Why paracord?

V

vret

Joined
Mar 4, 2009
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142
When I see people around here mentioning lanyards and cords they pack with them it seems everyone defaults to paracord. It seems like the norm is 7-8 strand cord, and I'm guessing that it is about 5mm in diameter?
Why not just use 5mm accessory cord? It seems to me that the strength of of the accessory cord is just as good if not better. One website lists their 5mm accessory cord's tensile strength at approx 1300lbs, as opposed to the 500-600lbs (is that about right?) of paracord. What am I missing?

PS: Sorry if this is the wrong forum. It seemed like the right one, but I wasn't 100% sure.
 
I think it's mainly due to the fact that 550 cord can be gutted, and you can make full use of the inner strands for other things.
 
550 (para) cord has a working load of 550 pounds. It's also kernmantle construction, making it very strong and a good shock absorber. As mentioned, it can be gutted and used for other things.

Accessory cord is typically braided, and the load rating you see is typically the breaking strength. Working load is anywhere from 1/4 to 1/6 of the breaking strength.
 
550 Cord isn't used necessarily for the strength. If you have 10 feet of 550 cord, you actually have 80 feet because of the 7 inner strands. That will help with shelter a lot more than the 10 feet of the other cord. Plus, you can take the inner strands and use for sewing, fishing and various other uses.
 
Thanks for the info fellas. That's definitely a good point about being able to gut the 550 cord. I also didn't realize that the 550 was the working load, I was under the impression that was the breaking strength.

Any suggestions of sites I can order some from?
 
tknife said:
I think it's mainly due to the fact that 550 cord can be gutted, and you can make full use of the inner strands for other things.
Click to expand...

+1 :thumbup:

10 feet of paracord turns into 80 feet when you gut it. Handy for fishing line, lashing a shelter, etc..


Edited: TheGame beat me to it
 
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i'm not a huge fan of paracord...

i think it's overkill for most tasks, and i feel odd carrying around a bunch of big cord just so that i can take it apart if i need to...

my favorite cord in the woods is a thin braided nylon cord, about 1.5mm, for all sorts of guy lines and tie outs and lanyards and things. i'm also a big fan of regular cotton mason's twine, very handy for many things, cheap and biodegradable if you accidentally leave it behind. i've also used it to hold up my poncho on a couple of occasions, and it worked fine.

i do keep some 550 cord around for a few things, sometimes you just need that extra thickness or strength for different projects. it's just not my first choice for most tasks.
 
Paracord is just great cordage. It is very strong, yet very plyable, and in length can be taken apart and used for things like field expedient gill nets and such.
 
disemboweling Paracord, a visual primer: :D

paracord
ba4bddac.jpg

inner three strand kernmantle, encased by sheath:
cd49c13b.jpg

inner three strands removed from outer sheath:
9fd8ec8b.jpg

one of the three inner strands, untwisted into three more strands:
6a056efe.jpg

a single strand, from one of the three inner strands, from one of the main three inner strands:
f6a3b2ac.jpg
 
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Thanks for the info Ebb. I just read through that thread, good points all around. And I have used that Google BF search, its just not very good at sorting. I foresee myself ponying up $10 at some point though, just can't talk myself into it at the moment for only really adding access to the political forum and the search.
 
You are paying $10 to help support this fine site we all hang our hats in. And you get to access the search. Sweet!
Alex
 
It is good stuff. I like it for its all around usability, but I am not sure about its strength. For instance I was reading a thread on this site that talked about it.

It seems that many would not trust it for things such as rappelling partly because of its lack of strength. What I mean by this is that when you tie a knot, the strength of the rope decreases by 40 to 50 % depending on what kind of knot you tie. Then any type of shock load (bouncing on the way down or something similary) would increase the chances of it breaking.

What are your thoughts on this? If this is true, than the working load can not be 550, that would be the breaking strength.

Now before you all jump on me, I always carry it when I go hiking, just in case I would need to use it to build a shelter or something like that. I am just not sure if I would trust my life with it.
 
Hey B5, that is (k)not what I think of when I think of paracord. I'm talking about 550, that has 7 separate inner strands of fibre. If you want, I'll post a picture - (will have to be tomorrow - have to go to bed :()

Doc
 
well, looking at the package it is marked 550 paracord, 3 strand. I also have 550 paracord 5 strand, 550 paracord 7 strand.

really depends on the maker....

and in any case, i would trust 7 strand either for "rappelling".
 
I'm not saying you should trust it for rappeling, but I have never heard of 550 3 strand before. :confused:

Live and learn I guess. Thanks for the reply.

Doc
 
The regular 550-cord has 7 strands.
With some luck you can get 550-cord with 9 strands.

:D

P1010705.JPG
 
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