Most short track skaters spend hours agonising over blades, cups and rocker, and almost no time on the one thing they touch before every single session: the laces. That is a mistake. How you lace a short track boot decides whether your heel stays planted, whether your ankle can drive the corner, and whether your foot goes numb halfway through a session. A brilliant boot laced badly feels vague and sloppy. A modest boot laced well feels locked in and fast. Lacing is the cheapest performance upgrade in the sport, and it takes about ten seconds to get right once you know what you are doing.
This guide walks through how a short track boot laces from the toe to the cuff, how to build a proper heel lock so your foot stops sliding, how tight is actually right, and how to work with a heat moulded carbon shell rather than against it. It is written for skaters who lace their own boots, which is all of us, and it uses the LiveLica short track kit as the reference so the advice is concrete rather than vague.
Why lacing matters more than skaters expect
Everything you do on the ice starts at the foot. When you push, the force travels from your leg, through your heel and the ball of your foot, into the boot, down through the cups and into the blade. Any looseness in that chain leaks power and blurs feel. A heel that lifts even a couple of millimetres on the push steals drive and makes the blade feel like it is arriving late. A forefoot laced too tight numbs your toes and kills the fine balance you need to hold an edge. Lacing is how you tune that chain, zone by zone, so the boot becomes an extension of your foot rather than a bag you are standing in.
Short track asks more of a boot than almost any other skating discipline, because you spend so much of the lap leaning hard on a bent blade with your weight driving through the outside edge. The boot has to hold your heel down and your ankle steady while you do that, lap after lap. Good lacing is what makes that hold repeatable.
The three zones of a short track lace
It helps to stop thinking of the lace as one long string pulled tight, and start thinking of it as three separate zones that each do a different job. You can tension each zone differently, and the best skaters do exactly that.
Treat the lace as three zones. Each one wants a different tension for the job it does.
The forefoot zone
This is the section over your toes and the ball of the foot. It should be the loosest of the three. Your toes need a little room to spread and grip, and your forefoot needs blood flow to stay warm and sensitive on cold rink ice. Skaters who crank this zone tight end up with numb toes, cramping arches and a strange loss of balance, because a foot that cannot feel the ice cannot fine tune an edge. Snug enough that the boot does not gap away from the foot is plenty here.
The instep zone
The instep is the middle of the foot, over the highest part of the arch, and this is where the real hold happens. Firm tension across the instep is what pins the top of your foot down and stops your heel from floating upward when you push. If you take one thing from this article, make it this: the instep zone is where a short track boot is won or lost. A contoured tongue, like the pre shaped tongue on the EHS Short Track Boots, follows the natural curve of the foot here and spreads the pressure so you can pull this zone firm without creating a hot spot across the top of the foot.
The ankle and cuff zone
The top zone wraps the ankle and the cuff of the boot. It needs to be supportive and secure, but not locked so rigid that you cannot flex forward into your skating position. Short track lives in a deep knee bend, and the boot has to let your shin travel forward over the blade. Aim for a hold that keeps the ankle steady side to side while still allowing that forward flex. This is also the zone where a heel lock is built, which is the single most useful lacing skill you can learn.
The heel lock, your most important lacing trick
A heel lock, sometimes called a lace lock, is a way of tying off the top of the boot so your heel is pulled back and down into the pocket of the boot and held there. It is the fix for the most common complaint in short track boots: the heel that lifts on every stride. When the heel is locked, your foot stops sliding forward, your toes stop hitting the front, and every push goes straight into the blade instead of into a gap.
Without a lock the heel floats up on the push and leaks power. A heel lock pins it into the pocket so every stride reaches the blade.
To build one, lace up normally until you reach the top two rows of eyelets or hooks. Instead of crossing the lace straight over, run each lace end straight up on its own side into the next eyelet, which leaves a small vertical loop on each side of the boot. Now cross each lace end through the opposite loop, pull both ends down and outward, and you will feel the top of the boot draw firmly around the ankle and haul the heel back. Tie off as normal. The first time you feel a proper heel lock, you will wonder how you skated without it. Take the tension up gradually, because a heel lock is powerful and a little goes a long way.
How tight is actually right
Tension is personal, but the failure modes are predictable, and knowing them saves a lot of trial and error. Too loose and the foot swims, the heel lifts and the blade feels disconnected. Too tight and you get numbness, cold feet, cramping and pressure points that end a session early. The sweet spot is a boot that holds the heel and instep firmly while the forefoot stays relaxed and the ankle can still flex forward.
Aim for the middle boot. A seated heel with a relaxed forefoot beats a boot cranked tight everywhere.
A good test is to lace up, stand in your skating position, and rock gently forward into a deep knee bend. Your heel should stay planted, your shin should travel forward freely, and your toes should be able to wiggle. If your heel lifts, add a heel lock or take up the instep. If your toes go cold and numb within minutes, ease off the forefoot. Adjust one zone at a time so you learn what each change does.
Lacing a heat moulded boot
A heat moulded carbon boot such as the EHS Short Track Boots takes the shape of your foot when it is warmed and cooled, which changes how it laces. After a good mould the shell hugs the heel and ankle closely, so you often need less lace tension than before to get the same hold. Relace and retest after every mould, because a boot that needed a hard heel lock straight out of the box may sit perfectly with a gentler one once the shell has taken your shape. Always let a qualified fitter carry out the moulding, then dial your lacing to the fresh fit.
Waxed laces and why they hold
The lace itself matters more than most skaters think. The EHS boots ship with premium Canadian waxed laces, and the wax is not just for looks. Waxed laces grip against themselves and against the eyelets, so the tension you set in the instep zone stays there instead of slowly loosening through a session. That is exactly what you want in a sport of hard, repeated corners, where a plain flat lace can creep loose and leave you retying between heats. If you ever replace your laces, choose a waxed lace of the correct length so you can still build a proper heel lock at the top.
A simple lacing routine for every session
Build a habit and your lacing becomes automatic and repeatable, which is the whole point.
- Loosen the boot fully and slide your foot back so the heel sits deep in the pocket before you pull anything tight.
- Lace the forefoot zone lightly, just enough to close the boot around the foot without squeezing the toes.
- Pull the instep zone firm, this is your main hold, so the top of the foot is pinned down.
- Secure the ankle zone and build a heel lock at the top two rows so the heel is drawn back and down.
- Stand, bend into your skating position, and check the heel holds while the shin still flexes forward.
- Retie if anything feels off, and never skate on a boot that lets the heel lift.
Once the big items of your setup are sorted, you can browse boots, blades and the parts that go with them in the short track setup collection, and the smaller accessories in the short track accessories collection.
Looking after laces, boots and your feet
Dry your boots after every session, because damp laces stretch and damp liners lose their shape. Loosen the laces fully before you pull the boot off, since yanking a foot out of a tightly laced boot breaks down the heel pocket over time and frays the lace at the top eyelets. When you step off the ice, walk on a pair of blade guards so you can move around safely without ruining your edges or your ankles on a hard floor. Pull your cut resistant ankle socks smooth before you lace up too, because a wrinkled sock under a firm instep is a classic hidden cause of a hot spot. Small habits like these keep your fit consistent from one session to the next, which is what lets you actually feel your skating improve.
The best boots in the world will fight you if they are laced badly, and a fair boot will feel excellent if it is laced well. You can see the full boot range in the EHS short track boots collection and set yours up with the zones and the heel lock above.
Frequently asked questions
Why does my heel keep lifting even in the right size boot?
Almost always because the top of the boot is not locking the heel down. Build a heel lock at the top two rows of eyelets, and take up the instep zone. Correct sizing sets the potential, but the heel lock is what holds it.
Should short track boots be laced tighter than normal skates?
Firmer through the instep and ankle, yes, because of the load you put through the boot in the corner. But the forefoot should stay relatively relaxed. Even, uniform tightness all the way up is not the goal.
How tight should the top of the boot be?
Tight enough to hold the ankle steady and lock the heel, but loose enough that you can still flex your shin forward into a deep knee bend. If you cannot bend into position, ease the very top off a little.
Do I need to relace after heat moulding my boots?
Yes. A fresh mould changes how the shell wraps your foot, so retest your tension and heel lock afterwards. Many skaters find they need a touch less tension once the boot has taken their shape.
My toes go numb after a few minutes, what is wrong?
You are almost certainly lacing the forefoot too tight. Ease that lowest zone off, keep your hold in the instep and ankle, and make sure your sock is pulled smooth with no wrinkles under the laces.
Get your lacing right and a short track boot becomes something you forget you are wearing, which is exactly how it should feel when you are flying through the corners. Set the zones, lock the heel, keep the forefoot relaxed, and let the boot do its job.
