3d printable Lace Lock

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

My first pair of Salomon's featured their Quicklace System. Since I'm not a real backpacker, I don't spend time lacing up tightly. So I liked the Quicklace. Just pull to cinch up and just push to release. But apparently the majority of hiker/backpackers did not. So my next pair (and its replacement) have conventional laces.

The problem with the laces that Salomon uses is that they don't stay tied. (Round, smooth and so "slippery.")

Perhaps there's a trick to tying them. I've seen the videos that we've all been tying our laces wrong. But even when I tied them correctly, they would still loosen up on trail. About every 30 minutes.

My initial solution, which has worked fine, was to thread my laces through cheap bamboo'ish beads. (That come with sombreros.) They kept my tied laces mostly tied. (I chamfered the bottom holes so as to not chafe the laces.) Still, after a few hours pounding on trail I would have to bend down (with 30 lbs on my back) to re-tie my laces.

For my latest pair, I started wondering if anyone had posted some kind of Quicklace equivalent lace lock model on the Internet.

Yep. Here are some photos. (I modified the model to chamfer the bottom holes there too.) Just tried them today on a training hike. So far, so good.

[xsproutx]

Can't say I expected you to be posting 3d printed objects
What material is that? I've not had a ton of luck with PLA in stressed applications and it kind of sucks for things that are going to be outside much. That looks like it could be PETG which is a lot better for outdoor applications but has some give to it that I would think make it not awesome for that sort of thing but I guess it would depend on the internal mechanism.

[joebartels]

I might organize a 3d printer fanatic backpack on the AZT through the Superstitions in a few months

[xsproutx]

@joebartels
Completely forgot about that conversation

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@xsproutx
PETG. Translucent Red prints smooth / seems to have low friction, which is good for applications like this. (I made a Line-Loc for my Big Agnes tent too.)

And as you said, PETG holds up well to the outside environment. CW says that it's stronger than PLA. But I'm not so sure after seeing a bunch of quantitative data from testing/comparisons.

Mine doesn't appear to be under much stress. But a Remix'er of the two-piece print that I'm using says that it has an inherent flaw/weak point and eventuallywill break internally. He remixed a stronger one-piece version, which I've already printed, just in case.

I know it's silly, but some of what I enjoy about backpacking is the McGyver stuff. As an Engineer, I enjoy using and testing clever ideas/gear.

(Probably a 1st World problem where the rest of world thinks we're crazy looking for trouble and toys to get us out of trouble.)

[LindaAnn]

Why not just switch to flat laces? They usually stay tied better than round laces, although I’ve never had a problem with Salomon laces if I double knot them. If you don’t want laces that stretch at all, and stay tied, look at Iron Laces. A pair will last pretty much forever. And no plastic contraptions to mess with, which is nice since I try to avoid plastic as much as possible.

[CannondaleKid]

While I like some types of laces far more than others and have suffered with some particularly bad ones (passionate foxtail magnets) I have VERY rarely encountered untied laces because I...

double knot them

Takes but a fraction of a second to do but well worth it.

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@LindaAnn
Agree. Don’t have lace issues while hiking ( Velcro on VFF’s and slip on sandals), but I have to wear boots for work, minimalist mind you, but boots none the less. The couple pair came with round laces that don’t stay tied. I double knot them then push the loops up through one of the top laces and they never come untied. Of course the strings are have been replaced with flat, but the habit has stayed and pushing the loops up through laces keeps the extra from going somewhere they shouldn’t or dragging on the ground and wearing out. I had a pair resoled and the cobbler replaced the laces with a very thin round lace that is very textured and it does not untie, but they are a little longer than the previous and tucking the loops is necessary just to keep them out of the way.
Of course I enjoy finding or creating things to make hiking easier. However, I’m sure I will never own a 3d printer!

[chumley]

@sneakySASQUATCH If laces are too long, I cut them to the proper length, and as long as they aren't made of a natural fiber, a quick melt under a lighter flame keeps the end from fraying.

[chumley]

@joebartels no velcro in the poll options?

[CannondaleKid]

Taking a glance at the boots hanging on the back of the laundry room door, I noted that while all 8 pair have round laces, no two are alike. A couple include slight 'bumps' along the lace (which does help keep them tied) and one in particular that stays tied quite well but is somewhat fuzzy so it picks up all kinds of detritus, the worst being foxtails of course.

In the end, I have no idea what material they are made of so I chose none... taking it to mean no preference rather than no laces at all.

[sneakySASQUATCH]

@chumley
Then they are too short use in an emergency as a hand line when you climb up something you can’t get down!