These are a really good idea, I got them for my pre-teen and teen since they always seem to destroy shoestrings 5 minutes after wearing their shoes... I gave these 4 starts because they do exactly what they are supposed to, but, my son still managed to destroy them in less than a week. I was so much hoping these would be more durable since they don't untie so they're not dragging the ground like his other laces. I would still recommend these though! especially for someone who doesn't annihilate shoe laces by just looking at them as my children do...