How to lace hockey skates: Everything You Need To Know

Laces in hockey skates are overlooked by us often.  Our concerns are always on the boot and roller, which is okay. But, laces are not less important. If your laces are not okay, you will not be able to perform okay. A quality lace is essential for handling the tension, as laces are tied hard. so we want to know how to lace hockey skates. 

Many of us are not aware of the sizes of laces. It is a matter of concern that a number of the unwanted event causes due to, undersized or oversized laces. Lastly, the ways of lacing up are significant and will be discussed in this article

How to sizing hockey lace?

Hockey lace should not be too short or too large. If your laces are long, you will have to tuck extra part under your insole. It is sometimes irritating if you have too much to tuck in. On the other hand, shorter laces give trouble to tie tight. You will lose the scope of trying different styles of lacing.

Steps to determine lace size:

• Using a measurement tape, you have to measure the gap between the bottom-most eyelets at one side. 
• Count the eyelets. 
• The idea is to get the measure of the hole to hole. Multiply the number of holes at one side by two. Then multiply it by the measurement of the gap. That is our number.
• So, we know the measurement of the hole to hole, simple add 15-19 inches with the found measurement for lacing up.

Hockey skates lace length

You should know the required length of your lace if you are reading from the beginning of this article. The size chart of lace is simple. It is defined into age groups and given different size numbers for different age groups. 

Children skates require laces about 32-45 inches long. This age group is not under any size group. Youth skates should need 72 inches long, junior group lengthwise plus 72″ to 84 inches, and lastly, the adult group requires 96 inched to 130 inches or more.

What size hockey skates do I need?

Formal shoe and skate shoe is not the same. Skate shoes are made to perform extreme duty. Quick run and stop and turning, what not! Always buy skates that are one or two sizes smaller than your regular shoes. Downgrading the sizes may leave you with the snugly fit, but it is worth it. Wearing a loose skate hinders performance and increases the risk of injuries. 

How to lace up hockey skates?

There is no boundary in the styles of lacing. But there are some cautions. 

• You have to lace tightly enough but without causing pain.
• Ankles should not be moving inside once you lace up.
• Tuck in the extra lace to avoid tangling

5 Common Lacing Styles

1 Under Criss Cross Lacing: 

It is a classic method of lacing. In skates, it is vital to choose fast styles. Fast styles help to release anytime needed during the game. 

Steps to do under criss-cross lacing:

• Start from the bottom holes. 
• Insert the lace heads proportionally in both holes at both sides. 
• Climb top-most hole pair by lacing outside to inside. 
• End the holes by inside to outside and tie-up with necessary tightness. 

2 Over Criss Cross Lacing:

By name, we see this style is similar to the under criss-cross. The difference between the two is, this time, we will over cross the lace between the eyelets. This style is tighter than the under criss-cross. 

Steps to do over criss-cross lacing:

• Start in the same old way.
• Reach to the top by lacing inside to outside.
• End the eyelets by crossing over the laces. 

3 Double Cross Lacing:

The double-crossing method helps to hold the lace tight and minimize the slippage. It is simple and effective. One problem may arise when you try to untie. It will require you little trouble. 

Steps:

• Lace-up using any steps above. Spare more lace in one side
• When you get the top eyelets, cross the laces as usual but cross twice for a double-cross. 

4 Lock Lacing

Lock lacing stands as its title. Lace will work as a lock. This way of lacing will make you feel more comfortable during stop and run. Foot stays in a locked position inside the boot. It decreases slippage. Lock Lacing is a little time-consuming. Sometimes, you will get a hard time unlocking. 

Steps:

• Start to lace following any method above, and the best option would be criss-cross
• Pause before the last eyelets
• Now, instead of inserting the laces through different sides, do it on the same side.
• You will get loops on both side, cross the laces through the loops on the different sides
• You have done the lock lacing, tie the lace as you want.

5 Dropping an Eyelet

It is a useful method to follow. You will get more flexibility in bending forward. If you are playing at defense, it is the most suitable way to do it. The negative side of this style is, it will make your ankle feel stiff. 

Steps:

• The method is more straightforward than you are thinking, lace following any way above.
• Skip the topmost eyelets and tie as usual. 

How should hockey skates fit?

Hockey is quite a rough game. You have to be at the top of your balance and comfort to perform well in the ground. The ground is icy and slippery. If your skates are out of fit, you won’t stand still against the charges of the opponents. 

Five ways to assure you how should hockey skates fit.

1. The toe should not be scratching while you are at ground stance.
2. The heel should be locked in one position. It should not move a little while skating around.
3. There should not be any gap between the heel and the back of your boot.
4. Boots should not be too tight or too loose. It would help if you assured a snug fit.
5. The boot surface should not be too stiff, which creates discomfort.

How to measure hockey skate?

There are many ways to measure. The simplest way is as below:

• Take two pieces of blank paper.
• It should be a little larger than your feet.
• Your feet should be wet at this stage. Make sure it is wet, but water should not drip. 
• Place your feet on the pieces of the paper. 
• You will get the watermark
• Measure both length and width. 
• Math the ratio and you will get your skate size

Final Words

Before we finish the article. A few words for you. Always try to make snug fit while you lace your hockey skates. A too loose or too tight skate will make you uncomfortable only. It will hinder your performance too.