10 Ways To Put Your Paracord to Best Use
In the 1940s, nylon stockings became all the rage across North America. DuPont, a chemical company in Delaware, patented nylon in 1938, sparking quite a buzz in the fashion world. As women across the United States took to burning and boycotting silk stockings, a fabric largely imported from Japan, leading up to and during World War II, the nylon market was skyrocketing with demand. But, as with most scientific and technological advances, the military weaves into the story too.
Most of the nylon production of the era didn’t serve the textile purpose you may imagine. Paracords—a portmanteau for parachute cords—were also born from this synthetic fibre. Nylon is durable and resistant to rot, mildew, abrasion, odours and UV fading, and its production was cost-effective for the United States military. The material was fit for lightweight, easily packable and strong cordage for parachutes’ suspension lines, which is where the initial paracord design of twisted strands (called “kern”) wrapped with a nylon outer sheath (called “mantle) comes from!
Since entering the civilian market after the war, outdoor enthusiasts have found many purposes for paracords. If you see someone wearing a paracord bracelet, you can be almost certain that they are “granola” and outdoorsy. Most of your athletic wear is likely made with nylon too so it can withstand the elements and the test of time, much like paracords.
Here are some fun and practical ways to use a paracord to fulfill your entertainment or survival needs in the outdoors!
Different Types of Paracords
If you have ever shopped for a paracord, you may have encountered a confusing numbering system in addition to nicknames like “Micro Cord,” “Para-Max” and “Mil-Spec” paracords. Here’s a guide to the naming system and what each type of paracord is typically used for.
The numbers in front of each paracord represent the maximum static weight in pounds (lbs) that the cord can withstand. So, a 95 Cord paracord holds a maximum of 95 lbs of objects, or a 425 Cord can hold a maximum of 425 lbs of static weight, etc. If the prefix before a cord is a fraction, however, that just refers to the cord’s diameter. So, a ¼ Cord is a quarter of an inch in diameter and a ⅛ Cord is an eighth of an inch in diameter.
As for the rest of the labels, you can find a cheat sheet for the different paracord sizes on most retailers’ websites. Here’s one that I found most helpful:
Survival
1. Fishing Line
Getting stranded in the wilderness with no food source can be terrifying. If you’re near a body of water and have a paracord on you, you have the basics for some unbelievable emergency fishing. Unravel your paracord to expose the kerns inside and create a makeshift fishing line using a few of the strands. You can also make a net or a tie for your baited hook using the paracord’s mantle. An emergency trotline could ease your anxieties as you focus on your other needs like shelter and fire!
2. Bear Bag
Starving isn’t the only way food can be a cause of worry in the wilderness. If you find yourself in bear country and need to keep food off the ground and safe from critters, a tall branch, rock, bags and a lengthy paracord are all you need for a bear bag, also known as a bear hang.
Tie your cord around a rock, launch it across a 10-15 feet high branch, and attach the other end of the cord to your bag of food. To keep the bag suspended and four to six feet away from surrounding tree trunks, it’s time to put your Clove Hitch or Sliding Knot skills to the test!
3. Rope Ladder
Every terrain has its challenges that you may need to navigate when lost or off-trail. Knowing a few knots like the Bowline, Diamond or Bight knots is all you need to turn a flat paracord into a ladder with rope rungs, but you can also use sticks and tree branches for added stability. From cliffs to riverbanks, a rope ladder made of 550 paracords can save the day!
4. Fire Starter
If you have the patience or are desperate enough in the wilderness, a paracord can be quite useful in a Bow Drill. Gather a few branches to prepare your fireboard and bow with the help of your paracord and assume position!
5. Emergency First Aid: Tourniquet
On an outdoor adventure, a serious injury like a deep cut or a broken limb can quickly turn life-threatening or simply trip-souring if not managed properly. When no medical supplies are available, use a paracord to create a tourniquet and stop severe bleeding. Just tie the cord around the limb, several inches above the wound, tight enough to stop blood flow without adding salt to the injury. If your cord is too long, use a stick or a branch to twist and tighten the cord and increase pressure around the limb.
Of course, a tourniquet should never replace proper medical care. But it can buy you valuable time as an emergency first-aid remedy before that!
6. Gear Repairs
In 1997, NASA astronauts used a paracord to repair the gaping holes in the insulation layer of the Hubble Space Telescope, so fixing broken outdoor gear won’t be a much harder feat for the humble paracord. Braid your cords to serve as zipper pulls or bag handles. Use your cords as straps for securing heavy loads to your packs. Replace your shoelaces with durable micro paracords. There’s little to no problem that this versatile and durable nylon cord cannot solve in the outdoors!
7. Shelter
If you need to create a basic shelter in the wilderness, where there are no tents to be seen or accessed, paracords can be an invaluable tool to help secure a tarp or even create a quasi-structure.
Stretch your cord between two trees to form a ridgepole, tie shorter paracords or guy lines to the corners of a tarp and attach the ropes to stakes in the ground. Now, combine these steps with a bit more natural resources and you can level up your shelter with a paracord to tie together an A-frame structure using tree branches. Voila, you’ve got yourself some shelter!
Entertainment
8. Braiding
Stockings and athletic wear are not the only fashion-related applications of nylon. Braided paracords have evolved into a style of their own right, from water bottle slings to bracelets, belts, knife handle wraps, keychains, lanyards and pet leashes. There are tons of tutorials online for different braid patterns that you can look up or print out to DIY and take with you on your outdoor trips. You can look stylish whilst carrying a life-saving tool that you might otherwise forget during packing.
9. Learning Rope Knots
Knowing the right knot to tie in an emergency can be lifesaving. From adjustable slings to grip hitches and fishing knots, there are a ton of ways you can tangle ropes together to make your life easier and your hammocks more stable. However, unless you took part in an outdoors program or have lots of experience in the outdoors, chances are you have never been taught these knots and you will likely not set time aside to fully master them before heading out to your adventures. If that resonates, I would recommend getting knot-tying cheat cards like Pro Knot’s to accompany you on adventures.
Whether I’m waiting to board a flight, bored at home or listening to the birds sing on a camping trip, these cards keep me entertained and teach me survival skills simultaneously. The kit comes with a small carabiner and two short ropes too, which would equally be handy in an emergency. You can start a challenge with a travelling buddy to learn a few knots from the cards beforehand and see who can tie them faster using the paracords you’ve brought along. You’ll be surprised by how much fun you can have, especially if you have a little bit of a competitive edge!
10. Cat’s Cradle Game
Growing up, Cat’s Cradle was a classic two-person game in my family. It requires only a metre’s worth of yarn, but it could keep me entertained for hours. I rediscovered it a few summers back when I was attempting to engage my younger cousins with a few games on a family camping trip. Let me just say that the paracord we ended up using became the hottest toy that weekend!
