I've been thinking about something like this to keep my foot ascender from bending the lace hooks on my boot. Something like this may work. I'll have to make a visit to the Amish harness shop.
@oldoakman For this very reason, I'm very close (tolerance wise) to taking the inside ankle hook off. Plus the hook digs in and is uncomfortable on ascent. The drill is ready for the mod, but I just wish there was another option. Once I drill, I loose the easy lacing.
The boots fit, work great and were in my rec-class-tax-payable budget