550 paracord

[survivalpro#4]

hey i wanted to now if you were to take 550 paracord with you on a small hike witch way would you carry it?


1.a bracelet
2.belt
3. or in a 50ft bundle in your pack

[Ken]

Hey, I wanna' know if you're gonna' post an Introduction. Have you done one already?

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=7813

[crashdive123]

Yes.

Bracelet, belt, hat band, small hanks, sheath wrap, rifle sling, bottle wrap, knife wrap, hiking pole wrap, and on and on. Depends on where I'm hikning, and how long I'll be.

Hey - don't get tied up in knots over it, but when you get a chance - stop on by the Introduction section and tell us about yourself. Thanks.

[Rick]

What Crash said. Plenty of ways to carry it. Plenty more uses for it.

[finallyME]

I recently bought a big roll of the stuff. I am still debating on how to carry it. I think I might make a bracelet. But I also want to roll it on something to make it easier to use. Something like what nutnfancy has on his USK.

[Alaskan Survivalist]

I carry mine seperately. If I want to use it I don't want to be untieing a bunch of knots to do it.

[finallyME]

sjj, have you looked at amsteel?

http://www.reddenmarine.com/marine-s...-64-green.html

[finallyME]

Wow, you work fast. I haven't bought any myself, but it is all the rage with hammockers for rigging their systems. I just bought some 1 mm line that I think is dacron and has a 200lb test at a local store. When I get home, I will tell you what it is. I was looking for tarp lines and 200 lb test is much higher than I need.

[crashdive123]

I carry mine seperately. If I want to use it I don't want to be untieing a bunch of knots to do it.

One of the knots I tie for braclets (or what every else you wand to use it for) "unties" quickly. The braclet on the left - cut off button knot and pull. That's it. You now have (in this case) 8 feet of paracord.

[survivalpro#4]

hey chrashdive is it true that each inch of your wrist is a foot of cord with a cobra stitch?

[Ken]

sjj, have you looked at amsteel?

http://www.reddenmarine.com/marine-s...-64-green.html

Great link and good info! Thanks, fM!

The dealer told me the guaranteed "test lbs." on the line is 1,400 lbs. and it is usually go to 1,600 lbs. Of course, its CRITCAL to understand what the safe "working load" is - which is usually a whole lot less that test lbs.

Let me ignite a possible firestorm here.

Back in the day, I taught classes in rappelling. Local fire, rescue, and SWAT teams. We trained off of high-rise buildings, water tanks, and a couple of pretty tall bridges, including these two sites:

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When I started as a student myself at the academy, we used 3/4" manilla line (rope ) and a rappelling belt with 3 buckles and a 10" - 6 lb. carabiner. The belt was designed to attach to the rings of a second belt and hold the weight of two heavy men descending with gear. It worked exactly as it was designed to. I can't find anything on the web quite like it, but it was on this line, just a much wider belt with a three "belt buckle" set-up and a much larger pair of rings and carabiner.

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Over the years, the gear I used became much smaller and lighter, and we switched over to 3/4" synthetic line. Last time I rappelled was about 6 years ago, and I used a newer style belt and 1/2" line and was amazed at how light it all was, even in comparison to the "newer" stuff I had used later on in my classes.

Back in the 80's, I spent some time doing contract work at the WTC. Even then, I thought about getting trapped in that building in the event of a fire. Little did I ever suspect how bad it could have been ..... Anyway, I remember thinking that if my regular office were there, I would want enough line on hand to be able to smash out a window and make it down to the street. Then I figured that the necessary gear would take up as much room as a desk.

As crazy as it seems, I'd love to know if the lightest amsteel (unlike paracord) could be safely used to rappell in an emergency. From the looks of what's available today, all the gear for even a 1,000' descent could be easily carried in a small duffel bag. I'd love to try doing it. Heck, my kids are all grown up now.

EDIT: This pic is a lot closer to the belts we used back then. Just add three buckles and heavy rings.

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[crashdive123]

hey chrashdive is it true that each inch of your wrist is a foot of cord with a cobra stitch?

I had not heard of that formula before. It may be right, but sounds just a tad short to me. I just measured one that I thought I had 10 feet of paracord in (can't be 100% sure) and it is 9 inches in length.

[survivalpro#4]

ok cause i just made one and i got 1 whole foot of extra witch is a waste so i wandered in it ever worked for you

[Ken]

Ken,

While you were typing, I've been checking out the "working load" specs on this cord, and trying to establish its heat resistant properties. I know the working load numbers on my BlueWater 11MM static rapelling rope and my 9MM Dynamic climbing rope - which of course are a lot thicker, made with different materials, and have an outside sheath.

The Amsteel rope's purposes listed do not include climbing/repelling/rescue work - rather more in line with rigging sail boats, towing things, using in winches like you have on your truck - but does not (that I have found) include functions that involve lifting people. The one thing that I do know is that it is slippery and may not hold knots very well - which could make it extremely dangerous for anykind of people purposes.

Still, I'm excited to find something thinner and stronger than paracord which means I could pack a lot because it is light enough to float. I now see that the 1/8th inch Amsteel Blue is rated at 2,500 lbs test (1/8th like paracord) - while the thinner 7/64 is 1,600 lbs. Still don't know the working loads. I would love to have some good light rope for emergency purposes - but need to do more investigation. Since no one will tell me which color to get, I'm going to order some in black and some in bright orange.

P.S. - I have that (or similar) safety belt w/buckle but as I'm sure you know, they aren't designed for purposely rapelling and I won't purposely use it for such - they can be a real back breaker.

NOTE: I do not find this rope listed as designed or suitable for climbing, rappeling, rescue, or anything involving supporting people. I do not recommend anyone using any rope for such that isn't specifically designed for it.

Thanks, my friend! I guess I'll have to wait until they come out with something for that purpose. Or until I'm diagnosed as terminal.

Rep on the way! EDIT: Hey, now you've got 3 green thingies!

[Rick]

Survivalpro - That formula is not correct. It will not only depend on the stitch used but you also have to calculate in the type of connectors on the end (buckle, carabiner, etc.)

sff - I couldn't agree with you more. Climbing rope is fine-tuned for the optimum combination of weight, number of falls, impact force, handling and durability. It must provide a soft catch and be durable, while not having too much elongation. Folks should only use climbing rope if they intend to climb.

[Ken]

One point of clarification here. I was always incredibly cautious with the rope we used. When we used manilla rope for rappelling, back in the day, we only considered it safe for for one training event. Even the best stuff was so prone to deterioration that we never ever used it for that purpose again at another point in time. We got all of our rope from the Bidden Cordage Company (formerly of East Providence, R.I.). http://www.onlinebristol.com/busines...w-details.html

The reason I asked the question is simple. If the properties of Amsteel lent themselves to ONE SAFE USE as rappelling rope, it would be a heck of a lot better to use it for that purpose it in an emergency than to be killed in a fire - or vaporized in a tower collapse. Quite frankly, I'd probably STILL take my chances with the rope in such a dire circumstance.

[Rick]

We used hemp rope or "horse hair" years ago when we still did tree trimming. It was good stuff. We changed over to nylon while I was still outside and it took some getting used to. The nylon would stretch forever compared to horse hair. We were working in a college town in the early '70s and one of the guys decided he'd impress a couple of girls walking down the street. He dropped out of the tree. Tightened up the rope. The rope stretched, he slapped the sidewalk and just sort of hung there a couple of feet off the ground. We laughed and reminded him that nylon stretches. He would have been okay with the horse hair.

[Ken]

Thing is, we often used the manilla rope to rappell over salt water. Can you say "rope rot?"

The synthetic stuff did take some getting used to.

[Camp10]

The reason I asked the question is simple. If the properties of Amsteel lent themselves to ONE SAFE USE as rappelling rope, it would be a heck of a lot better to use it for that purpose it in an emergency than to be killed in a fire - or vaporized in a tower collapse. Quite frankly, I'd probably STILL take my chances with the rope in such a dire circumstance.

The rope we use for pole top rescue is just a 1/2" nylon rope..the same stuff we make our handlines with. It is not rated for human loads or overhead lifting but someone (our company or the manufacturer, not sure who) decided that it is safe for a rescue. I guess my point is, if I had to get out of someplace, like you I would try whatever rope I had at the time.

[Rick]

You bet. I'm with you guys. Any port in a storm. If it's a have to case and you know what the results are if you don't then you might as well give it a shot.