550 cord

The amount of inner strands, and quality of the fabric. I believe 7 strands is the good one?
 
Real "550" cord has 7 braided or twisted (laid) inner strands and is rated at 550 pounds breaking strength.

Many of the other "paracord" cords have only 4 braided or twisted inner strands and are rated at about 300 pounds breaking strength. Even worse are the paracords that don't have any braided or twisted inner strands in them. Instead they have a bundle of unincorporated fibers wrapped in the outer woven sheath.

Given that much of the versatility of 550 cord in survival situations comes by disassembling the inner strands from the outer sheath, the fewer inner strands of the cheaper 4-strand cords is not a viable price/performance trade-off IMHO. Sorting out the vendors of real 550 cord with 7 inner strands from the knock-offs is not always easy. It's up to the buyer to clarify definitively with the vendor what is being sold.
 
http://www.countycomm.com is my favorite source.

I LOVVVE their blaze orange paracord - kind of addicted to it. Makes for excellent lanyards and storm guys for tents.

They have lots of other cool unique stuff too. I bought one of their tiny AM/FM radios and carry it as part of my "suburban" bag.
 
I don't have any photos, but lets see what's in this thing (an older style Eagle Creek Guide Bag) today (it varies a bit):
>Small AM/FM radio from Countycomm.com, runs on 2 AAA batteries
>Sidewinder cell phone charger w/ little LED light - Xmas gift from wife!
>Windmill lighter
>Fox 40 whistle - though I tend to like the WindStorm better
>2 55 gallon trash bags
>Gerber LST II
>Princeton Tec coin-size LED light (got it real cheap from Campmor.com)
>Dorcy 1-AAA-size LED light
>4 extra AAA batteries
>Palm organizer (contains a ton of info)
>Pens/Paper

In my pocket I carry:
>Mini-Rittergrip
>Cell phone
>Keys
>Wallet
>Hankie

I work close enough to home that I could walk home if needed, but it would take the better part of a day's hike. I always wear boots & clothing sufficient for an extended stay outside (learned my lesson during an extended fire evacuation from my workplace).

I know there are a few things lacking:
>Compass - Though I really don't need one around here, I usually have one in there, but it came out when I was using it with my kids.
>Water - It is simply too big & heavy to carry on a daily basis. My hope is that water will be available when needed in such an urban area. I might add a few purifying tablets and a "fresh" quart ziplock bag. There are plenty of ponds around here.
>Detailed map of area - at least the area between work and home.

I tend to think the most important two bits in my bag are the cell phone and the radio. I don't think those in New Orleans are wishing they had fire-starting capabilities or cool knives.

I often wish my wife & I were Ham users and we could carry small radios, but that hasn't happened yet. Too many other priorities in life. I do have a GMRS radio license, but there are no repeaters in far NW suburban Chicago to my knowledge.
 
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