Survival Bracelets wound from paracord
Each of these "Survival Bracelets" has 15 to 20 feet of 550-pound test paracord inside. If you ever need to use the cord for something, just unravel the binding. When you're done, you can send it back to manufacturer Survival Straps and they'll rewind it for you free of charge.
Most people probably wouldn't ever end up using it, but I think they're pretty attractive in a ultra masculine way. They're available in a variety of colors with either steel or plastic clasps for around $20-$25.
Survival Bracelets product page [SurvivalStraps.com]
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Make your own!
http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-bracelet-with-a-side-release-buckle/
Perfect for adventurers!
That looks pretty hefty for a bracelet, I think a belt might be a better idea... and with my waist size that would add up to almost a mile of useful rope. :)
These are priced as low as $6 on eBay. Wrapping things in paracord must be some kind of cottage industry. Other things you can get wrapped in paracord: knives, keychains, zipper pulls, and a thousand species of "lanyard."
But the real money is evidently in raw paracord, because listings for that outnumber finished products about two to one. You know what they say about selling shovels during a gold rush.
We made these in boy scout camp. Crafty!
If only I could figure out how to wrap my iPhone in paracord and still have it be usable...
Something I've had/used/loved for a long time:
http://www.slatts.fsworld.co.uk/slatts-knot.htm
Paracord is usually pretty cheap and these are remarkable easy to make. I keep a similar wrapping/knot around the handle of a bag I travel with a lot and in addition to improving my grip on it, untying the paracord has helped me secure other packages more than once. I bought a spool of I think 1000 feet of it 12 years ago off cheaper than dirt and still find uses for small lengths of it all the time.
...
Just checked. 1000 feet for $40. Multiple colors available.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/SearchResults.aspx?site=All+Products&num=10&q=parachute
Looks like I'll be making my own; not even their biggest size will fit my wrist.
It'd be handier if the buckle were also a descent device.
Saw these on instructables almost a year ago. Wait... The license on the site gives a year patent. Conspiracy?
Strong enough for a man, but girls like it too!
I've had a bracelet that a friend made for me out of Prusik rope for about four years now. I really only wear it for aesthetic purposes, and I tie it much differently, but I really dig that I could actually use it to go climbing.
Just pair this with our chic yet manly grappling hook earrings for ever-ready chasm traversal capability!
A great blog to follow for these sorts of things:
http://stormdrane.blogspot.com/
These have been popular for some time now. I've been recently making them for myself and friends. They are REALLY easy to make and totally fun. Don't spend $20-$25 on them, make them yourself! Stormdrane has one of the best sites out there and he posts to both edcforums.conf as well as instructables.
I'd so wear this if I was picked for Survivor!
Hmm, the crossfit journal (subscription required) recently posted an article on a guy hiking through a mountain pass. He fell into a crevasse, and had no climbing equipment. Based on nature of the hike and the terrain, it wasn't a trail where people would carry ropes or expect to find a crevasse.
His buddy pulled loops of fabric off of their equipment and tied them together; the ultimate "bedsheet rope". Other people stopped to help, and they made a 25-30 ft string. The guy ended up pulling himself out on this tiny strand, and lived to tell the tale.
In that light- this product actually looks useful.
This is cool. I learned macrame in High School but haven't done any knot tying in a long time. This and the links in the comments make me want to get back into it.
I think I'll start off with a paracord bracelet!
Thanks Joel!
@WEATHERMAN: The buckle is a descent device: don't you know your Munter Hitch?
A bracelet ? Meh... But a watchband - now that's useful ;)
As a climber (one that used to wear cordelette) and a former worker in a machine shop, please be warned that although the strength sounds appealing at first, it may cause other issues. Make sure your homemade buckles can be released easily, or at least more easily than your hand can be released from your body. Carrying a knife that can be opened with one hand is also useful.
I wear a couple of wraps of tough string around my wrist for this sort of thing - admittedly more for tying up boxes so I can carry them home - this looks brilliant!
20 feet is a very long piece of rope you have there.
Having rope on you is always good though - even Terry Pratchett has the witches of Discworld carry a piece of string their pocket (because it's handy to have).
I personally have a canvas bag folded up in a pocket of my bag incase I suddenly need to carry something that won't fit in the regular bag. It's extremely useful. I may never need 550lb minimum breaking point rope but having something that can tie and hold objects is a good simple caveat for life.
If I'm doing something a bit more exciting and outdoorsy though then having climbing quality rope twisted around my wrist is the bomb. The only problem is retying it afterwards - it's possible but that doesn't mean it's quick or easy.
Bardfinn @7, thanks for the link. Philip Sinnet-Slattery has come startlingly close to independently reinventing Tunisian crochet. I wonder whether anyone's told him?
The trouble with this wristband is that it'll take a lot of work to unpick, especially if it's gotten wet and you don't have a fid to hand. I should think an idiot cord wristband would be handier. Once you unbound the working end, one pull would turn it back into its component cord.
love the links in here!
Marines make these for themselves and their buds, more often during deployments (I received mine whilst I was in Iraq). We call them "550 Cord Bracelets."
I did a how-to video a few months ago: http://www.vimeo.com/1444876
The instructions were quite shit, but in my defense, it was my first how-to video. :)
Or you could buy one from the person that originally came up with this specific method of constructing them -- jumpmaster99 on ebay.