What IS paracord?

We realize that not everyone knows what paracord is. Maybe some of you have and idea of what it is or have heard the term "paracord" or even "550 cord". "Paracord is short for parachute cord. "550 cord" is the same thing by another name. It is called these things because it is the rope that is used for the suspension lines when parachuting, and has a breaking strength of 550lbs. It was available for civilian use after WWII. This versatile cord was even used by astronauts during STS-82, the second Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. 

It's most common civilian use today is in the making of "survival" or "paracord" bracelets. When woven in a number of different ways, these bracelets can come apart so that the wearer has a length of cord ranging from a few feet to dozens of feet available for use during an emergency or any situation where one may need rope.

Some of the uses for paracord are attaching equipment to harnesses, as dummy cords to avoid losing small or important items, tying rucksacks to vehicle racks, securing camoflage nets to trees or vehicles, and so forth. When threaded with beads, paracord may be used as a pace counter to estimate ground covered by foot. The yarns of the core (commonly referred to as "the guts") can also be removed when finer string is needed, for instance as sewing thread to repair gear, or to be used as fishing line in a survival situation. The nylon sheath is often used alone, the yarn in the core removed, when a thinner or less elastic cord is needed such as when used as a boot lace,  assisting with water rescues, controlling bleeding with a tourniquet, etc.. Ends of the cord are almost always melted and crimped to prevent fraying.

So if this sounds like something that you really should have stashed in your vehicle, emergency kit, or backpack or even just to wear around everyday "just in case" please feel free to email us to purchase one or a few of these great innovations!


The sheath of this commercial parachute cord 
is braided from 32 strands and the core made
 up of seven two-ply yarns. The scale is in inches.







*References and picture taken from wikipedia