In my experience, the BOA system addresses many of the limitations of traditional laces: tightening is convenient and smooth, with micro-adjustments dialed- and locked-in with precise clicks. Having tried several trail shoes outfitted with BOA fit systems, I’ll admit I am a fan. One prominent alternative gaining traction is the BOA fit system that uses a ratcheted dial to pull thin laces through guides to tighten the upper. While all improve convenience, it comes at the cost of control and comfort for many runners. Others have gone with pull-cord designs like the Salomon Quicklace system, where you tighten the shoe by pulling on a thin, slick lace and securing it with a clip. Designers have tried various Velcro-type closures and stretchy uppers or laces. Truth be told, new tech has been developed but not widely adopted. Not only is the method cumbersome and imprecise, but it is also unreliable, coming undone at inopportune times far too often. With all the technological advances elsewhere in shoe design it’s hard to believe that no one has come up with a more effective way of securing and holding the foot than by yanking laces through eyelets and tying them in a complicated bow that we learned when we were in preschool. Today’s shoes, by and large, still use a long, thin cord crisscrossed across the instep to tighten the upper over the foot. One element, however, has remained essentially the same: laces. Outsoles are thinner, lighter, and more durable midsoles are far more cushioned and responsive and uppers are no longer leather but crafted of thin, breathable, engineered mesh or knits.
Compared to running shoes today, nearly everything has changed. The first running shoes were created roughly 50 years ago.
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