Why Are Vans Laces So Long? (Here’s the Solution)

Are you sick and tired of having to double-lace your Vans sneakers every time you wear them?

While Vans shoes undoubtedly look cool, their laces are sometimes just too long. Not only do they look messy, but they can be dangerous too. So, why are Vans laces so long?

The biggest reason why Vans laces are so long is to save production costs. Because sneakers are produced in large quantities, Vans needs to make sure that all shoe sizes can be fully laced up, so some shoes will get longer laces than others.

Additionally, there are other factors like factory mistakes that can cause Vans laces to be longer than they should. In this post, let’s talk about why Vans laces are so long, including practical tips on how to make them shorter. Let’s get into it.

What Lengths Are Vans Laces?

Before answering why Vans laces are so long, we need to find out the lengths of Vans laces. To answer the question, we searched the entire Vans website. Here’s what we found:

How long are Vans shoelaces?

Vans shoelaces have four different lengths that measure 28 inches, 36 inches, 45 inches, and 54 inches. The length of Vans laces depends on how many pairs of eyelets are on the shoes.

But there’s a catch. Unlike most sneakers, Vans have different models with different eyelet distances. Take the Vans Authentic and Era, for example.

If you notice the top part of both shoes, you’ll see that the eyelet distance is relatively small. 

Compare that with another model like the Old Skool, and you’ll see that the eyelet distance is farther from one another. This means that not only does the Old Skool have more eyelets, but they also have farther eyelet distance, which means the Old Skool needs longer laces.

Let’s take a look at one of the most popular Vans shoes, the Old Skool:

We have found that Old Skool Vans often come with 54-inch shoelaces. In most cases, replacing them with 45-inch shoelaces works perfectly, especially if you have skinny feet.

To help you compare the different shoelace lengths for each Vans model, use this table:

Using the table above, you can clearly see that each shoe model has different eyelet pairs and different heights, so if you give them the same lace length, one model is bound to have a lace that is longer than usual. Not to mention, the different shoe sizes.

You can also see that while 45 inches is the ideal length for the Vans Old Skool, they come in 54-inch laces which are significantly longer. 

While 54-inch laces may be too long for the Old Skool. they may be just right for the SK8-Hi because the shoes are taller. Vans Sk8-Hi comes with 54-inch shoelaces, sometimes longer.

But if your Vans’ laces are too long, you can simply buy replacement laces to shorten them.

Why Are Vans Laces So Long?

By now you may be thinking why are Vans laces so long?

The reason is simple: shoe companies have to cover all their bases.

Contrary to the common “criss-cross” lacing method, there are many shoe lacing methods out there, each needing different shoelace lengths.

Because of this, shoe manufacturers, like Vans, need to make sure that each shoe can be fully laced up. Additionally, each shoe size has to be accounted for.

It can be costly for a shoe manufacturer to provide different shoelace lengths for size 8 and size 15 shoes.  As a result, the shoelaces given to the size 15 shoes are also given to the size 8 shoes, even though the laces are too long.

Luckily, there are simple ways to lace Vans shoes while shortening them…

How to Lace Vans While Shortening Them

If you have Vans shoes with long laces, there are two simple ways to tie them while shortening them in the process. If you like wearing shoes without lacing them, option number one should work perfectly. But if you like lacing them, try option number two:

1. Loose Lacing Method

To loosely lace a Vans shoe (we used a Vans Old Skool for trying this method), start at the first pair of eyelets and insert both ends of the lace from the outside in.

Once the first pair of eyelets have been filled, continue to the next pair but instead of popping the lace from the inside out, insert the tubing from the outside in. While doing this step, it’s important to use your finger to limit the lacing. This creates a loosely laced pattern.

Old Skool Vans has 8 pairs of eyelets, so continue the process until you reach the last pair of eyelets. Once you reach the end, pull the tongue upwards to tidy up the lace. The end of the shoelace should hang nicely without touching the floor.

Pretty simple, right? Now here’s option number two if you want to lace them…

2. Bar Lacing Method

If you don’t know what bar lacing is, it’s basically letting the shoelaces go across the eyelet pairs instead of the conventional “criss-cross” pattern.

For this example, we went with a pair of Vans Authentic.

To start the bar lacing method, we found it best to do it on feet to provide the best snug and fit. Start at the first pair of eyelets and insert both ends of the lace from the outside in. Once the laces are inside the first pair of eyelets, hold the two ends together and pull them in.

Make sure the lengths are as equal as possible on both sides.

Then, take the left side of the tube and insert it inside out on the same side of the next pair of eyelets (so if you are holding the left side of the lace, insert it to the left side instead of crossing over and inserting it to the right side).

You can watch the video above for better visualization.

Once the left side of the lace has been inserted from the inside out, cross it over to the right side and insert it from the outside in. Do the same thing on the right side, only this time, you go to the unfilled eyelet pair because the second pair has already been filled. 

Once you reach the 5th pair of eyelets (Vans Authentic has 5 pairs of eyelets), you can simply tie the shoes and you’re good to go. The beauty of bar lacing is that you can easily shorten long laces by doubling each eyelet and making the laces sit on top of themselves.

We hope the two Vans lacing method helps!

Final Words

And there you go, the answers to the question “Why are Vans laces so long” along with two hassle-free tips on how to make them shorter.

Shoelaces are sometimes too long because shoes are produced in large quantities and it would be impossible for each one of them to have the perfect shoelace length.

However, by using the tips above, not only will you be able to make your Vans shoelaces shorter, but your Vans shoes will look even cooler.