Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is my second time buying/using silicon no-tie laces (to replace the traditional laces that came with my shoes.) The first pair I tried (and generally liked well enough) was made by a competitor (rhymes with Nicky's) -- a similar concept but they have a "loop" at one end of each piece that snaps over a little "hook/button" to secure them. I liked those fine, really -- I LOVED converting my lace-up tennis shoes into easy "slip-ons"! But (having US-12 feet) they didn't last terribly long for me, and one by one they started breaking after about 5 months of frequent/near daily wear. (They also were very easy to accidentally "unhook" when I'd cross my feet at my ankles.) When enough of them wore out so that I needed to consider a replacement, I found this brand's product as an alternative and decided to try it. I haven't quite made it to 5 months with these yet (to test longevity of this brand) but I do like this product more already, vs. the first product I'd used, for several reasons: 1. At a glance these look more like you have regular laces in your shoes -- they even have a subtle "fabric-like" texture on their flat surface, like a real lace would. And you don't see the "button/hook" in the center of each silicon lace like my earlier product. These give a slightly "cleaner", less-cluttered appearance as a result. 2. These can't accidentally "unhook" by resting one foot on top of the other/crossed your feet at the ankles. 3. These come as a set of graduated sizes -- make perfect sense for tennis shoes/sneakers, where the spacing between eyelet holes gets wider quickly as you move up the shoe -- the competitor's product was entirely same-length pieces, regardless of which pair of eyelet holes you were lacing -- having graduated lengths in this product I feel contributes to a better fit, AND I think, less likely to have over-stretching (by using a longer piece in the upper, wider eyelet holes) hopefully less breaking. Additionally, because I can use the shorter-length ones nearer my toes, the overall fit of my shoe is now a little more snug (not at all over-tight, however) than the competitor's result. (Right now, I have this product entirely lacing my left shoe, and the competitor's product entirely lacing my right shoe, so it is easy to compare fit and feel.) I will happily buy these again (for my other pairs of tennis shoes) once I pass the 5-month mark with no breakage, to confirm whether they last any longer for me. vs. the first product. My only caveat/warning is that they required some really focused work to get them INTO the tennis shoes' eyelet holes -- I had to use a tapered, flat-tipped chopstick to help force them through the tight eyelet holes of my shoes. Took about 10 minutes to get both shoes outfitted with these, but I love the result!