Keep Your Sneaker Tongue in Place

How to Keep Your Shoe Tongue in Place

Have you ever been so fed up with a slipping shoe tongue that you wonder why it’s on the shoe at all? While we totally understand your frustration, we can assure you that the tongue is an integral part of your shoe’s design. In fact, the tongue of your shoe serves a number of different purposes including:

• Protecting your foot from getting dirt and water on it through the gaps between the rows of eyelet holes.
• Cushioning the top of your foot.
• Providing a barrier between the top of your foot and laces that might dig into your skin.

Given these facts, it’s best to prevent tongue slippage with some tried-and-true techniques.

Stop Tongue Slippage in Shoes With a Creative Shoelace Design

Take a look at the tongue of your favorite pair of shoes. If it’s an athletic-style shoe, such as a sneaker tongue, you’ll notice a flap of fabric that has been sewn into the tongue toward the upper middle. This flap is meant to be woven into the lace design to keep the tongue in place. Therefore, if you choose a pattern of lacing such as the straight tongue lace design technique , you can easily keep the tongue where you want it.

How to Keep Sneaker Tongue Sliding at Bay Without the Lace-Ready Flap on the Tongue

What happens if you decide to try a different style of lace design that doesn’t use the flap on the tongue to hold it steady when you’re wearing your shoes? In this case, it’s important to take a few prevention steps:

• Always try your shoes on. Make sure the fit is the best one for your feet — this goes a long way toward ensuring a non-slip tongue!
• Make sure the tongue is flattened out before you put the shoe on your foot. Many times, the tongue can become crushed or bent under the laces. When you put your foot into the shoe, the tongue is more likely to move around because it’s not in a perfect position.
• Make sure you have proper positions when lacing. Your shoelaces should be comfortable, but they should fit well. By using Lace Anchors®, you can position them so they won’t become too loose , thereby allowing the tongue to flop around.
• Tug the tongue upwards gently but firmly . After putting on your shoes, this will help it lay flatter and give it a snugger fit around your foot.

A slip of the shoe tongue can lead to subpar performance on the court, on the track or in the skate park. It can also cause injury or irritation to your feet. With Lace Anchors®, head off any tongue slippage before it becomes a true problem and get back to enjoying your shoes.