HICKIES 1.0 No-Tie Shoelaces

Like Night and Day. Best shoe lacing system I have ever used. My shoes are more comfortable, stable, and easier to get on and off. I have size 12 6E feet with a very high instep. As a chef, I am on my feet most of the day. The ability to change the lace size depending on the place of the eyelets on my shoes to match the contours of my feet makes a huge difference between Hickies and fabric laces. So far the Hickies system works on sneaker style shoes, heavy duty non-slip work shoes, and shoes that go slightly above the ankle.I have noticed that several folks have complained that the laces were too tight. In order to get the right fit, it is essential to go to the Hickies.com website where they have both videos and pictures of different lacing styles and loose/tight dynamics. Actually I modified the extra loose instructions to get the laces to work.I have read some negative reviews about the laces snapping. I hope I do not have to revisit the site to downgrade this review. However, I imaging that getting the size right may help eliminate this potential issue.

So far, I really like these. I was VERY skeptical on their durability when I first received them, thinking to myself "No way - these things are gonna break in like 2 weeks."I've had them for about 2 months now and so far I'm pretty impressed. I think I had one come undone once, looped it back up and hasn't come undone since. They definitely are not as tight as when I first installed, so I recommend configuring them a bit tighter than you'd like, as they will loosen a bit as the elastic breaks in. I ended up using only four on each shoe for the fit I liked, leaving six for my 12yr old son to use on his shoes (he loves them too!)I absolutely love being able to easily slide my shoes on & off and still have them fit snugly or have to squirm around my heel.

I love this product. I feel like a Pinterest fail because how they look on MY shoes is NOT how they look on the Hickies shoe models. But, I have shoes with tabs, not holes (see my photos). I bought them because my laces are always coming undone and tripping me at the worst times. I even broke my ankle a few months back because of that. Glad I didn't hit my head when I went down. I've tried double tying my laces, using short laces, knotting the laces...and nothing worked. I don't remember this being a big problem when I was a kid. I'm 60 now. Active, and I own more sneakers than heels. So....Here we go:PROS: very easy to install or lace into your shoes. Took me 5 minutes and I have tabs I had to coax the Hickies through. Very sturdy and flexible, but keep sharp fingernails away from them. They look like you could pinch them in half!! lol!!Lighter than shoelaces.You get three options for lacing - tight, regular, medium, so if you're not happy with the tension, just change the way they're laced. The instructions tell you how.If you like color coordinating stuff, they come in enough colors to do that. If you don't like looking like you're a 5-year old you can get plain old black. They won't make your feet look less fat, but no one will notice you don't have laces.Good, clear, easy to follow instructions, if you don't have questions and are a visual learner. Really, you can figure this out. If you can't, then maybe someone else DOES need to be putting your shoes on for you.Good packaging and arrived a day ahead of schedule. Under promise and overdeliver is always a good policy.These are the kind of things design and package wise Apple might make.There are 14 Hickies in a package - enough for most shoes and extra if something breaks.They won't get knotted when wet. In fact, water won't affect them at all. I sail and kayak and these are perfect for slipping my shoes off and on with one hand as I usually have a paddle or something in one hand anyway. They slip on and off easily.Your kids are going to love them. Your spouse is going to love them.CONS: INsanely, ridiculously overpriced. I can see $10, or would snap up a dozen boxes at $8, but $14.99!? And I see that price has dropped a buck since I bought mine. I'd have rated them a 5-star except for the price.There could be enough for two pairs of shoes, at first I thought there were. But, no such luck. You'll use 10-12 of the Hickies and then have a few spares to throw into a junk drawer where you can't find them if one breaks. I think if they'd include another four to six hickies for the price, so you get enough for two shoes with no spares, the price would be resonable. I am using one of the spares to hold my gym key to my shoe. I think as long as there is tension on it, it should be fine. You can also loosen a Hickey to thread a car key or even those key/money wallets to the shoe, so that's good, but I'm too lazy to move it up to the PROS. I'm really trying to find a CON, but I can honestly say the price is the only think I can see right now. I've slipped them off and on a couple of times, and walked around in them and they're really great. The "regular" tension is fine for me. I guess if you're a runner or you obcess about how your shoes fit you'll have to fiddle with the tension, but as one short, fat, old lady who mostly walks for exercise and spends a lot of time with her feet in the water, I love 'em.

Definitely a cool idea with a cool look!The things these do for or to your shoes will be the reasons you like or dislike them.I'll get into that in a second but I'll just say that these don't feel that versatile or as durable as a regular shoe lace isand getting them setup the first time definitely takes more time than lacing up shoes.Basically, it's a bit of a struggle to get these on right. You want a consistent look and feel but often have to compromise somewhere on oneor more of the eyelets. Once you do get that figured out, if it's possible to on your specific shoes, you may or may not like the fact thatit will increase the amount of flex in your shoe.Casual walking shoes? Maybe you won't mind or notice, might even appreciate it. But shoes for running? I think it's questionable. Could go either way. But you certainly wouldn't wear these for some "real" tennis shoes being used for tennis. Regular laces really lock your foot into place on a tennis shoe and losing that lock-in feel really becomes a hazard or discomfort with some shoes.So the question, which is kind of hard to answer without trying for yourself, is; Will these work for me?You can really dial in the feel of laces to be just where you want or need them. Can't really do that with these. The side effects will be more noticeable to some than others and more appreciated or disliked by some more than others.All I'm guaranteeing is that they will add flex to your shoe. You might feel the shoe move with your foot less, because these laces will give and allow your foot to move out from the foot-bed of the shoe a bit. But if your shoe is flexible like a traditional running or walking shoe, or you're really just looking to make any shoe a slip on, I say give these a try. You might really like them if they work on your shoe!