Why 550 paracord?

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nephildevil

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i just bought some 5mm thickness paracord with breaking strenght 500 daN

550 stands for 550 lbs, how much lbs would 500daN equate to?

nothing i can't google and calculate myself, but this brings the question why does everybody go for 550? what is so special about it?

and how thick is it? what diameter in millimetres so i have a rough comparison
 
Dont know the diam. But it's relatively small and strong enough to tie or hang just about anything with two piece. It also has smaller strings inside the nylon casing that can be removed an tied together to make one really long string for lashing, fishing or whatever.
 
It is just about 3/16" or 4.7mm if I did the math right. (I laid it out flat) 550 is the standard because it's strong, light, cheap, and available. What more would you want?
 
James_Terrio said:
It is just about 3/16" or 4.7mm if I did the math right. (I laid it out flat) 550 is the standard because it's strong, light, cheap, and available. What more would you want?
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weird, that wud be as thick as my cord, but with half the strength
 
It holds knots well, cuts easily, is light weight, and doesn't rot/mold/mildew when wet. Decent UV resistance too. As james Terrio mentioned, you can get 100ft for about $6 and find it locally at large sporting goods stores and Army surplus stores.
 
nephildevil said:
nothing i can't google and calculate myself, but this brings the question why does everybody go for 550? what is so special about it?
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Most people know about what I'm about to talk about so if you already know, forgive me for sounding condescending (don't mean to come off that way) :)

The real power of 550 paracord (not the knockoff stuff) as a survival staple is the amount of cordage it affords. Inside real 550 paracord are 7 extra threads, which are themselves braided, fine threads. These are especially helpful in a survival situation for lashings, special knots, fishing lines, tethers, shelter-making, etc.

So for example, if you wrap 10 ft. of 550 paracord around the barrels of a survival rifle like the Springfield Armory M6 Scout, you actually have 80 ft of cordage since inside of the 10 ft. of outer cordage, you have 7 extra strands...and tied together with the right knot, you have a wonderful cord to test the depth of water, throw a line across a crevice, etc.

For weight, price, utility, and weather resistance--regarding survival tools--550 paracord is hard to beat. I always have some with me when I'm in the woods.

For what it's worth, I hope this helps. :o
 
Looks like you bought 5mm climbing accessory cord. Good stuff but about 3X the price.

THE PUNISHER said:
Hard to believe it will hold 550#...........
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That would depend on the knot used. Knots are usually the weak point when using rope/line. Even fishing line only retains about 90% strength using the best knots.
 
550 cord was invented on the 8th day along with duct tape, WD 40, Peanut Butter and the SAK. It is a backwoods staple for me that can't be replaced. I always have some on me in my shoelaces, key chain, knife fobs, etc.
 
I like 550 cord because it is fairly light weight, stands up well to getting wet, it lasts a fairly long time, and is readily available. It is also like 6 pieces of rope in one. The inner strands can be really useful when you need to stretch your cordage.
 
Rupestris said:
Looks like you bought 5mm climbing accessory cord. Good stuff but about 3X the price.
Click to expand...
yes its for climbing, mountaineering and such


it also has threads within, dont know how many tho, i'd have to cut it first

cost me about 5 euro for 6 metres
so its more like 6x the price of 550 (where you live then)

next time i'll keep my eye out for a cord thats only halft this diameter/strength

as that is probably more than sufficient and closer to the so popular 550
 
its a cool cord, but truth be told, it stretches quite a bit. So much that on a few occasions I've brought along other chord around the same diameter. Now that may be good or bad depending on your tastes.

thats my 2 cents and I'm broke.
 
Give me cordage that doesn't stretch over paracord any day.
That stretch (designed as a shock absorber for the parachute) makes it difficult to hang heavy (think wet) objects and makes it hard to get knots out after they have had a heavy load on them.

At the risk of slandering a sacred survival cow, I think the inner strings of paracord are highly overrated.
There is much talk of making a fishing net with it, but that doesn't strike me as a practical use of your time in a survival situation.
In my experience the inner strands tangle easily, especially long pieces, outdoors and don't knot as well as other cordage.
Again, in my experience.

Sometimes, it seems to me, that things are written in a magazine and repeated as gospel without personal experience.
As always, IMHO, YMMV and cheers.
:D

JCBline.jpg
 
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