Why do hiking boots have red laces? Hiking boots are durable and provide the sufficient support needed by feet and ankles to hike on the trails. They are water-resistant and provide comfort to the feet and ankles with their cushioned insoles and outsoles.
Although the hiking boots are stiffer, they are soft on the feet and heels so that you don’t get blisters while hiking for many hours. You can wear them on all types of terrain including the rocky and icy ones, and the boots can endure harsh weather without causing any trouble.
In terms of style and design, hiking boots are not stylish because they are not meant to wear as a fashion accessory. They have some subtle or dark color ranges, so you can pick the one you like but apart from that, manufacturers look for ways to increase the durability of the boots rather than the designs or styles.
Hiking boots are also designed to provide traction and be visible when going on the hunt while wearing them. It saves you from danger because the other hunters will recognize you earlier.
In the early ’80s or ’60s, hiking boots were only worn by people when they went hunting or fishing, but in 2022, the scenario has changed, and people have started to wear them more often, even just for casual days work.
If you usually wear hiking boots or a lot while hiking or just running errands around the city, you might have observed red laces on most hiking boots. The laces are also a mixture of red and brown or green and black blended together to form a color like dark red.
Ever wondered why hiking boots have red laces? We have gathered information in one place to help you understand the importance of the red color laces in hiking boots.
Why Do Hiking Boots Have Red Laces?
Red is a color that shows vibrancy and boldness in general. You have seen the red signals and danger sign boards that are colored red so they are easily noticeable and can be seen from a distance so that you can avoid the danger.
In terms of hiking boots, red laces are symbolic. Hiding back to the history of hiking boots in the late 1800s, hikers started wearing shoes for only hiking purposes. Fast-forwarding to the 1900s, people began to wear them for outdoor activities, and radios, ads, and writers encouraged people to wear hiking boots and go outdoors to discover nature.
Moving to our era, manufacturers saw the bridge between the possibility of making multipurpose shoes or boots that can serve as hiking boots and can be worn by people for simple outdoor activities. Also, they made the soles of the hiking boots very comfortable and the outsoles stiffer for traction.
Although the manufacturers have brought much attention to the style and design of the hiking boots, the red laces have been treated as a tradition by them, so they have not aged yet.
The reason is that the red color seems to pop out even if it has dirt or debris. Imagine you can see a red-colored skirt or a top from various shelters or dresses and will have a quick eye on it because it seems fresh and vibrant. The same is the scenario with the hiking boots, as red makes them more visible to the forest rangers or other hikers.
Apart from the history, let’s talk about the reasons for making red laces for the hiking boots so you may find a detailed researched answer to your query.
Reasons For Making Laces Red
Differentiate Hiking Boots
Manufacturers in the 1800s designed hiking boots with rugged material and wanted them to stand out. Those people used red laces so the hiking boots could seem different from the everyday working boots. It may be for advertisement purposes so that people buy hiking boots solely for hiking ventures.
It seems to have formed a tradition or, say, has become a uniform for the hiking boots. Moreover, the red laces make the look of the hiking boots more rugged, making them easily noted by others from a distance.
Hiking Boots Seem Less Dirty
Hiking boots have earth-tone colors, and that is because these colors will not seem dirty whenever the boots get dirt from the hiking terrains. Even the mud stains would not be that much visible. So, to make the hiking boots visible even beneath all that dirt, the red color seemed a perfect choice; that is why the laces were made of red paint.
Orange and green colors could also make a great choice, but they were not that different from the earth tones. For this reason, the red color was given more credit and is still being used by manufacturers to make laces for hiking boots.
Since the laces don’t seem that dirty, even if you have all the boots covered with the mud or dirt, so you don’t have to worry about cleaning them after a while or so. And if you wash them, red laces get cleaned and all-new just by a little effort.
Red Laces Are A Tradition
Red laces have been a tradition since the 80s, when people started hiking in the forests. High-quality industrial hiking boots makers had made these boots with red laces to differentiate them from the other light hiking boots and work boots.
Also, the red laces helped the hunters find out the other ones by looking at their feet or hiking boots. Since animals and birds cannot have the red laces, the fellow hunters could easily find their mates in the rainforests.
Still, up to this time, the hiking boots have followed the same trend or tradition to make them stand out from the rest of the crowd. Moreover, the red laces have become a uniform for the high-quality hiking boots, but now that is changing, and there are other color laces, such as green and orange laces, to make them different and classy.
Keep You Safe
In the early 80s, people started wearing vibrant color laces such as the red ones to help the other hunters find them out before shooting or mistaking them for an animal. Also, it helped them be more visible to the troops or forest rangers so that if the hiker is found injured, they could see him through the hiking boots laces and rescue him to a safer location.
The fun fact is the animals cannot see the red color that efficiently. Therefore, if you encounter a situation with a grizzly bear or a roaring lion, you can be saved if you hide in the bushes and your boots are visible.
Steps On Cleaning Hiking Boot Laces
- Take the laces out of the shoes and place them under the tap water. Then add cleaner and rub the soft toothbrush against the surface to clean them up.
- You can also leave the laces in soapy water with a fabric conditioner for 30 minutes. You can also pour in some baking soda to remove the extra dirt.
- If you’re thinking of washing them in the laundry machine, use the mesh bag and properly wash them with the added fabric conditioners.
Final Thoughts
Hiking boots are versatile and durable; they provide comfort on the trails and have been designed and curated to make the user look classy. Red laces have been in tradition since the early 1800s to differentiate hiking boots from the other boots. Also, the red laces clean off easily and stay vibrant despite dirt on the shoes.
Hiking boots have other laces combinations such as a mixture of green and black, red and brown to implement variety in the hiking boot’s design. Red laces have formed a solid foundation as a uniform in hiking boots, which is why many manufacturers still use this color as lace. Also, red laces are an old-school look, and if you carry it with elegance, then you can rock this look.
Hiking boots are of different laces colors, and you can choose any color from the above. Red laces offer vibrancy, boldness, and a mysterious classy personality.