Bought a 100 ft of Rothco paracord

Its better than some of the cheap chinese stuff. Its not the best, not the worst. Did you get green, or a color? I've noticed that different colors have a bit of a different feel, even with the same maker (assuming it is the same maker, and not just a re-pack)
 
For basic cordage use, it's great stuff. Ties and braids and weaves easily enough, makes decent shoe strings, holds up tents and holds back trees that don't want to stand straight. Might not be the best choice if you wanted to repel off a single strand of 550 cord, but most of us won't be doing that any time soon... :)
 
It's good cordage. It's not meant for repelling... nor is ANY 550 cord...
I've used it to tie down tarps in rain storms as well securing a mutli-thousand pound load inside a U-haul trailer. It worked well and it never broke.
 
I get all my 550 paracord from Supply Captain - it's supposed to be 100% genuine U.S. military grade, and I'm never disappointed.
 
gytheran said:
It's good cordage. It's not meant for repelling... nor is ANY 550 cord...
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Well of course it's not MEANT for it... Doesn't mean you can't, though. You just risk lots of small rope burns and potential death via falling if you fall then stop suddenly, breaking the cord. It can hold a person just fine as long as the tension put on it is consistent.
 
Grease said:
Well of course it's not MEANT for it... Doesn't mean you can't, though.
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That's obviously true, but there's a lot of different types rope you COULD repel with... I'm just saying if you decide to throw out common sense and decide to use the stuff NOT designed for repelling and you fall to your death... you deserve the darwin award.
 
It's hi vis orange , the colour I wanted to tie up shelters , and make lanyards in case I dropped my knife
 
I think it matters on the quality and age if you are using your paracord for your parachute strings

Apart from that paracord is expensive and strong string
We used to use a ball of sisal string for a fraction of the price, which was just fine for everything we use paracord now
 
You can usually tell the bad cordage by the outer sheathing. I picked up a 100ft. hank of some unknown paracord at surplus store prior to a trip, and it was some of the worst paracord I've ever used. It would constantly twist up, and would get knotted every time you uncoiled it. Almost like working with an extension cord. Its like the sheath was too large for the inner strands. Now did it do its job? Yes, but it was pain in the ass to reuse it.
 
As a principle, I do not trust Rothco as they market a lot of military looking gear rather than real military surplus.

Rothco has sold both made in USA paracord AND made in China paracord. Seen it with my own eyes in a surplus store.
 
Yes Rothco does sell cord made in China and the U.S. Their polyester cord is plainly labeled that it is polyester and that it is made in China. Their nylon cord is plainly labeled that it is nylon and that it is made in the U.S. Their nylon cord is labeled "550 Type III Commercial". Their U.S. cord is made by a DOD manufacturer that also makes Mil-Spec cord. So it is probably of decent quality. No deception, or smoke and mirrors involved like some sellers.

I know that Tactical Intent and Supply Captain no longer sell genuine Mil-Spec cord. Survival-Pax Co. sells genuine Mil-Spec cord made by Franklin Braid.

Read my blog for information on suppliers of Commercial Paracord and Mil-Spec cord.

Knots & Knotting
 
i think you did okay. stay away from paracord that campmor sells - looks like paracord on the outside but the inside is just one big clump of fibers, no separate braids at all and will take a whole lot longer to separate into several smaller pieces.

with that said, i've converted to using pmi 3 mm utility cord for tarp lines and general use. 400 lbs tensile strength and made in the u.s. still...best yet is it holds knots a lot better than paracord and doesn't stretch when wet.
 
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