Survival Bracelets - more than just a fashion statement

More and more people are wearing these bracelets, and it seems like fewer and fewer people know what they are. I complimented a girl's survival bracelet several weeks ago, and she said "my what?" I repeated myself and she said "oh, why is it called that?" I gave a few examples of what the bracelet can be used for, and she looked at me like I was stranger than the fact that she was wearing a bracelet that she didn't even know the name (let alone purpose) of.

550 paracord is military grade cord first used during WWII on parachutes. Servicemen were able to use this cord from their parachutes for a number of different reasons. 550 means that the cord is able to support 550 lbs before breaking. Although it is fairly easy to see what several feet of rope can be used for, it's important to know that the cord gets its strength from the seven strands of two-ply yarns. So while the rope itself has several uses, the guts of the cord serves several purposes as well.

Here are several ways to use the cord:

• Replacement shoelaces
• Replacement belt
• Clothes-line
• Support line for shelter
• Tying branches together for shelter
• Trip-line for trapping game
• Line for snares
• Fishing line
• Fishing net
• Cord for a bow-drill (to make fire)
• Tying splints
• Tourniquets
• Sewing threads
• Emergency line to rappel 
• Line to hang a bear bag
• and literally anything you would need to use a rope for (as long as you have enough cord that is)

Easy to see why it's called a survival bracelet eh?

Make Your Own

There are at least two kinds of weaves to use when making a survival bracelet. The standard cobra weave, and then what some call the king cobra weave which is really just the standard cobra weave which is doubled back on itself. Here is a video for the standard cobra weave:

and here is the video I used for the thicker bracelet:

As the videos said, every inch in the standard bracelet equals one foot of paracord; every inch of bracelet with the king cobra weave equals two feet of paracord. You can see why it would useful to have 16 feet of paracord around your wrist. They didn't state this in either of the videos above, but if you need the cord in an emergency situation then you can pull out the core cord that the weave is tied around and the weave will simply fall apart.

Next time you see someone wearing one of these bracelets ask them why it's called a survival bracelet and see what they say. It has become pretty trendy to wear these. Although the trend may stay or die-out, the uses for 550 paracord will not. The cord is nylon, so it won't rot if it comes in contact with water.