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PARACORD TYPES
Drawing of a Roll of Paracord

HISTORY;

Paracord, also referred to as parachute cord or 550 cord (after the breaking-strain of type III cord), is a lightweight kernmantle rope, meaning it has a woven outer sheath (mantle) and an inner core (kern), which was first used in US parachutes during World War II.

Paratroopers found this cord a useful general purpose utility cord for many other tasks.

Today, most commercially available paracord would be best described as a general purpose accessory / utility cord but the name paracord has stuck.


PROPERTIES;

Smooth texture due to it's braided sheath.
Quick drying, super tough and ultra versatile type cord.
There is no set diameter requirements although it's generally 3-4mm (1/8").

Ultraviolet rays from the sun will degrade it over a long period of time.
Nylon paracord with elongation an minimum of 30% when under maximum load, this can be reduced by gutting the cord, which also makes knot tying easier.

With Military type III paracord, it roughly works out that the outer sheath has a strength of 300lbs and each strand (14) of the two-ply inner cords has a strength of 17.5lbs.


MATERIAL;

It is either made from Polypropylene, Polyester or Nylon, with military paracord being 100% nylon.

Polypropylene cord is the cheap option, it lacks many of the best properties of Polyester and Nylon cord, although it will not absorb water and so floats in water, which can be useful property.

Nylon cord costs very slightly more than Polyester cord and it's these two that we stock, although they are generally supplied to us at random so unless sure we wont state which.

NYLON AND POLYESTER COMPARISONS
Strength

Nylon cord is slightly stronger under pressure and significantly stronger under shock than Polyester cord.

Weight

Polyester cord is slightly heavier than Nylon cord.

Resistance

Both have high-resistance to sunlight and chemicals although Polyester cord is slightly better.

Abrasion

Polyester cord has greater resistant to wear and tear than Nylon cord.

Flexibility

Nylon cord is more flexible and can stretch, making it useful when some give or shock absorbing is required.

Effect of water

They both absorb water and are heavier when water logged and then will shrink until dried out. Polyester dries out slightly faster.

Rot and mildew

Polyester cord will not rot or mildew but Nylon cord will if not dried out thoroughly.

Texture

Nylon cord feels softer than Polyester cord.

Appearance

Polyester cord is less shiny than Nylon cord.


101+ uses;

Making key fobs, bracelets, shelter building, splint building, spear lashing, lanyards/dummy cords, building animal snares and many other tasks.

The inner cords can be used as extra cord or for finer needs like fishing line, dental floss, sewing etc.


WARNINGS;

Paracord should not be used for climbing, it does not have the safety properties of climbing rope.
The forces on the rope when climbing or rappelling are greater than even 550 cord can cope with.

TYPE MINIMUM STRENGTH INNER YARNS (GUTS) MINIMUM LENGTH PER 100 GRAMS
I 95 lbs / 43 kg 4 TO 7 63 metres
IA 100 lb / 45 kg 0 70 metres
II 400 lb / 181 kg 4 TO 7 17 metres
IIA 225 lb / 102 kg 0 33 metres
III 550 lb / 249 kg 7 TO 9 15 metres
V 750 lb / 340 kg 11 11 metres

Our main supplier of paracord () states the minimum strength has been tested at 200kg.
Meaning it's somewhere between type II and III.

If you are looking for Military Surplus paracord it should be identifiable by one of the inner strands being a colour other than white.
This allows the Military to identify the supplier, if needed.

WEAVE GUIDE
Round Stitch Weave Lanyard in Orange ParacordRound Stitch Square Stitch Weave Pull in Black ParacordSquare Stitch Snake Stitch Weave Bracelet in Khaki ParacordSnake Stitch
Cobra Stitch Weave Bracelet in Green ParacordCobra Stitch Twin Cobra Stitch Weave Belt in Brown ParacordTwin / Side by Side Cobra King Cobra Stitch Weave Bracelet in Black and Blue ParacordDouble cobra / King Cobra
Shark Jaw Bone Stitch Weave Bracelet in Tan ParacordShark Jaw Bone Trilobite Weave Pull in Black ParacordThree Pass / Trilobite Tidal Wave Stitch Weave Bracelet in Black and Neon Green ParacordTidal Wave
COLOUR GUIDE

Please note that the colours may vary slightly due to different monitor settings and light conditions on the day the photos were taken.

SOLID COLOURS
Black Colour ParacordBLACK
PC4353
Dark Brown Colour ParacordDARK BROWN
PC4978
Chocolate Brown Colour ParacordCHOCOLATE BROWN
PC4649
Coyote Brown Colour ParacordCOYOTE BROWN
PC0430
Khaki Colour ParacordKHAKI
PC4757
Tan Colour ParacordTAN
PC4156
Coyote Tan Colour ParacordCOYOTE TAN
PC4420
Foliage Green Colour ParacordFOLIAGE GREEN
PC5271
Olive Drab Colour ParacordOLIVE DRAB
PC5980
Ranger Green Colour ParacordRANGER GREEN
PC0230
Kelly Green Colour ParacordKELLY GREEN
PC3118
Forest Green Colour ParacordFOREST GREEN
PC0740
Bluish Green Colour ParacordBLUISH GREEN
PC0470
Turquoise Colour ParacordTURQUOISE
PC3479
Sky Blue Colour ParacordSKY BLUE
PC0001
Royal Blue Colour ParacordROYAL BLUE
PC4550
Navy Bluek Colour ParacordNAVY BLUE
PC4461
Rose Pink Colour ParacordROSE PINK
PC4572
Grey Colour ParacordGREY
PC4763
White Colour ParacordWHITE
PC4764
CAMOUFLAGE COLOURS
Woodland Camouflage ColourWOODLAND
PC0881
Forest Camouflage Colour ParacordFOREST
PC0162
Multicamo Camouflage Colour ParacordMULTICAMO
PC0269
Green and Black Camouflage Colour ParacordGREEN AND BLACK
PC0613
Desert Foliage Camouflage ColourDESERT FOLIAGE
PC0114
Desert Scrub Camouflage Colour ParacordDESERT SCRUB
PC0825
Beige Desert Camouflage Colour ParacordBEIGE DESERT
PC0717
Tan Desert Camouflage Colour ParacordTAN DESERT
PC1660
Green ACU Digital Camouflage ColourGREEN ACU
PC2327
Urban ACU Digital Camouflage Colour ParacordURBAN ACU
PC4225
Urban Camouflage Colour ParacordURBAN
PC1110
PATTERNED COLOURS
Yellow and Black Patterned ColourYELLOW
PC2581
Yellow and Purple Patterned Colour ParacordYELLOW AND PURPLE
PC2463
Red and Black Patterned Colour ParacordRED AND BLACK
PC2994
Red and White Patterned Colour ParacordRED AND WHITE
PC1346
Blue Patterned Colour ParacordBLUE WHITE AND BLACK
PC2749
Purple Patterned ColourPURPLE
PC2358
Orange and Black  Patterned Colour ParacordORANGE
PC2872
Red Green and White Patterned Colour ParacordRED GREEN WHITE
PC2845
Red White and Blue Patterned Colour ParacordRED WHITE AND BLUE

PC1432
Copperhead Patterned ColourCOPPERHEAD

PC7789
Pink Patterned Colour ParacordPINK

PC1464
Dayglow Orange and Green Patterned Colour ParacordDAYGLOW YELLOW & GREEN
PC3040
Sorbet Coloured Patterned Colour ParacordSORBET
PC0001
Candy Caine Patterned Colour ParacordCANDY
PC1217
Dark Stripes Patterned ColourDARK STRIPES
PC2011
Rainbow Patterned Colour ParacordRAINBOW
PC1263
Explode Patterned Colour ParacordEXPLODE
PC0770
Fireball Patterned Colour ParacordFIREBALL
PC0780
Kelly Green Patterned Colour ParacordKELLY CAMO
PC3769
Aquatica Patterned Colour ParacordAQUATICA
PC7301
HIGH - VISIBILITY COLOURS
Purple Colour ParacordPURPLE
PC4572
Red Colour ParacordRED
PC3213
Neon Pink Colour ParacordNEON PINK
PC3934
Red Orange Colour ParacordRED ORANGE
PC1466
Orange Colour ParacordORANGE
PC1879
Fluorescent Green Colour ParacordFLUORESCENT GREEN
PC0120
Yellow Colour ParacordYELLOW
PC0220
REFLECTIVE THREAD PARACORD
Reflective Thread Black Colour ParacordBLACK
PC0126
Reflective Thread Charcoal Colour ParacordCHARCOAL
PC1121
Reflective Thread Royal Blue Colour ParacordROYAL BLUE
PC0610
Reflective Thread Olive Green Colour ParacordOLIVE GREEN
PC0910
Reflective Thread Ranger Green Colour ParacordRANGER GREEN
PC0920
Reflective Thread Fluro Green Colour ParacordFLUORESCENT GREEN
PC0**0
Reflective Thread Light Grey Colour ParacordLIGHT GREY
PC0550
Reflective Thread Red Colour ParacordRED
PC1635
Reflective Thread Orange Colour ParacordORANGE
PC2196
Reflective Thread Yellow Colour ParacordYELLOW
PC0**0
Reflective Thread Rose / Baby Pink Colour ParacordROSE / BABY PINK
PC0**0
Reflective Thread Deep Pink Colour ParacordNEON PINK
PC0470
GLOW - IN - THE - DARK PARACORD
Glow in the Dark Yellow Colour ParacordGITD YELLOW
PC0830
Glow in the Dark Green Colour ParacordGITD GREEN
PC0840
Glow in the Dark Blue Colour ParacordGITD BLUE
PC0850
Glow in the Dark Pink Colour ParacordGITD PINK
PC0870
Glow in the Dark White Colour ParacordGITD WHITE
PC0890
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