Paracord

[PitCarver]

Stopped into the dollar (and a half) store this morning and found that they had a new stock of paracord in.
Black, grey, orange and yellow.  Picked up a few of each except for the yellow.  Paracord isn't bad for crafts but I definitely wouldn't think that I'd rely on it when it comes to anything else. 
However  anyone that has a bunch of cord wadded up in piles would find the winding spools quite useful.
I figured that for a buck fifty they were a good buy.

[nate j]

Paracord isn't bad for crafts but I definitely wouldn't think that I'd rely on it when it comes to anything else.

I find that paracord has its uses, but also its limitations.

One thing to be careful of is that some places sell “paracord”, but it is not true 550 cord, and may have a much lower breaking strength.

Assuming you get genuine 550 cord, 550 lbs seems like a lot, but consider that knots decrease that significantly (I usually figure by 50%, which is probably high but easy to quickly mentally calculate and gives me something of a safety factor.  The rating is also a static load rating, i.e. doesn’t account for shock loads.  So 550 cord is wholly unsuitable for even moderately heavy loads, such as hanging hammocks…

[PitCarver]

Quit true, Nate.  I'm very certain that the cord isn't any form of Mil Spec paracord.  I only picked these up for craft work as well as the added benefit of being able to use the winder again.

Hammocks?  It's been so many years since I hung my last one, the heavy duty screw hooks have disappeared into the trees that I hung it in.