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A4 checklist with all illustrated steps. Tick the boxes on paper as you go.

FeatherSticks · Gear

What Is Paracord? Types, 550 Cord Uses & a Bushcraft Cordage Kit

550 paracord does not hold 550 pounds of you. Here is what it does.

Quick facts

Type III ("550")
≈ 4 mm, 7–9 inner strands, 550 lb (≈ 249 kg) nominal
Weight
≈ 6–7 g per metre – 30 m ≈ 200 g
Kit for a tarp
8 m ridgeline + 6 × 2 m guylines + 10 m utility
Not for
Climbing, abseiling, hammock suspension, lifting people

What you need

  • Type III paracord, about 30 m, in a visible colour
  • Thin cord (2–3 mm) for two prusik loops
  • Small roll of tarred bank line or jute twine
  • Sharp knife and a piece of wood to cut on
  • Lighter (for sealing, at home)
  • Waxed thread or dental floss for whipping
  • Small bag for the guylines

Step by step

  1. Match the cord to the job

    1 Match the cord to the job

    Paracord for the ridgeline and general camp use, thin low-stretch cord for guylines, tarred bank line for lashings. None of it is climbing rope.

  2. Pre-cut your kit at home

    2 Pre-cut your kit at home

    Cut one ridgeline of 8 metres, six guylines of 2 metres and keep 10 metres as a utility hank. That is about 30 metres and 200 grams.

  3. Cut clean and seal the ends

    3 Cut clean and seal the ends

    Cut with a sharp knife, then melt each end at the edge of a flame until sheath and core fuse. Molten nylon drips and burns, so keep skin away.

  4. Coil every length into a hank

    4 Coil every length into a hank

    Wind figure-eights between thumb and little finger, wrap the tail round the middle and tuck a loop under the last turn. It runs out without tangles.

  5. Tie knots with an extra turn

    5 Tie knots with an extra turn

    Paracord is smooth and stretchy. Add a turn to friction knots, leave longer tails, and re-tension lines after rain or at dusk.

  6. Check it, retire it, take it home

    6 Check it, retire it, take it home

    Run each line through your fingers. Cut out sections with a damaged sheath or glazed, stiff spots, and pack out every scrap – nylon does not rot.

Common mistakes

  • Reading "550" as a safe load – it is a nominal breaking strength for new, unknotted cord.
  • Using paracord for hammock suspension, climbing or anything a fall could shock-load.
  • Leaving cut ends unsealed, so the core creeps out and the sheath frays.
  • Melting ends into a hard blob that snags in tie-outs and scratches hands.
  • Pitching a nylon ridgeline tight in the evening and not re-tensioning once it gets wet.
  • Carrying one long bundle instead of pre-cut, hanked lengths.
  • Leaving ridgelines, offcuts and lashings in the forest – synthetic cord does not rot.