How to Lace Military Boots

We’ve said it before but finding the right military boot can have a huge impact on the success of your training and missions. Once you find the right boot, you might need a few tweaks to get the perfect fit for your foot. These are some of our favorite lacing techniques to fix some of the most common fit problems we see with boots. As always, check with your superior that these lacing techniques are okay to use within your unit.  

Army Ladder Lacing 

Army ladder lacing helps make the leather on either side of the laces more flexible, so it’s a good choice if your boots aren’t broken in. 

How to do it: 

1. Hold the lace horizontally across the bottom-most eyelets. 
2. Bring each side of the lace up through the bottom eyelet. 
3. Bring each side of the lace vertically up over the leather and back down the next eyelet on the same side. 
4. Criss cross the laces over the tongue and back up through the next eyelet. 
5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you reach the top of the shoe. 
6. Tie your laces at the top of the boot as you normally would. 

Bow Tie Lacing 

Bow tie lacing is very similar to Army ladder lacing, but in the reverse. It doesn’t use a lot of lace, so it’s also great if you’re coming up short in that department.  

NEW Garmont AR670-1 & AFI 36-2903 Compliant Boot

How to do it: 

1. Hold the lace horizontally across the bottom most eyelets. 
2. Bring each side of the laces up through the bottom most eyelet. 
3. Criss cross the laces and bring them down through the eyelet directly diagonal. 
4. Bring the laces under the leather and up through the next eyelet on the same side. 
5. Repeat steps 2-4 for the remaining eyelets. 
6. Tie your laces at the top of the boot as you normally would. 

Straight Bar  

This lacing technique can help relieve pressure on the top of your foot. It’s a great choice if you feel a lot of pain or pressure from other lacing techniques. 

How to do it:  

1. Hold the lace horizontally across the bottom most eyelets. 
2. Bring each side of the lace down and through the bottom most eyelet.  
3. Take the right side of lace and bring it up through the bottom of the next eyelet on the same side. 
4. Bring the right side of the lace over to the left side of the boot in a horizontal line. 
5. Pull the lace down through the eyelet. 
6. Take the left side of the lace underneath the leather, skipping an eyelet.  
7. Bring the left side lace up and through the third eyelet on the left side. 
8. Repeat steps 4—7 on each side. 
9. Tie your laces on the top of the boot as you normally would. 

High Arch Bypass 

This is a great technique when your arches are high, and you feel pain or pressure from your laces. 

How to do it:  

1. Find the spot on your foot where you feel the most pain. 
2. Unlace your boot down to this point. 
3. Bring each lace up through the eyelet and then back down the next eyelet on the same side. The result should be no lace crossing over your foot at the spot you’ve been feeling the most pain. 
4. Relace the rest of your boot as normal. 

Four-point Lock  

You can use this technique anytime you need some extra stability in your ankle. It’s a good choice if you have a narrower heel or if you feel your heel slipping or moving when you walk or run.  

How to do it:  

1. Use any lacing technique to lace your boot up to the eyelet that is the second to the top. 
2. Bring the lace up through the second to the top eyelet and then back down the top eyelet on the same side. This will create a sort of loop at the top of the boot.  
3. Criss cross the laces diagonally through the loop on the opposite side.  
4. Tie the boot as normal. 

We hope this helped with your lacing technique, and at the end of the day the best way to tie combat boots depends on what’s most comfortable for your foot.

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NEW Garmont AR670-1 & AFI 36-2903 Compliant Boot