What’s to review about a shoelace? You loop them through your eyelets, tie them, and forget about them right?

The Ironlace company sells shoelaces which they guarantee to be the strongest in the world- unbreakable in fact! I bought a box of 54″ black ones from Amazon. The laces are rated for a 1,500 pound breaking strength, and are heat-resistant up to 630 degrees Fahrenheit. They’re made in the USA, and are resistant to fire, corrosion, various chemicals, and probably zombie eye-lasers.  

I ordered them to wear, so my apologies if you wanted a see a true trial by fire. The measurement equipment to test the weight claims are beyond my capabilities, and I’m not going to throw acid on, or light them on fire today. The package says they are black, but out of the box they were more of a machine-like gray. They have a unique feel, much like waxed laces, but something heavier. Imagine a fabric version of aircraft cable.

You need to give them a good pull to get a secure knot, as the laces are coated. They even lightened further around the tying area and where the laces were stressed around the eyelets. I had no occurrence of them becoming untied. I bought them for some black boots, but they ended up looking better on a pair of hikers that I had. I called the toll-free number on the Ironlace box and was instantaneously connected to a knowledgeable rep from the company. He was aware of the color issue. Turns out dyes do not take well to the material used for Ironlace, and the company is keeping that in mind for future designs and product descriptions. No one- not even the ruthless Amazon commenters- doubts the strength and durability of the lace. They clearly market these for boots, so for something dressy you could look elsewhere.

Ironlace will be releasing some athletic style (flat) laces soon, and also a line of heavy-duty socks. I spent my own dough on these rounds that ended up looking cool for different boots than I imagined. That I was able to call the company and immediately speak to a rep, who took the time to have an honest discussion about the company and its products, earned my respect from a consumer standpoint. I’ll surely be keeping an eye(let) out for Ironlace and their survivalist, hard-to-kill products, so keep Popdiatry.com on your browser for the latest.