Do you use real para cord? or commercial?

G

gazaati

BANNED
Joined
Apr 7, 2008
Messages
412
for your kit, Do you use the real deal para cord with army specs? or commercial ones?

I am getting a new parch and was wondering if there is justification for the price difference,for the things people use para cord for.

I am not talking about making lanyard or shoe laces. Are there any emergency situations where the military vs commercial makes a difference.
 
I don't know why I used the word real? I should have said commercial vs military. Both of them are real. Anyway, you get my drift.
 
I tend to have the real deal when it comes to paracord, true 550 spec. But more often I carry commerical climbing rope (330). its never failed on me, and it takes up a lot less space. When in the bush for more then a day or so, I always have both with me. Cordage is simply to cheap and to useful to not have it around, and while I can make cordage from natural materials... I hate having to do so.
 
i sometimes carry both...

i have some commercial stuff that i use mostly to flag stuff or to use as non-load bearing lanyards and tiedowns. it is impossible-to-miss yellow.

i did just get a skein of even brighter stuff (like new tennis ball yellow) that is apparently military. right number of inner strands and feels right. the commercial stuff felt too flat.

i keep eying the cheaper than dirt 1000 ft spool for $40:http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ropescor_fbi.htm

and i do have some of the military stuff, which is good to have for when i don't know how long this is going to need to last, but it had better be longer than me kind of thing...
 
I use the spec stuff. If I just need cordage, I use jute. For the paracord, its the od stuff w/ od innerstrands.
 
I use both. I honestly see very little to no difference between the two.

You have to be careful buying the good stuff - but if it has 7 strands I think it is really good.

TF
 
Depending on the stuff--the stuff I buy is "commercial" and it comes off the same line as their military stuff.
 
As long as it's 7 strand, I've not found much difference between military and commerical. I know they do a little more QC for parachute suspension lines, but there's not much difference. I remember a long while ago, I had a few hundred feet of paracord with "green" inner strands...I was told this was true mil-spec, however after seeing the riggers shed, their paracord was the large reels of white-inner strand paracord. Again, I haven't noticed a difference in performance for general uses. Best advantage of the commercial stuff that is made to mil-specifications is the different colors available.

ROCK6
 
I agree with Rock 6 on all of this - and I am glad to see that others agree. Places like Sportsmansguide has 100 yards of black, white, and OD for about 12 dollars - I have used it side by side with the real milspec stuff - and see no difference.

TF
 
mil-spec cord comes in a variety of types - if you take the shroud lines off the standard static-line parachute, they will probably not have 7 inner strands. They may have as few as 4, and the tensile strength is more like 400lbs rather than 550. The cord is just as well made, but considerably thinner & lighter - makes for better laces, IMO.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachute_cord
 
Last edited:
I think the terms military and commercial might be a little misleading. What I think is important is whether or not the cord meets military specifications. Military specifications determines the quality of the cord and not necessarily the color. The military uses white as well as green and most likely other colors as well. The specification means that the whole cord (sheath and inner strands) will hold 550 lbs, the outer sheath by itself will hold a certain amount ( I think it is around 250-300 lbs) and each inner strand (7 inner strands) by itself will hold a specified load.

Color alone is not a good indicator of cord that meets military specifications since, you can find OD cord out there that doesn't meet mil-spec. Some have 5 or 3 inner strands and don't have the same strength as the mil-spec cord. So there is a big difference in cord that meets military-specifications and cord that doesn't.

You can find mil-spec cord in an amazing number of colors. My recommendation is to get any color cord that meets your needs as long as it is mil-spec.
 
Military 550 cord has to meet specific specifications. If it's not MIL-C-5040H Type III then it doesn't meet military specs to wear, abrasion, loading, etc. Commercial cord can hold 550lbs, but it may be made of different materials, have a different weave style for the sheathing, etc.
 
I get my cordage at a local Army/Navy surplus store. If it's not 7 strand, I only buy it in pink. That way I know what a real man's cordage is, and what the fake stuff is. The fake stuff is fine for tying trunks down and things like that, but if it's pink I know not to trust it for what I need 550 for.
 
I use milspec, commercial (sometimes from REI), and this cool coreless stuff that is dirt cheap at the Sacramento surplus store. I use them them for different things. Coreless is excellent for handle wraps, for example. And handy for shoelaces.

The commercial and milspec stuff? Haven't noticed a difference in USE, but I keep some milspec in the hiking gear and it's what I use for hammock stuff.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top