Tying Knots

550 Paracord is a military specified parachute cord that is an essential and versatile piece of outdoors gear. The 550 comes from the ability of the cord to withstand 550-lbs of force before failure. This strength is due to the construction of the cordage. Paracord is made of a nylon sheath which has 250-lbs strength and contains seven (7) internal nylon strands each capable of 50-lbs tensile strength each.

You can see the outer and inner strands here.

The challenge is to incorporate paracord into your gear so that it is both accessible and useful. For this I have found an invaluable resource known as Stormdrane's Blog. In his blog, Stormdrane shows a number of different uses for different types of knots to create watchbands, bracelets, carrying pouches, straps, belts, and other useful items. He also provides helpful links to learn how to tie each knot he uses. Here are some of the items I have been inspired to make.

A riverbar bracelet, which I commonly wear.

An adaptation of the "Slatt's Rescue Belt" in a bracelet. It contains approximately 18-feet of paracord and can be quickly unraveled by just pulling on one end.

Some carrying pouches.

One pouch contains an extra small and light alcohol stove. The bottle contains rubbing alcohol and a mini lighter is also included.

I've added a wine bottle to show the relative size of the kit.

 

I've also made a rattlesnake fob for my wife's cellphone. She loves it and says it makes finding her phone in her purse easier.

 

Here's a close up of the fob.