An Essential to Pack for Your Next Hiking Trip

Paracord is a nylon rope, comprising a central core with a braided exterior. The central core provides the tensile strength, whilst the braided exterior provides protection against abrasion. In actual fact the central core is made up from several thinner yarns, each yarn made up of several individual nylon strands. Different manufacturers of Paracord vary the number of inner yarns and strands, genuine type III military standard Paracord has 7 inner yarns each made up from 3 strands.

A while back you could only buy Paracord from Military surplus stores, however today there are many suppliers on the market. Just ensure that if you are checking out Paracord for sale, that no other materials other than nylon are used in the construction and that the construction follows the above pattern and that the core is not made from bulk nylon fibre.

There is no actual specification for the diameter of Paracord, but it tends to be around 5/32 inch. Breaking strength can also vary dramatically; from around 95 lbs up to 750 lbs. Paracord 550 is named so, because it has a breaking strength of 550 lbs. Paracord is flexible, it takes a sudden increase in load well, stretches a little, and then returns to its original length when the load is released.

If you do anything outdoors you should always pack some Paracord in your rucksack or day bag. You can use Paracord as a line to dry wet clothes. Strip it down to make bootlaces or thread. Use it to keep your food out of reach of animals. Not just that, but Paracord projects include making grips for your knife or axe, as well as a multitude of other decorative and utility items like belts, lanyards and watch straps. Paracord comes in a multitude of colour combinations. You are sure to find exactly what you want for your needs.

Just a few notes about using Paracord:

If you are cutting Paracord, using a non-serated knife on a flat surface will result in less fraying of the ends rather than using scissors.

Always melt the ends of your Paracord to prevent fraying. Just hold a normal lighter an inch or so under the end until the nylon fuses to together. If you are preparing your Paracord at home then you can further secure the ends using heat shrink tubing, shrunk down with a normal hair-dryer.

Paracord is very flexible, always double-check Paracord knots.

Paracord absorbs water, so pre-shrink your Paracord before you use it for making utility items. Just soak in warm water for 10 minutes and then leave to dry on a flat surface.

Hi I'm Jim. I came across this amazing material a few months ago and was astonished at just what you could do with it. It really is worth getting hold of some. Here is a good website with a shop linked to Amazon best sellers offering Paracord For Sale. Hope to be writing more soon. Bye for now