Yesterday I ordered some clips for paracord bracelets and I also did a quick little review of some cord for a site I recently purchased from. Well that got me to thinking that I have not done a full on review of the two companies I have bought my recent cord and supplies from. As I sit here not at home, I can not take pictures of the cord I have, but I can dig up some photos I shared on Facebook over the past month or so. As well as take a photo or two of the bracelet I am wearing right now.
So to get into this, I recently purchased paracord and clips from Bored?Paracord! as well as just cord from Paracord Planet (from their eBay store. I got some really good prices on auctions) . We will start with Bored?Paracord! first as I got my supplies from them first.
Until I got this cord in, I had some old O.D. cord left over from years ago working at the Army/Navy and I had picked up some at Dicks, as well as a pre-made bracelet so I could see how they were made. So my initial comparison was, to old used cord and some cheap stuff. So I first though this cord is great! I later learned it is only so-so. But that is not to say it is terrible. After I got my cord in from Paracord Planet and saw and felt the difference did I realize, I will not be ordering from Board?Paracord! again. B?P!'s cord is a lot thinner and softer than PP's cord is.
O.D. Cord from Quints days
I really like the feel of the heavy cord from PP. Its makes me think it will be much more reliable if I ever need to use it in an actually survival situation. BUT that being said the softer thinner cord from B?P! is much easier to work with when doing a project with more than three colors. It is defiantly easier to weave and being softer, it is much easier on the hands when pulling your weaves tight. I found my first finger on each hand got a bit of "rope burned" after doing a large project with PP's cord, and not nearly as sore after doing a similar project with B?P! cord.
Also from B?P!, was the color I dig the most. I got 100' of mint green cord. I must say, this color is awesome. It looks great pared with several colors, and seeing as I really dig green, I will be using this color a lot. I plan on making a dog collar for Oliver with it this weekend (I've put it off for a while now because He is wearing his Halloween color now, but that is going to change after Friday).
Mint and Grey from B?P!
NOW for one of the most important part of making a bracelet, the clip! Yes, you can make them without a plastic/nylon clip, but I prefer the clip to a loop and ball. The ball seems to be to thick under my wrist while typing and digging into my pocket for keys, chap stick, etc. So the only clips I have now are from B?P! And I must say I am not to happy with them. Remember me talking about how much I dig that mint green color? Well the first bracelet I made was with that great color (see above). The clip was so bad after I made it (and the bracelet came out great by the way) I thought I was going to have to take it apart because the clip "broke" after a day or so.
The male and female ends did not want to line up correctly (and that seems to be the case with most of the clips I have).
Why not just take it apart and re-make it with a new clip you ask? Because then it would be shorter and I didn't want to waist any of this great color. You see you cut and melt the ends to keep it from coming apart after it is made. Any way, the rest of the buckles I seem to work better than this one. Lucky for me, I have more buckles on order from PP. I'll see how they work out.
A little blurry, but the cut melted ends.
One other thing I am noticing as I am trying to take photos of the bracelet I am wearing right now is the bit of fraying. Both colors on this bracelet are from B?P! and it seems to not be wearing very well. I'll do my best to get shot of the little fly away's, but this here iPhone doesn't want to focus in on them. It is not terrible, but these bracelets are suppose to be practical and usable. and if they are fraying a bit after such little wear, what would this cord look like if it was actually being used in a survival situation? Not to sure. Guss I'll be packing PP cord in my hiking bag.
Moving on.... The cord I purchased from Paracord Planet is great. It feels much sturdier. More like military spec cord. I highly recommend the cord from these guys. If you want a good deal, hope on over to the Bay and look up Outdoor Bunker. That is PP's eBay store. I got some really good deals on cord. I did bid on it, so you might have to wait a few days for the auction to end. But I got several 100' bundles of cord for like $3 each and I got a bunch more for no more than $6.
Two examples of two color bracelets made with PP cord.
Not an eBay user? No worries they have great deals on their website all the time. And they do giveaways on their Facebook page once a week or more. I will be doing most of my business with PP from now on. My only real qualm with them was stated above. And that was the bit of rope burn pulling some of my weaves tight and the bulkiness when doing 3 or more colors. Getting use to the burn is as easy as working with cord more. It will more or less build up calluses on my hands (seeing as this was an activity my hands were not custom to doing). And to get over the bulkiness, I mix in an accent color from BP to keep the bracelet from being to bulky on my wrist. The longer sections of cord I try and keep PP in case I ever need to take a bracelet apart and use it in any situation.
OK, I am sure you are tired of hearing about paracord, but I wanted to get that out of the way.
That is all, carry on.
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