Skate laces - How Long???

[sk8tmum]

How do you know what length of skate lace to buy? Barring ripping the things out of his boots and measuring them (and I'll never get them back in because he's pulled all of the aglets off the ends :roll:) - is there a formula like there is for shoes, i.e. counting the number of holes?

I'm looking for the "general answer" for my daughters who wear Jacksons and Reidell; in the case of DS, he's in Klingbeils with that Klingbeil hook on the side of the boot, plus an additional hook in the middle of the tongue that the laces twist around, if that makes a difference.

Can anyone help me out?

[SkatingOnClouds]

I honestly can't think of an easy way to estimate the correct length of laces. I always end up having to pull them out to measure them. And I use sticky tape tightly wrapped around the ends to thread them again afterwards if the ends have come off.

Aglets? is that the real word for those plastic end bits?

[Sessy]

I just went to the skating shop, put my skates on the counter and told the guy I needed new laces for them. He gave me the right size right away. If the end is ruffled and you have synthetic laces, you can hold the tip in the flame of a lighter very briefly, then (with wettened fingers) quickly press it together in several short pinches so as not to burn your fingers. The flame makes the fibers melt a little (will make them burn if you don't hold it briefly enough, you don't want that!) and you can compress them to a hard tip. The tip will look a dark shade of gray, but it's hardly noticeable. Then you can cut the compressed solid tip to a sharp cone with a knife or scissors.

[onlyhappyonice]

The laces I had were 220cm, I need a minimum of 275cm so ordered them last night.

[dbny]

Aglets? is that the real word for those plastic end bits?

Yes, that's the real word!

I've used Sessy's technique many times for rentals my students wear. When you bring the end to a point, you don't need to cut them at all. For your son's skates, you can call Klingbeil and they will tell you what length to get.

[mamaskate]

My daughter wants longer laces for her skates. Where do you order them? Thanks!

[GordonSk8erBoi]

If your pro shop doesn't have 'em you can order them from Rainbo Sports, for $4 or so.

[dbny]

Jenskates (http://jenskates.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=47) also has them, for less than Rainbo, IIRC.

[sk8tmum]

Canadian source for laces and such like:

www.skatingboutique.com

ordered them (with other stuff that I needed) late monday night, they were in my hands today in the a.m. Good service ... low delivery fees. Don't know how prices compare on this small dollar type item, I just go for reliability and low hassle-factor.:lol:

[mamaskate]

Thanks. Our pro shop only has pink laces, and they're too short!

[vesperholly]

My lace trick is to use a bobby pin on the end of the lace to pull it through the hole. It's the perfect size, flexibility and stiffness.

[mikawendy]

The web site for the manufacturer of the skates maybe would list recommended minimum skate lace length for the skates? At least, that would be the sensible thing for them to do, but I don't know if they do.

[Mrs Redboots]

If the aglets have come off, use a bodkin to thread the lace through the holes.