New shoes paracord shoelace upgrade...

I replaced the cheap puffy/soft feeling shoelaces that came with my new shoes with some paracord, in the Starry Night color pattern.

*Note that the 'Starry Night' paracord is not a reflective version of paracord, but you could certainly use that type for more visibility/safety if you're out and about after dark.

I didn't get fancy with the lacing, since my feet are often swollen and I need to easily loosen the laces all the way down just to fit my dogs inside the shoes sometimes.

I did not gut the paracord (remove inner strands), but you can for your shoes/boots if the eyelets are too small for ungutted 550 paracord, or you might try smaller diameter paracord options, like 425, 325, or 275 if necessary, although there may be fewer color combos/patterns to choose from.

Some folks may find paracord a bit slippery and that it won't hold a regular shoelace knot securely, but there are other knots that can help with that, like Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot.

I believe the laces that came with the shoes were around 54" long, which seemed a bit too short for these shoes, so I used 72" lengths of paracord for the replacements.

It's better to start with paracord laces that are too long, rather than too short, so you can figure out the lacing pattern you intend to use, then trim them shorter if necessary.