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Oct 30, 2023

Do Your Boots Have Speed Hooks? Here's How to Use Them

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a

Every product is carefully selected by our editors. If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission.

This technique is jaw-droppingly fast.

Welcome to Further Details, a recurring column where we investigate what purpose an oft-overlooked product element actually serves. This week: those hooks at the top of your boots.

If you’re the proud owner of a pair of Red Wing Heritage Iron Rangers, Wolverine 1000 Mile Boots or perhaps a pair of Viberg Derby Boots, you’re familiar with speed hooks. But even if you don't have any of those popular boots, you’ve likely seen speed hooks on a number of other lace-up stompers.

Instead of the usual metal eyelets most shoes are equipped with, speed hooks are metal hooks which make lacing, as the name implies, speedy. Rather than having to fuss about, threading each lace carefully through each eyelet, speed hooks allow the wearer to simply wrap the laces around each hook. They’re especially useful for tall boots that require a bit more time and dexterity to slip into and out of. If your boot of choice lacks these quick-fastening doodads, you might’ve resorted to skipping the top set of eyelets to wrap the laces around the ankle instead.

As speedy as they are, you’re probably not getting full horsepower out of them. Most people would take one lace in each hand and wrap them around the speed hooks, crisscrossing the laces and exchanging them from one hand to the other as they make their way up the boot. That's fine if you also like the slow lane, but you can kick it into high gear by using just one hand. Yes, one hand.

Grab both laces with one hand, holding one lace between your ring and middle finger and the other lace between your middle finger and index finger. Pull the laces taut and pull them from side to side, weaving the laces around each speed hook, gliding back and forth like a professional speed skater hooker. It’ll take some practice to get up to, ahem, speed, but once you do, you’ll be shaving off valuable time from your morning routine.

Although tall boots and others that need the extra security typically come with speed hooks already installed, you can take matters into your own hands (pun intended) and install your own set of speed hooks to your favorite boots. You can find kits with hooks of various finishes and the necessary tools to install them on Amazon.

To install the speed hooks, take an eyelet on your boot and set the mounting tool inside of the eyelet. Next, place and secure your speed hook on top of the mounting tool. Then, place a washer and tap the top of the speed hook lightly with a hammer to secure its position.

But, if all of this sounds like a bit more of a battle or elbow grease than you're willing to endure, you can always take them to your nearest cobbler and have them install speed hooks for you.

If you want to make the boot-lacing process easier, speed hooks are the way to go, whether your boots already have them, or not.