tie the bow as you normally would.

Dropping an Eyelet

This tying technique works best for players who want more forward flex in their skates. Some defensive players choose this lace tying pattern to help them stay on the balls of their feet while back skating. However, dropping an eyelet also means players don’t get that extra bit of support at the ankle.

• Lace your skates in the preferred criss-cross method. Leave the top eyelet pair open.
• Tie the bow as you normally would at the second pair of eyelets.

Your skating style and personal preference influence how you lace your skates. You may have to experiment with these methods to find the exact lacing pattern and tying technique that work for you. Ideally, the best way to lace up your skates and tie your laces is whatever gives you the ankle support and forward flexibility you need without causing lace bite.

What is Lace Bite in Hockey?

Lace bite is a painful condition that occurs at the front of the ankle or top of the foot. The rigidity of the skates combined with tight laces pinch the foot and ankle to the point of chronic pain, creating the sensation of your laces “biting” you. Eventually, the tendons in the front of the foot or ankle can become inflamed, causing tendonitis that results in swelling and intense pain.

How to Prevent, Treat, and Get Rid of Lace Bite

As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The best way to handle lace bite is to know what causes it and do your best to avoid those conditions. Hockey manufacturers like Bauer and CCM include inner padding and specialized tongues on their higher-end skates to help prevent lace bite.

Common Causes of Lace Bite

• New skates, in which the tongue is extremely rigid.
• Low-quality or old skates with a thin or compressed tongue that provides little padding.
• Skates that are tied too tightly, especially at the ankle transition point.
• Skates that haven’t been worn in a long time and have become dry and rigid.
• A player who hasn’t worn skates in a long time suddenly becoming very active on the ice.

These three strategies aid in the prevention of lace bite or its treatment if you have it already:

1. Try some gel padding in your skates. If your hockey skates cause lace bite—if they’re new and stiff, old and compressed, or just don’t have enough padding in the tongue—buy special products designed to add a layer of cushion between your ankle/foot and the tongue. The Elite Hockey Lace Bite Gel Pad and A&R Lace Bite Gel Pad attach to the inside of the tongue and rest against the front of your ankle. As the ankle comes forward, the gel inside the pads gently compresses, providing comfort and relief.
2. Loosen your laces.The key to avoiding lace bite may be as simple as not tying your skates as tight, especially at the top. If you have new skates or haven’t worn yours in awhile, the rigidity plus tight laces equals trouble. As the materials start to become more pliable, lace the skates tighter until you get them as tight as you want without causing discomfort.
3. Lace your skates a different way.If you like to lace your skates very tightly but want to relieve pressure on the front of your ankle, try relacing the skates. Use the “box lace” technique at the point of discomfort: Instead of tying the laces in the conventional way over the part of the tongue that’s rubbing on your ankle, skip that spot entirely. Then, continue crisscrossing to the top of the boot. Making this gap relieves the pressure on the painful spot, hopefully solving the problem.

   Some players find that the key is lacing their skates from the outside in. That is, always pass the laces through the holes from the outside, so the crisscrosses lie against the tongue. This means that there won’t be a single tight lace lying directly across your foot at the point of pain.

Getting Rid of Lace Bite

If you suffer from lace bite, ice the affected area right after you skate and at several other times throughout the day. The combination of altering your skates to be more comfortable, wearing different socks or performance material, and icing the pain will help get you back to skating pain-free as quickly as possible.

Waxed vs. Unwaxed Hockey Laces: Are Waxed Laces Better?

Some players prefer waxed hockey laces because of their ability to grip tighter or stay looser without coming undone. While waxed laces are better in certain circumstances, there are disadvantages, too. Unwaxed laces are easier to grasp and untie, which is especially helpful to mite and mini-mite players.

Waxed Hockey Laces: Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Skate laces stay tighter longer; the wax creates a barrier so water can’t loosen or stretch the material.
• You can choose which areas of your skate to tie tighter or looser, depending on preference, helping to prevent lace bite.
• Waxed laces are easier to thread through skate eyelets.
• They won't fray like non-waxed laces.
• Wax prolongs the life of the lace.

Cons:

• Waxed laces tend to snap more frequently than unwaxed laces.
• The texture of the lace makes tying them uncomfortable.
• They might be harder for younger players to handle, which may discourage them from wanting to tie their skates.
• Waxed laces can be difficult to untie and loosen in a hurry.
• They’re more expensive.

Unwaxed Hockey Laces: Pros & Cons

Pros:

• They're inexpensive.
• They're easy to grasp, especially for younger players.
• They're easier to untie.

Cons:

• Water soaks into the lace, making them stretch and loosen.
• They're not as easy to tie so that they remain tight.
• Unwaxed laces "thin out" and snap quickly.
• They're more difficult to thread through the skate eyelet, especially if the aglet has fallen off.

Are you in the market for a new set of skate laces? Pure Hockey carries a wide selection of hockey skate laces for players of every age and at every level of play. And our Low-Price Guarantee promises the most competitive prices available. If you're a parent or first-time buyer and have more questions about skate laces, contact our experts at Pure Hockey—they're ready to help!