What is paracord? What is it for? The definitive guide
Paracord is one of those things that should never be missing from your survival kit: I always carry some in my backpack and in my car’s glovebox, and it’s always with me when I go camping or hiking.
I love paracord because it’s a genuine multi-tool: there are literally hundreds of different uses and we’ll come to those later.
But before choosing any old cord to put in your survival kit, you need to make sure you understand what paracord is and that you’re picking the right one.
After all, this is what you’ll be relying on in a survival situation!
16-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 80m
Original price was: 46,40 €.39,90 €Current price is: 39,90 €.16-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 80m – Colori personalizzati
Original price was: 46,40 €.39,90 €Current price is: 39,90 €.
16-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 80m – Set Colorfull
Original price was: 46,40 €.39,90 €Current price is: 39,90 €.
16-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 80m – Set Matte
Original price was: 46,40 €.39,90 €Current price is: 39,90 €.
16-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 80m – Set Military
Original price was: 46,40 €.39,90 €Current price is: 39,90 €.
8-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 40m – Colori personalizzati
Original price was: 23,20 €.21,90 €Current price is: 21,90 €.
8-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 40m – Set Colorfull
Original price was: 23,20 €.21,90 €Current price is: 21,90 €.
8-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 40m – Set Matte
Original price was: 23,20 €.21,90 €Current price is: 21,90 €.
8-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 40m – Set Military
Original price was: 23,20 €.21,90 €Current price is: 21,90 €.
8-Colour paracord Kit, 5m | Total 40m – Set Snake
Original price was: 23,20 €.21,90 €Current price is: 21,90 €.
Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 4 mm | GID-01 – White
Price range: 13,90 € through 23,90 €
Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 4 mm | GID-02 – Yellow
Price range: 13,90 € through 23,90 €
Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 4 mm | GID-03 – Light Blue
Price range: 13,90 € through 23,90 €
Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 4 mm | GID-04 – Green
Price range: 13,90 € through 23,90 €
Glow-in-the-Dark 550 Paracord – 4 mm | GID-05 – Pink
Price range: 13,90 € through 23,90 €
Paracord 4mm Mystery Box | Total 15-20m
Original price was: 10,90 €.6,90 €Current price is: 6,90 €.
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 01 – Black
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 02 – Olive drab
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 03 – Brown
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 04 – Coyote Brown
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 05 – Desert
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 06 – Tan
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 07 – GunGrey
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 08 – GreyGreen
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 09 – Silver
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 10 – Maroon
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 100 – Violet
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 101 – Dark Violet
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 102 – RedBrown
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 103 – Blue sky
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 11 – Blue Navy
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 12 – Black Camo
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 13 – Woodland
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 14 – OD Red camo
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 15 – Marpat
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 16 – Desert Camo
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €
Paracord 550 – 4 mm | 17 – Arid camo
Price range: 2,90 € through 12,90 €What is Paracord?
Paracord, as the name itself suggests, is the cord that parachutes are (or were) made with. By definition, a cord is a flexible element used for joining or pulling, made up of one or more sets of braided thread-like elements in one or more materials (hemp, sisal, nylon, metal and so on)
The construction of the cord and its material significantly affect its quality and how it is used.
Compared with other cords, paracord has unique characteristics that make it well suited to outdoor activities:
- Made of nylon
- Sheath separate from the core
Made of Nylon
Real paracord is always made of nylon and not of some other material such as polypropylene or polyester.
Nylon is waterproof and mould-resistant.
It’s elastic, which lets it give a little, so it doesn’t snap.
It also gives paracord its soft feel, making it kinder on your hands.
Sheath separate from the core
All cords are made by twisting fibre strands or braiding them together. In general, braided cords are far stronger and stand up better to abrasion.
There are many ways to braid a cord. Paracord is made using a technique known as Kernmantle.
Kernmantle cords have an inner core (the kern) and a braided sheath around it.
The core is what gives the cord its strength, and the sheath protects it from abrasion.
Paracord isn’t the only type of kernmantle cord. Modern climbing rope, for example, also uses kernmantle-style construction.
Types of paracord
Until 1997, paracord was produced to a technical standard that described 6 types of paracord.
However, across the various disciplines, whether survivalism, bushcraft or militaria, and in the popular imagination generally, only ”paracord 550 type III” is considered “real paracord”.
Paracord 550 holds up to 250 kg (550 lbs) in tension, has 7 inner strands and each strand is made of 3 twisted filaments. Below is a table of all the types of paracord on the market.
What does all this mean?
The maximum load is the breaking point of the cord, the weight it can hold.
Minimum elongation is how much the cord stretches during a drop test. This matters because the cord’s elasticity helps absorb some of the shock of a fall. The maximum permitted elongation is 40%.
The number of inner strands is essentially what gives paracord its strength. Each yarn is made of 2 or 3 twisted nylon filaments.
The sheath structure refers to the number of threads used to make up the sheath. The higher the number, the stronger and more flexible the paracord.
Why is paracord 550 the most widely used?
Paracord 550 is the right compromise! It’s ideal because it’s strong enough for everyday use, for emergencies and for the outdoors, but it’s also light and compact.
The thickness of paracord 550 (about 4 mm) also makes it easy to work with and braid.
For specific tasks such as rescues and boat lines, you’ll need something stronger than paracord 550. That said, stronger paracord is hard to knot and join, and it’s also very bulky to carry.
When every gram counts in your hiking pack, you’ll want to go with 550 paracord.
Please note: paracord 550 is NOT a rescue or climbing rope. It cannot and MUST NOT be used to support people or animals because, although it holds up to 250 kg (550 lbs), it could snap when subjected to gravitational acceleration (a falling body). A body in free fall generates a force of up to 10 times its own weight
Firecord 550
Paracord is mainly used in survivalism, bushcraft and all those hobbies and disciplines practised in close contact with nature. Over the years this has led manufacturers to create related products for these activities.
Firecord is one of them. It has exactly the same characteristics as paracord but with an eighth inner strand of waxed jute that can be used as fire tinder.
When you need it, you can pull the strand out and use it with a lighter or a ferro rod to start a fire.
Take a look at Blacksquirrel’s Firecord 550, click on the images below
Firecord 550 | Black (BK)
Price range: 10,90 € through 17,90 €
Firecord 550 | Coyote Brown (CB)
Price range: 10,90 € through 17,90 €
Firecord 550 | Desert Camo
Price range: 10,90 € through 17,90 €
Firecord 550 | Olive drab (OD)
Price range: 10,90 € through 17,90 €
Firecord 550 | Woodland
Price range: 10,90 € through 17,90 €Watch out for fake paracord
These days anyone can make paracord and pass it off as genuine: just write 550 Mil-Spec type III on the packaging and the job’s done. Unfortunately it isn’t that simple. Just because something looks like paracord or is called paracord doesn’t mean it’s real paracord.
To avoid getting caught out, just follow these simple steps:
genuine paracord 550 is made of 7 inner strands, each in turn made of 3 twisted filaments. All 7 inner strands are the same size, and the 3 filaments in each strand, when separated, are the same size as each other.
The outer colour of the paracord should be matt, not shiny: shininess is a sign of a poor-quality outer sheath.
Real paracord should be semi-rigid but soft in use. If it’s too soft, the inner structure is of poor quality.
The paracord bracelet
As we said earlier, the thickness of paracord 550 combined with how easily it braids makes it very well suited to making bracelets.
A paracord bracelet is nothing more than a reserve of paracord to carry with you at all times, which can be unravelled and used when you need it. A survival bracelet can hold between 2 and 6 metres of paracord. A real reserve of paracord, always within reach.
Here are a few examples of paracord bracelets made by us at Blacksquirrel. Give one to every member of the family. And if you’d like to see all the other products we make, CLICK HERE.
If instead you want to try making one yourself, take a look at our tutorials on YouTube.
Uses for paracord
Legend has it that the astronauts on the 82nd Space Shuttle mission used paracord to repair the Hubble space telescope. Whether that’s true we’ll never know, but we like to think it is!
All of which is to say that paracord is an incredibly versatile material and can be used in all sorts of situations.
Here are just some of the most common uses for paracord in survival and outdoor situations.
- Build an emergency shelter
- Hang your backpack from a tree
- Replace a broken lace
- Make a washing line
- Pitch a tent or a tarp
- Make a tourniquet
- Make a bottle holder
- Hold a splint in place
- Carry firewood
- Lash things to the outside of your pack
- Improvised belt
- Make a snare
- Tie something down
- Pet lead
- Handle for a torch or knife
- Make a fishing net or a fish trap
Uses for the inner threads:
You can take paracord apart and use the inner threads too! Here are a few ways to use them.
- Fishing line
- Sewing thread
- Dental floss
- Suture thread
What uses for paracord would you recommend? Let us know in the comments.
