Paracord Questions

Welcome to the forum!

DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT but ANY so called paracord from the stores you mentioned.
That is not real paracord that those stores sell.

You can however if you are just looking for a small amount to try and test is go to a craft supply store Michael's and Johann's and buy some.

The paracord you saw online was rated at 750lb that is Military spec paracord. It should have 11 inner strands with one of those inner strands being a different color than the rest. (The color depends on the manufacturer of the paracord)
Now if it doesn't say in the description of having 11 inner strands than it it just either a typo or the seller is mistaken between 550lb and 750lb. The difference being 550lb has 7 inner strands and 750lb has 11 inner strands.

So read the description again and see if they mention the count of the inner strands.
550 paracord is often called Commerical Type III.
750 paracord is often called Mil Spec Type IIII.

I was able to get my hands on a total of 50 feet of 750 paracord and you can easily tell the difference between 550 Commerical and 750 Military.

 

Well if you want to use the Military grade paracord instead of the traditional Commercial Type III 550 paracord then go for it.

 

I like to shop on Amazon also for mostly all my survival needs.

 

Amazon is an addiction.... WAYY too easy to buy on that site..

 

Amazon has everything and it is usually cheaper there too, along with free shipping. Can you tell I buy alot there? I love amazon!!!!

 

I read that Amazon wants to start using drones to deliver your order faster. That would be good seeing as I hate waiting for my package(s) to arrive.

Just imagine ordering something on Amazon and then you get a delivery conformation saying your package is on its way via drone. So I guess you just stand on your front porch and wait for the airdrop.

 

I would suggest going here for genuine Mil-Spec Type III cord: Survival-Pax Co. These guys have really great service. And a really cool color chart. Look for the link in the menu bar.

And here for the best prices on Commercial Paracord: Camping Survival

The 750 cord I found on Amazon from 5Col Survival Supply was true Mil-Spec Type IV cord. I.e. the real deal: MIL-C-5040h/PIA-C-5040 Type IV Nylon Parachute Cord - 11 Core Strands

And here for more information than you ever wanted to know about Mil-Spec cord.

 

Those are some very useful links thag.

 

I am not happy! After reading Thag's posting and following his links, I now have found out that I have not been buying Mil-Spec paracord after all! That is upsetting because the sites I have been purchasing paracord from said that there products were Mil-Spec. I am going to be making some phone calls tomorrow!
My thanks to Thag for putting the facts out there.

 

Yeah, sorry about that. As I said there is a lot of smoke and mirrors when it comes to Mil-Spec cord.

But at the same time, Commercial Paracord can be of very good quality when it comes from manufacturers like E.L. Wood Braiding, Gladding Braided Products, Mills Braiding, and Franklin Braid. All of these are manufacturers of Mil-Spec cord for the U.S. Military.


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Did your paracord have 11 strands?
How was you able to tell your paracord wasn't Mil-Spec after reading the links?

 

I've only bought 550 paracord. It always had 7 inner strands. Also due to what Thag said about Mil-Spec coming in only 7 colors.

 

I wonder how near the factory you have to be? I'm not sure where the nearest factory is but I know that when I choose the free shipping I get my order a couple days faster now at my new house as to opposed to my old house.

So maybe I'm close enough to a factory to get drone delivery. :2thmup:

 

True Mil Spec. Cord...

Hi Folks,

Full disclosure first... I own the TOUGH-GRID brand and our manufacturer is Gladding. We are in a special partnership with them to bring real military grade cord to the public. They don't sell directly to the public... huge minimum orders, so I buy in bulk and sell to the public.

So... there are a couple of questions that should be put to rest here.

1. Mil Spec cord can be 550lb Type 3 cord or 750lb Type 4 cord, and there are others as well.

2. Yes, much of the 550 cord is sold as "commercial grade" but it still may meet the military specifications. So it is not necessarily "bad" or out of spec.

3. True Mil Spec. has more to do with the strength and properties than the color. I don't foresee the Military buying "Hot Pink" but Hot Pink colored cord can be produced to Military Specifications.

So far, we have chosen to only sell 750lb Mil Spec. cord on Amazon because it's the best... and because it is easy to bring our cord to a lot of people etc. It is truly a "high-volume" game if you want to make any money at all on it however. That's ok... just being honest about it.

Our TOUGH-GRID 750lb Mil Spec. cord is made in the USA by a US manufacturer that has been supplying the Military for more than 100 years. We're proud to sell it and hope you'll find it useful should you decide to go that route.

I'm willing to field questions to the extent I can but will need to ask Gladding directly if you have any really tricky questions... they are the real pros.

All the Best to You and Yours,

Bill Hanover
http://toughgrid.com
(435) 792-4380
jb@toughgrid.com

 

Hey Bill. Thanks so much for the detailed information! Real quick though, what's the difference, then, between 550 and 750? Is it the type of nylon, or is it thicker inners?

 

Hi Vin,

With our cord the main difference between the 550 and 750 is in the number of inner strands (which are really 3 twisted strands per strand.) So, the 550 cord has 7 strands of triple-stranded nylon and the 750 cord has 11 strands of triple-stranded nylon.

Since both are woven on the same machines, we wind-up packing more strands into the same sized sheath, which makes it altogether tighter, more round and less likely to flatten. Those are great trade-offs unless you need flatter cord that is about 1/32" smaller OD.

I hope that helps!

Bill

TOUGH-GRID
http://toughgrid.com
(435) 792-4380