I am a biologist and I wear my hiking boots a lot when I'm in the field. I have a pair of&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Men-s-Merrell-Outland-Mid-Waterproof/dp/B000S6FGL4/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Men's Merrell Outland Mid Waterproof</a>&nbsp;and if you read my review on those, you'll see that my big complaint is that they suck with conventional laces. The shoes are great, but they come loose all the time, and it's aggravating having to keep tightening them. While at REI, I mentioned this problem to the associate helping me and he immediately recommended these Yankz! laces as a possible solution. Skeptical over a product that, frankly, looks from the packaging like it won't work, I desperately bought them anyway since they are fairly inexpensive.

Let me tell you: I am SO glad I wasn't dissuaded by the questionable packaging, because these things are fantastic. The container opens up with instructions on how to apply them to your shoes, and they are very easy to do. It really takes all of five minutes to do each shoe. The only confusing part is the picture for attaching the toe clip (there are two holes underneath the toe clip; insert your laces straight up through these holes, then pull the laces to the side and they'll lock in...the picture is confusing). Otherwise just use your foot to judge what will be a comfortable fit for you. You should essentially be able to slip your foot in and out of your shoes with relative ease and *without undoing anything including the cord loop*, yet your feet should be snug and comfortable within the shoes. And that's it. Do it right the first time and you should never have to worry about touching your laces ever again. These are supposed to be one size fits all up to size 12 (with larger sizes available). My Merrells are size 14, and even with threading the laces through the metal hooks on top of the shoes, these were long enough. The grey laces shine a little bit, but it's not distracting and it's a little less obvious than, say, the red laces. Check my uploaded picture to see what they look like on mine.

I would recommend these in a heartbeat to anybody tired of dealing with tying and untying conventional laces. Whereas I used to have to retie my Merrell shoes at least once an hour because they'd loosen up so easily, I have worn them around actively for almost nine hours at a time with these Yankz! laces and did not have to touch the laces. My days of having to keep retightening my shoes are over, and yours can be too.