Surgeon's knot at a glance
- Where to tie it
- At the eyelet nearest your ankle bend
- Takes
- About three seconds
- Fixes
- Heel lift and downhill toe bang
Why ordinary lacing loses tension
Ordinary lacing leaks tension. You pull the lower section tight, move up to the next eyelet, and by the time you tie off, the tension has redistributed itself evenly along the whole boot. That's fine on flat ground and useless when your heel is lifting on a climb.
How to tie it
The fix takes about three seconds. At the point where you want the tension to stop moving, usually the eyelet at the top of your instep, cross the laces and wrap them around each other twice rather than once before pulling. The double wrap binds, and everything below it stays exactly as tight as you set it.
What it fixes
This is the standard answer to heel lift, which is the mechanical cause of most heel blisters. It also lets you run a boot loose across the forefoot for swelling and tight around the ankle for a descent, which is a combination normal lacing can't give you.
What this means when you're choosing
- Round laces, which hold a double wrap better than flat ones
- A boot with enough eyelets to place the knot where your instep actually is
- Whether the boot has locking or hooked eyelets, which do a weaker version of the same job
The common mistake
Fixing heel lift by tightening everything
The instinct is to haul the whole boot tighter, which crushes the forefoot and does very little for the heel, because the tension migrates. Two surgeon's knots, one at the instep and one at the ankle flex, solve it without touching how the front of the boot fits.
Common questions
Where should I tie the surgeon's knot?
At the eyelet pair sitting over the highest point of your instep, which is usually where the boot flexes as you walk. If your heel still lifts, add a second one at the top of the ankle cuff.
Will it damage my laces?
It wears them a little faster at the wrap points, and round laces handle it better than flat. Laces are the cheapest part of a boot, so this is not a reason to skip it.