CAF Combat Boot Lacing

Why the Complexity?

For some time, I was puzzled by the reasoning behind the quite specific military specs (above). What's with all the mirroring of crossovers / boots? Why go to the trouble of creating a regulation, drawing up complex diagrams, teaching it to cadets, and enforcing their compliance – all without any explanation? Surely there must be some purpose to all this, not just military regulations for no reason?

Efficient lacing

My first thought was that it was simply a way that the boots can be efficiently laced. Zig-zagging one end all the way to the top, then zig-zagging the other end all the way to the top, is pretty efficient.

Lacing this way naturally results in alternating crossovers in the middle, with the “big-toe-end” always on top (as seen in this animated pic). In other words, the outcome (the alternating crossovers) simply results from the requirement (the efficient lacing) rather than the other way round.

So why focus on the outcome? Why not simply teach the efficient way of lacing?

Likewise, the reasoning behind mirroring the left and right boots is also not explained. Is it purely for aesthetics?

Ian's revelation!

While I was creating the above “big-toe-end” highlights, I suddenly had a revelation as to the real reason behind this lacing. If true – it's actually pretty clever!

Naturally paired lace segments

The lace segments down either side of the boot are naturally grouped into easily-accessible “pairs” of adjacent segments (see animated pic below). Because successive pairs are on alternate sides of the boot, they can be efficiently tightened as follows:

Efficient tightening technique

• Use your left hand to grab the lowest pair of angled segments on the inner side of your right boot.

• Pull upwards and inwards to tighten the start of the lacing.

• Don't let go of that pair of segments just yet!

• Use your right hand to grab the next higher pair of angled segments on the outer side of the boot (one row higher than the inner pair).

• Pull upwards and outwards to take up the tension from the left hand.

• This completes the tightening of that previous (lower) pair, freeing the left hand to proceed to the next higher pair.

• Continue pulling progressively higher pairs with one hand while slowly releasing lower pairs from the other hand so that the tension is smoothly transferred left and right up the boot one pair at a time.

• When done tightening, finish off with your preferred Shoelace Knot. This completes the right boot.

• Finally, mirror all of the above steps to complete the other boot. For example, begin with your right hand grabbing the lowest pair of angled segments on the inner side of your left boot.

Maintaining tension

This technique ensures that the tension is easily maintained throughout the whole tightening process. Compare this with how regular Criss Cross Lacing is tightened, where one typically lets go of one row in order to grab the next higher row – in the process losing much of the tension.

Note that it is possible to alternate both hands to tighten Criss Cross Lacing. But it's trickier because the hands get in each other's way in the middle of the boot. With CAF Combat Boot Lacing, the hands are kept apart, each pulling naturally – and strongly – from its own side of the boot.

Summary

CAF Combat Boot Lacing can be efficiently laced – plus it can also be efficiently tightened. That makes it doubly efficient!

Pretty cool, huh?

Hopefully this page prompts the Canadian military authorities to update their training so that the benefits of CAF Combat Boot Lacing can be fully appreciated.