Our Story

NOVEMBER 2015 - BEGINNINGS

“I never liked using hockey laces for throwing strings. They always felt too soft and the ball seemed to float out of my stick. I never liked mesh either, and have used leather my whole life. I just felt leather gave me more control, more feel, more snap.

My older brother always strung my sticks growing up, but when I decided to go my own way to Princeton rather than joining him at Loyola, I knew I would have to find someone else. A teammate was the first stringer I knew to use the crosslace for the top shooter, doubled up, to give it a little extra pop. We would add three more thick nylon old school shooters to complete my shooter set up. Tightest, looser, loosest for a nice release but plenty of snap and hold.

In the Summer of 2015 I was deciding what little extra special giveaway to do for my LSL camps, and I started thinking about shooters. With a little online searching I was able to find a company that would customize a shoelace for me with name and logo. Rock and roll.

Then I started to think about what else you might be able to do to a shoelace to not only give it a unique look, but to make it perform more like the shooters that I like in my own stick. More snap. More hold. More power. I thought about my board shorts, and the draw string. They had added some grippy to the lace to keep the knot tight when you are out there in the water. What was that? How did that work? Can we use a grippy lace in a lacrosse stick? Yes. Hello FIRETHREADS.” - Lorne Smith (Firethreads Creator, Lifelong Player, Coach & Fan)

NOVEMBER 2016 - YEAR 2 LAUNCH UPDATE

"Wow that first year flew by!  I learned a lot in year one, and am taking that knowledge and putting right into the new 2017 Firethreads line.  As the product began to prove itself this year, I wondered what else we could add GripPrint to in the pocket.  Being a traditional guy, that is where I started.  We tested synthetic leathers and crosslace with GripPrint, and noticed the quick/no break in....ok that was new and cool.  The first protos had too much stretch though which led to inconsistencies, so we changed out the core to non-stretch, added a double side of GripPrint to the "leathers", and tried again.

The first shootaround with this second round proto all Firethreads traditional pocket was one of the most fun first shoot arounds ever.  (See it for yourself on our YouTube.)  The consistency and feel were unreal.  And water tests are proving that the pocket does not bag in wet conditions.  What??? A traditional with no break in and doesn't change in the rain?!  We will keep on innovating to see where the GripPrint tech can take us.  It seems like a whole new world in pocket performance. FUN!"  - Lorne

JANUARY 2017 - IT'S ABOUT THAT TIME....

"It's January '17 and tomorrow I fly back to my hometown of Baltimore Maryland for LaxCon, where we will be launching Firemesh.  It was an obvious decision to look at adding GripPrint to mesh, but more important was the base thread material.  The only people who know about Firemesh right now are a handful of testers and friends who have given me feedback along the way/.  After all, I am a traditional guy, so learning mesh has been a new experience for me.  I am lucky to call some of the top stringers out there friends, and their help has been invaluable to dialing in this product.  Anyway, let's see what happens in Baltimore this weekend, and more importantly over the course of this season as people get to make their own opinions of Firemesh." - Lorne

JUNE 2017 - SUM SUM SUMMERTIME

"A few months back I asked our factory to produce the skinniest flat lace possible with full coverage of GripPrint.  The result was The Skinny, a 4mm wide lace almost completely covered with GripPrint.  I was thinking of it as a replacement for the round shooting cord.  Testing proved it does some unique things, so we added it to a new product for Summer - the 3 Pack, and made available in bulk.  It's not going to change the world, but like everything we do, it is different and brings something new in performance stringing to the game - that is what I get excited about! Other protos are in the works, and we will see how testing and development proceeds on our 2018 line - hope to have more new innovations for you in the future. Until then, here's to Summer!" - Lorne

NOVEMBER 2017 - SEASON 3 LAUNCH!

"Welcome to Firethreads Season 3, launching today November 2!  One thing I have learned over the past two seasons is that sometimes the best ideas are not preconceived.  For example the SKINNY lace came out of no where, and now I think it is one of our more unique and functional products. It proved itself this past summer in the 3-Pack, so for the new 2018 Stringer Pack, I replaced all of the shooter cords with Skinny Laces.  Another product that was not planned was is the WLAX DYNAMIC KIT.  After seeing some @laxtractive pockets using our 3mm sidewall for the center runners, I asked Robin why she used them and she said because of the slight stretch.  This is due to the core material.  So we decided to make a women's specific pocket system utilizing our RAIL 5mm synthetic leathers, but with different cores for the inner and outer runners.  The result is a women's pocket with more give, pop, power, and control.  Plus, they require no break in and don't change in water, which are the big benefits of the RAIL products. As the ladies get more into technical custom pockets, I am so happy to provide this dynamic pocket system to keep raising the potential performance bar!  Firemesh rolls on for another season, and I have been taking all of your feedback and incorporating it into product development - we are in our 3rd prototype round of the new mesh product - hope to have it for Spring.  Have a great holiday and stay tuned as Firethreads charges into Season 3!  See you at LaxCon!"  - Lorne

JUNE 2018 - SUMMER GOT ME THINKING 'BOUT.....

"...Lake Tahoe, Oregon, camping, Placid, and new products!  This Friday June 15 we drop Part 1 of our Summer '18 line, and it includes the newest innovation for women's pockets - THE SKINNY ROUND.  We took our Skinny Lace, which is our version of a nylon but fully gripped, and built up the GripPrint to give it a more round shape.  This will be a product the ladies can utilize, and I think the guys will dig it too.  Shooter 3 Packs are also back for summer, and we have a new USA themed look to add a patriotic hit to your summer twig.  Stay tuned for Part 2 coming in a few weeks - it's the mesh drop.  Because the new ideas won't stop.  Can't stop.  How about you?" - Lorne

JULY 2018 - THESE GO TO ELEVEN

"As soon as Firemesh came out I began thinking about the evolution of our mesh product. Creating a new pocket is kind of like creating an album.  You will always naturally build on previous works, but each new album will have it's own vibe.  This is the unique feel - the performance of the pocket.  I get excited about trying new materials, new ways to add GripPrint, with the goal of bringing something new and never before felt to the game. It was exciting to test and develop The Eleven, and I am excited to see what stringers and players do with this new tool for pocket performance.  Enjoy!"   - Lorne

HALLOWEEN OCTOBER 31 2019 - TAKE THE GAME WITH YOU. GO FAR!

"Introducing our newest product and a brand new category for us, FIREBOUNCE!  This idea for a mini transportable rebounder has been in the works for about a year, and i am happy to bring it to market.  This is for the people that want to take the game with them - to the beach, the campground, or the practice field - in a new and fun way. Have fun with it!"  - Lorne

OCTOBER 2020 - FIREBOUNCE PART DEUX

"Firebounce is back in stock!  Crazy times we are living through in this Covid era, but at least we have Firebounce for some meditation time.  Be well everyone."  - Lorne