Paracord, short for parachute cord, can save your life if you need to leave a plane (note: only if there’s a parachute attached to it.)
But there’s a lot more to this uniquely-useful material than mere parachutes.
Paracord is actually one of the most important survival tools you can have at your disposal in outdoor emergency situations.
Keeping Food, Perishables, and Valuables Off the Ground
You’re in the wild and you have enough food to last you an entire week. That’s great news. The bad news: there are bears or raccoons sharing the wild with you, and they’re just as happy to eat your food as you are.
Keeping your food, perishables, and other valuables off the ground isn’t just a sure way to ensure their safety, but it will help stave off moisture and insects as well. Find a solid branch that can bear the weight of your supplies and then rig a simple paracord knot (in a bind, even a shoe-tie knot will suffice). Tie the paracord around your bag, cooler, or storage kit—don’t be afraid to tie it more than once to ensure security—and voila! You now have a method of keeping your food away from the animals. When you need to move, simply untie the paracord, pack it up again, and move along.
Rigging Tents and Tarps
In survival, shelter is a must-have. A tent or a tarp is a sure way to keep you and your supplies dry—but only if you can successfully rig it so that you don’t have to wear the tarp like a poncho. A paracord will function as a brilliant tarp-rigger at a moment’s notice.
You can start by learning the “hobo’s tent,” which is a makeshift tent using only paracord and a basic flat tarp. You only need basic tools for the job, such as a camp knife, and you’ll be able to construct your own shelter using essential supplies and, of course, your wits.
Setting Up Snare Traps
If you’re ever in a life-and-death survival situation, then securing a source of food is going to be one of your top priorities. You can hunt, sure, and you can gather berries (provided you know how to gather actual edible berries), but nothing is going to keep you going quite like trapping an animal. For that purpose, you can use a paracord snare trap. The trap is easy to learn and as low-budget as low-budget gets, yet it’s surprisingly effective.
Given that our Survival Straps are made from several feet of super-strong military spec paracord, there’s a lot of survival power that you can pack into one paracord bracelet. But it does take a bit of know-how to suddenly become the McGyver of Survival Straps. The good news? Once you acquire the know-how provided in this article, you’ll be ready to shelter yourself, feed yourself, and keep your most valuable items out of harm’s way. And when it comes to Survival Straps, that’s just the tip of the survival iceburg.