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So I was gifted two of those survival paracord bracelets. I untied one so to check the resistance of the cord. It holded my whole body weight (75kg) hanging from the ceiling, and I also bounced on it a bit.

But, given that the lenght of such a string, once unfolded, is 3.30 meters, I am wondering what practical uses there could be in real life with such a piece of string.

The only ones that came to my mind are a replacement bootlace (providing that it's not too thick for the boot lace holes) and as an extra guyline for a tarp or tent.

What else could you do with 3.30 meters of cord that could eventually hold your weight?

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  • I'm not sure you will find one definitive list containing all the useful things that string is good for. I'd also note that the strength of the cord will diminish with time, especially if you wear it around your wrist where it will become exposed to a lot of sun light, dirt, chemicals, abrasive things. – aaaaargZombies Jan 17 '15 at 0:35
  • I skimmed through a few website with "X ways a paracord bracelet will save your life" and only found one realistic answer-- makeshift tourniquet. However if this is a possibility during my adventures I'd rather bring an actual tourniquet kit. – Chris Mendez Jan 17 '15 at 2:19
  • I'm also interested in real world, non-survival uses, if there are others than the two mentioned. – Dakatine Jan 17 '15 at 7:31
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The whole point of the paracord bracelets is having paracord on your person when you need it.

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Paracord has many, many applications in survival situations. You can use it like you said as backup boot lace, you can tie it into a sling for hunting:

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You can use it to attach your knife to a pole to make a spear:

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Make a bow for hunting or to start a fire:

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Lash stuff together:

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Hang a shelter:

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You're really only limited by your imagination, there are hundreds of things you could use 10' of strong cord for.

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  • Sling for hunting, no. The one on your pictures looks like it's made out of much more than the cord that is in a bracelet IMHO. Assuming that the rock is about a tennis ball size. – Dakatine Jan 17 '15 at 23:43
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    Sling for hunting, yes. I've made many, they work very well, it's actually a very popular thing to make slings out of paracord. Those rocks aren't even close to tennis ball sized. 3m is more than enough to make a sling. – ShemSeger Jan 18 '15 at 1:33
  • Lol, ok :). Have you successfully killed a prey with it? – Dakatine Jan 18 '15 at 7:12
  • Last thing I killed with a slingshot was a gopher while backpacking in the Rockies with my wife. She'd never tasted one before, doubt she'll ever concede to tasting one again... But that was with a wrist rocket, not a paracord sling, I'm still more accurate—and just as powerful—at throwing rocks than I am with a sling. Snares are more effective around here. Only thing you'd really hunt with a sling would be birds like grouse, but you can kill those just as effectively by lobbing your boot at them. – ShemSeger Jan 19 '15 at 21:00
  • That is a nice shelter built with a Bundeswehr Flecktarn poncho. – on4aa Jul 13 at 16:40
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Beyond the obvious "having cordage with you at all times" I have found they are good conversation starters. I see somebody wearing one, I can make some assumptions about their interests.

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Short answer: Learn to tie knots, then decide how you can help yourself with the cordage. Otherwise, it'll be useless to you. I don't mean to sound brash but that's the reality of things. Side-note: It's good to know that paracord can be cut and then stripped into smaller strips of cordage to maximize its overall length and/or usability. Just cut the paracord and then pull on the inner-threads. Make sure to use a lighter to melt the ends to insure that they don't unravel once used.

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