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Good shoes usually last several pairs of laces. In search for better laces for my boots I came across the kevlar laces by Gerba. Abrasion resistant, and also fire resistant.

Now why would you want your laces to be fire resistant? By the time your laces catch fire it’s also too hot for the rest of your body so what the heck is the purpose?

If you’ve been around welding (or any other activity involving sparks) synthetic laces may slightly melt, reducing the strength of the lace. Which is a pain.

We’re already familiar with the application of kevlar in body armor, flame-retardant clothing and gloves. So I set out to buy a pair – and find out what kevlar can do for laces.

I ordered from PBMshop, where PBM stands for Persoonlijke BeschermingsMiddelen – personal protection gear. I ordered 8 pairs and they were delivered swiftly by standard mail. When I counted them, there were only 15 laces so I was one short. This was promptly rectified by PBMshop after I contacted them about this, and the next day the remaining lace was in the mail, great service!

Testing

Of course, the question is: what DOES kevlar do for shoe laces? Well, for one, they certainly don’t burn – I tried burning one with a gas lighter and the fibres only turn bright orange. As for abrasion resistance, I’ll have to lace up my boots and see over time.

The laces are slightly thicker than the standard laces in the M90 Dutch army boots, so lacing was a bit more work that usual as it was tricky to get through the retention brackets (don’t know a better word for them…) but otherwise its ok. They are also shorter, they are 160cm, while standard laces are ~180cm and you can tie them around the ankle.

JacoOfOz did report that, due to the increased thickness, there is also increased wear if there’s a sharp edge on one of the holes. If you suffer continuous wear on the same spot, it may be worth your wile to take a close look and see if you can remove the sharp edge.