Cordage
Cordage has endless potential uses…
It is a must-have for every adventure, from a day’s hiking or the rigours of long expeditions into the wildernesswith all the necessary quality requirements – “Strength, Flexibility, Durability and Lightweight”.
There are so many ways will come in handy during family camping holiday, on a day’s hiking, sailing or out in the remote wilderness; on occasions it is the survivalist best pal….
- Tent strings
- Clothes lines
- Food caches
- Bow strings
- Snares
- Hanging a tarp for a cook shelter
- Setting up tarp lean-to’s
- Lashing together emergency shelters
- Random repairs
- And more….
My personal cordage preference is Dyneema – I always carry a 50 m spool (weights 120g), diameter 1.8 mm with an average break load of 455 kg. It has a smooth and hard wearing polyester cover for easier handling and smoother running. Dyneema is lightweight, high strength, 15 times stronger than steel, yet floats on water and is also great against UV rays.
Paracord / Parachute cord was originally developed to act as suspension lines for parachutes used by airborne military units; it’s strong and resists abrasion; can shrink 5-10% by wetness and is relatively bulky.
Paracord 550 type 111: Diameter 4 mm. Tensile strength: 550 lbs.
Paracord 425 type 111: Diameter 3 mm. Tensile strength: 425 lbs
In 2009 when I walked 650km from Resolute Bay to the North Pole over frozen sea ice, hauling my pulk, loaded with a winter tent, food, fuel heating stoves, extra clothing, shovel, extra fuel, etc. I used a waist harness with a trace of Shock Cord (bungee cord) attached directly to the pulk.
The Shock Cord did not freeze as most ropes do ; more importantly the elasticity of the trace saved my back from injury caused by the constant jarring especially when we encountered ice rubble fields stretching for most of the journey.
- Absorbs high shock loads
- Good abrasion resistance
- Good UV resistance
- High elasticity
