UPCOMING CONTEST: What can you do with 10 feet of 550 cord? (Discussion thread only!)

[Spark]

The weather is turning decent and it's time to start getting out in the woods again. With that in mind, let's focus on what is present 99% of your survival kits: 550 Cord.

550 Cord "Survival Bracelets" are becoming ubiquitous. From $5 models that you can buy off Craigslists to $50+ "Survival Straps" they are turning up everywhere. Since the typical 550 cord bracelet uses around 10 feet of cord, this contest will be two + winners:

1. Most innovative uses for 550 cord (with demonstrations) - 1 year PLATINUM membership.
   
   This means get out there and use that 10' of 550 cord in a practical setting. Show, don't tell. Get in the woods, take it apart, catch some fish, make some snares, put up a tarp, etc.
2. Putting that 550 cord in a convenient package - 1 year GOLD Membership.
   
   That means you need to show how to make a 550 cord bracelet, necklace, keyfob, monkeyfist, what-have-you project in a format similar to the ones found on Instructables: http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord/
   You should be able to take clear photos (ideally on a white background), and provide simple instructions that will guide a novice from @10 feet of 550 to a finished product.

The end goal is to have a small printable flyer / laminated card / downloadable pdf that will allow someone to construct their own survival bracelet, and give them ideas on how to use it in a survival setting. You've all seen the graphics from the typical military field manual:

The winner's document will be permanently hosted here on BladeForums.com and will be used as part of the W&SS faqs along with other promotional stuff we do. There may be an additional gold membership awarded to some creative & talented graphic artist who can turn photos into line art and assemble this into a handy PDF, ready to be downloaded.

Contest rules:
Innovative uses: You must actually get out there and perform tasks, not just talk about them. Sitting behind your keyboard and listing off possibilities is awesome, but you don't win anything for talking. You should have something in the photo showing you did it, ie your username on a scrap of paper (that can be cropped out). Bonus points for actually catching game, scoring fish, whatever. You should try to maximize the amount of use you can get out of a SINGLE 10 FOOT SECTION of 550 CORD, not multiple sections. You are allowed to make recommendations for other accessories to carry along with the bracelet.

Instruction Manual Maker: This needs to be concise, well illustrated, and simple enough for a 10 year old to do. Your photos / art should be clear & detailed. Bonus points if they are recognizable when shrunk to 1" x 1" and will fit on a 4.25" x 5.5" piece of paper (ie, 1/4 a sheet of normal printer paper).

I will post a separate thread for the contest(s) after we've hashed out the details here. Your questions?

[thrillbilly]

one clarifying detail, is this a ''what I can do with MY bracelet'' or ''what I can do with EXACTLY 10' of 550 in ONE piece"? Because several of my bracelet patterns are more then 10' and/or involve multiple strands shorter then but equaling ~10'.

TY, sounds like a fun contest!

[Spark]

What you can do with one (1) bracelet containing approximately ten (10) feet of 550 cord. Multiple pieces is on you.

[thrillbilly]

What you can do with one (1) bracelet containing approximately ten (10) feet of 550 cord. Multiple pieces is on you.

OK thanks.



"approximately 10feet'' for sure means I cant use one of my King Cobras then! LOL some of those have well over 15' of cord in them.

[KuRUpTD]

Great contest idea !

looking forward to all of the submissions.