Paracord..... Foreign or Domestic?

[TheDude]

So I read somewhere that technically you can rappel from it. I'm probably not going to try. I did ask about that in a climbing store where they sell the crazy expensive stuff and even there they didn't recommend anything less than 8.5mm static. But of cause they are going to say that.
But lets forget about that and say I'm probably going to use it for emergency shelters or a makeshift survival knife handle if I break one, or to make the odd pocket knife fob.
Do I spend $5 for the Chinese stuff; $10 for the alleged made in the USA stuff; or goodness knows how much for 200' of the made in France cord.

[ducttapetech]

As far as knife wraps, shelters and the such, any paracord works. In saying that, some paracord works up better than others, but it all works. Hell, man has been using cord for centuries, and it was not paracord for most of it.

Nate

[Syph007]

If you want the max strength the actual military type (not mil-spec that every ad claims, search for Type III Mil-C-5040) is the best.  It has a strand of colored fibre inside instead of all white so you can tell the difference. I bought some and its much stiffer and stronger than the regular, but less easy to tie and wrap stuff with. 

So I guess it depends on your use.  I bought a 1000' spool of USA made OD green for $50ish and Im happy with it.  I bought it from supplycaptain http://www.supplycaptain.com/index.cfm/product/756/1000-ft-spool-combinations-of-colors-550-paracord.cfm

[comis]

If you want the max strength the actual military type (not mil-spec that every ad claims, search for Type III Mil-C-5040) is the best.  It has a strand of colored fibre inside instead of all white so you can tell the difference. I bought some and its much stiffer and stronger than the regular, but less easy to tie and wrap stuff with. 

So I guess it depends on your use.  I bought a 1000' spool of USA made OD green for $50ish and Im happy with it.  I bought it from supplycaptain http://www.supplycaptain.com/index.cfm/product/756/1000-ft-spool-combinations-of-colors-550-paracord.cfm

^ What he said on top 

I don't know that much about the Chinese imitation of 5 or 7 strands Paracord, but I definitely wouldn't bet my life on it...at least not by choice.  One thing worth noticing is even though the real genuine 550 paracord claims to be able to support 550 pounds(possibly more for 7 strands), the dynamic load could be totally different. 

I am not expert in climbing or rappelling, but I would think emergency rappel could be done with paracord, but definitely not on just one line.  Most likely you will have to weave it into more appropriate thickness.


Not about 550 paracords, but the idea applies.  Rappelling does exert a tremendous amount on a rope, not safe and even it could be done with multiple lines, we don't know what happened to those cords inside, and it may not work next time.

[TheDude]

I just bought some cheap stuff online for this and that. I think I will spend the money on the 6mm tree rescue kit for the emergency abseiling.

[Essexman]

If you are using it for knots and you want it to look good don't buy cheap. Cheap paracord most times ends up with a baggy to bug outer sheath that will bunch up when you make bracelets, fob, lanyards.

I gave up buying cord in the UK a few years back and used to import in what I needed from supply captain.

Now I buy from wildelk.co.uk here in the UK, great cord and good customer service.

[ironraven]

Along with Supply Captain, Vt Army Navy (they might know my real name.... but it won't get you a discount) is a good spot, but make sure you are buying the 550 not the 450 line. They do properly mark it though.

What I will say is be careful. 550 is the static load, in the lab. Every knot weakens it, age weakens it, being wet even changes it's load rating. As the guy who hung a hammock with it once, in a swamp btw, I'm no longer brave or stupid enough to trust it to hold more than a hundred pounds though. And why my tree straps are 1" tubular webbing these days- you can practically use THAT for a tow strap.

[nate j]

For general use, I'd go with the USA-made stuff myself.

However, if you are looking for something to support your weight, paracord is not a good choice.  As previously noted, 550-cord has a minimum breaking strength of 550 pounds.  Although it may be a bit conservative, the rule of thumb I use is that a knot cuts the strength in half, which puts us at 275 pounds.  Even if you weigh less than that, you could easily exceed that value dynamically.  So, if you are light, careful, and lucky, you might get away with rappelling with it, but I wouldn't try it unless it was a life-or-death situation with absolutely no other alternative.

I'm no expert in technical climbing, but as a possible point of comparison,  I do know something of industrial fall protection, and here in the US fall arrest system components are generally required to be capable of supporting at least a 5000-lb tensile static load.

[babola]

I stick with Paracord Planet and Mr Paracord.

They seem to have some of the biggest color and design choices out there and are mostly made in the US.

As for the Chinese making copies or replicas of the "original" paracord...that's simply a generalization and it isn't the case.

Chinese, just as any other coutry out there are making the Paracord, as real and anywhere else. No one or no country these days could make a claim to the Paracord, simple as that. WWII is long gone and the paracord made today is deifferent from the "original" 1940es rope, anyway.

I sourced some China-made paracord from ebay in the past and it's as good as any other out there, meaning it's real paracord rope not some cheap imitation made of inferior materials.

Cheers.

[detron]

if you are curious as to how much your dynamic weight can be,  stand on a scale, and act like a basketball player doing a pump fake.   watch what happens to your weight,  imagine if you had actually jumped 6 inches high!

if you have even been out to sea in bad weather,  you know how you suddenly cannot walk up a ladder, then 3 seconds later you could jump a whole story.  (no exaggerating)

I would not trust it with my life, but it is good stuff and cheap considering how strong it is and the other attributes and uses.

[TheDude]

Lots of great feedback guys. Thanks so much.

[Noa Isumi]

So I read somewhere that technically you can rappel from it. I'm probably not going to try. I did ask about that in a climbing store where they sell the crazy expensive stuff and even there they didn't recommend anything less than 8.5mm static.

as for live weight on paracord...please don't.

I spent 8years in the fall protection industry doing everything from machine operator to QC and product development. We never used less than 2500lb rated products for critical parts, most materials were rated 3-5k.

The rule of thumb and most hardware and rope makers used to publish on the package before lawyers ruled the world is something like this...avg adult x4 then double that to account for knots, sewing and fastening methods.
So 250lb man x4 is 1000lb x2 for your anchor knot and you need a 2kmin rating.

That said we used Dyneema/Technora ropes like New England T-900 5/16in 6800lb, and New England Spyderline Dinghy/One 3/16 3000lbs in our fall limiters. We called them all "Kevlar" cause its in the synthetic family and less confusing, kind of like Kleenex.
Unfortunately these aren't cheep at 1-2usd/ft.

Remember this an open forum and I'm just  is just 1 man talking, its your choice your neck, and your responsibility. So do your homework matching a line to an application.