550 Cord (aka Paracord) Bracelets

If you have been nosing around outdoor lifestyle websites recently you may have seen someone wearing a braided bracelet or wristband. So, what the heck is that all about? The recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have seen many of our military personnel deployed overseas in both hostile and challenging territory. Some of our soldiers have taken to wearing bracelets made of 550 cord, also commonly known as paracord. As any survivalist out there will tell you a good knife and a length of cord can go a long way in keeping you alive if you find yourself in a survival situation.

Little wrist, big bracelet.

These bacelets are not just a fashion accessory for the stylish survivalist, oh no, they are a convenient way of keeping a length of cord on your person at all times. 550 cord is ideal for this application because it is small, strong (it has a 550 pound minimum breaking strength) and it can be used for a variety of applications. You can use the cord itself, or if you peel back the nylon sheath you can remove the inner core and use the individual strands for a variety of applications.

I looked around some and I have found many different sites selling 550 cord bracelets and several others with "Do It Yourself" instructions. The October 2010 Backpacker Magazine even had a page devoted to them and their construction. One thing I noticed with most of the pre-made bracelets and the DIY instructions, Backpacker included, they involved taking a 10' length of cord and cutting it in order to construct the bracelet. Personally I think this defeats the purpose of having the paracord in the first place.

The picture above is of the 550 cord bracelet that I made and wear every day. I used this instructables.com guide and I'm pretty happy with the results. (I did leave off the little skull bead. I guess I'm just not 'fashion-forward'.) The guide is pretty simple, the monkey fist instructions are very clear. I found that sizing and getting the loop portion tied correctly was the most difficult part. My bracelet is still a bit large, but it is not in danger of falling off and it slips over my hand with just a little effort.

Another deviation I made from these instructions, besides forgoing the bead, is the step that explains how to finish the cobra weave; I skipped that part. It instructs you to fuse the ends of the cord to the bracelet and in my opinion doing so ruins the cord and the reason for having the bracelet in the first place. How I prevent the cobra weave from unraveling is pretty simple. I tied the weave until I had a pretty good idea of exactly where I wanted the weave to stop, then I cut the cord so that just a little bit extended past the last hitch in the weave. I melted the ends of the cord to prevent the cord from fraying. While the nylon was still hot, I held the cord just below the end and pushed directly on the melted part to cause the hot nylon to flair out. I finished the weave, forcing the now cool and nicely mushroomed ends of the cord through the final hitch. Then I pushed the cobra weave toward the monkey fist so that the weave is held in place by both the flared ends of the cord and the pressure against the monkey fist knot.

The finished 550 cord bracelet.

So there you have it, how I made my 550 cord bracelet. I wear it every day and along with my trusty Spyderco knife, it is part of my personal accessories now. I feel that, should I have a survival situation arise on my daily commute, I shall be in better shape to survive the wilds that are Northeast Ohio.