Where to buy 550 paracord?

As title says, i sometimes see some come up on trademe, but are there any other better places to get it from?

Thanks.

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TohungaPermalink Reply by John Swarbrick on August 16, 2010 at 15:13

Hi Lorne,

I struggle to find it here also... The first question is do you need 550 cord? I agree it's usefull and the inner strands can be used for stuff etc.

Assuming you do need 550 then:

Often you see it on US Ebay in bulk rolls this is the cheapest way of buying it I think.

Then you can sell some 20m lengths on TM and make back your P+P charges from the US.

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by Ewan D on August 16, 2010 at 15:43

I've been on the lookout for a good online source of paracord for awhile now, as far as New Zealand sites go there's kiwidisposals.co.nz and trademe, it would probably be less of a headache if I just went into Comrades to see if they have it, though that's just to easy lol.

Another option would be to ship it in from overseas.

Australian Sites:

http://www.legear.com.au/Tools-Others-s/915.htm
1000 feet for $69.99 + Shipping, though I don't think it's in stock.

http://www.cadetshop.com.au/shop/product.php?prod_id=6668&sCat=0
$0.60m + Shipping.

http://criticalaccessories.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&...
$20.95 for 30m + Shipping?

International:

Plenty of U.S sites sell it, but the shipping costs are usually way to high.
Enter the alternative, free shipping from Hong Kong or there abouts.

http://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale/wholesale-paracord.html?product...
Ranging from US $8 to $11 for 100 feet + Free Shipping. Not sure about the quality though, the seller seems to have good rankings.

And then there's ebay, great prices, options for free shipping worldwide, just got to research the sellers.

That's about the extent of my online research, I haven't committed to buying from any of these sites yet, I'm still looking for that magic bullet.

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by Stephen Coote on August 18, 2010 at 8:04

I think paracord is widely talked about in outdoors and survival circles, possibly because it would have been commonly available to the military-type guys who wrote some of the early survival manuals etc. It certainly is a strong and serviceable cord and has been proven successful in many applications.

I've never used paracord.

But I have used hundreds of metres of cord and rope over the years. One of my favorite types of cord for general use is the flat braid cord I get from Quality Equipment here in New Zealand. A spool of it may contain hundreds of metres (depending on the thickness.... it is sold by weight rather than length it seems).... and a spool was priced at twenty-something bucks last time I bought some.

Quality Equipment are suppliers to the fishing industry, and I am fortunate to have an outlet here in Nelson. I think there is another outlet in Auckland. But they do have a web site:

Edit: when I first posted this, the link didn't show. In case you still cant see it, here is the link to copy and paste into your browser's address bar:

http://musselrope.co.nz/Nylon_Flat_Braid.php

Best wishes.... Coote.

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TohungaPermalink Reply by Neil Clarke on September 7, 2010 at 10:44

It's on Trademe at the moment, bit pricey though. I use a combination of paracord and cheaper 4mm nylon cord from Mitre10, seems to work ok.

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AdminPermalink Reply by Ryan Johnson-Hunt on September 9, 2010 at 8:29

Hi Lorne

Just found an buy now auction for $56 + $6 shipping for a 300ft spool (91m). Looks to be top quality stuff too. You'll have to be in quick, it will disappear at only 68c per m its much better than I have seen before.

Here is a link to the auction in foliage green and black. Hope this helps!

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by Sean Rofe on November 10, 2010 at 11:16

I found one of the guys who was selling it and asked how much to buy in bulk, he said for a 1000ft spool, $220 inc shipping, which sounded good to me. I've done heaps of stuff with this and still have plenty of it left.

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NewbiePermalink Reply by deanz on December 2, 2010 at 18:56

I got this 4mm braided rope from Bunnings Hardware, $7.95 for 55 meters so that's 14.5 cents a meter, has 1 inner core smaller that the other 3, melts with a lighter, don't know the load rating though. Notice the label says MOLYfilament which does not seem to be a proper word that I could find, maybe why it's cheap.

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ShrafterPermalink Reply by Stephen Coote on December 3, 2010 at 9:07

PP probably stands for polypropylene. Polypropylene makes a useful cord, but I have found that some of it at least deteriorates in the sunlight relatively quickly. However it should still have a useful life and be plenty strong enough for a lot of tasks. We use polypropylene film rope for a boat mooring, and I believe that the same stuff is used widely in the mussel industry. The specially made black PP rope lasts for a long time outdoors.

Real paracord might be really good cordage, but there are lots of other alternatives. Dang, a strip of flax might be all you need for some things. Best wishes... Coote.

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NewbiePermalink Reply by zakk tustin on December 5, 2010 at 2:17

im in aus and i find it hard to get para cord as well. you can get hoochie cord quite easily but its not good for to much. don't bother with cadet shop they buy there para cord from kit bag. its .50cents from kit bag. and $20.95 is a rip off prise

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TohungaPermalink Reply by John Pilgrim on July 11, 2011 at 6:12

I agree with Stephen Coote. 550 cord was likely popularized by military types who wrote the early survival manuals for other military people who were subject to being in survival situations and have parachutes available. I used to be one of them and thought nothing of going to the supply sargent and getting eight or ten 300meter spools of the stuff at a time. Now that I'm a civilian and have to pay my own money for it, I think about that a lot. Having been a parachute rigger, there are a few things I want to warn you guys about. All "Parachute Cord" is NOT created equal!! The US military recognizes several types, and the civilian parachuting group has more. The military has seven catagories, 1 through 7. Type 1 is 2mm, rates at 50 pounds, contains four tiny strands of cord and is used in pilot chutes that pull out the main canopies. Type 2 used to have four inner lines and be rated at 375 pounds. It has a dotted black line in the outer covering. It now seems to have five inner lines and be rated at 425 pounds. Type 3 is what most call 550 cord. It has seven inner lines. The US military only gives Type 3 airworthy certification to four solid colors, white, OD green, red and the very rare orange. But if you don't plan to sew and use a parachute, you will find some forty different colors of "550 Cord" for sale on Ebay that are perfectly suitable for bushcraft and general use. BE SURE THE SELLER STATES IT HAS SEVEN INNER CORDS!! Most sellers will brag about having the seven inner lines. Some fake paracord looks like the real thing but instead of seven inner cords, it may be stuffed with yarn or a bundle of fibers that look like it was swept up off a communist chinese textile factory floor. Also, some legitimate parachutes use flat braided line with no inner cords at all but which can legally be called and sold as parachute cord. BE SURE YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE BUYING!!"

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NewbiePermalink Reply by Mark Bowden on October 1, 2011 at 11:00

I know this is an older post but if anyones interested I found a shop in USA a few months back that sent me about 400 to 500 ft of 550 paracord for about US$8 shipping. The whole order (with a few whistles/key ring bits) was about US$70 and took about 2 weeks from memory .

Anyone interested let me know and I'll try and track the shops info.

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NewbiePermalink Reply by Mark Bowden on October 3, 2011 at 21:38

OK Found the info

Site is SOSAK- Its a bit dated but works OK - with Credit card or ebay. the guy Tom seems a decent bloke. I got some black and OD plus some orange for an emergency kit. Tom says its all 550 type 3 paracord. It Looks legit with 7 twisted internal cores

BTW - Some Bunnings stores do nylon cord that looks similar which may be OK too- Its called venetian blind cord - I call it man-cord else the wife will give me stick over buying girly cord! A few sizes - The black 1mm size is OK for repairs and binding and fits a big darning needle for canvas repairs.

I sympathize with John above. I too had a big roll I acquired while I was in. Took it for gZodiaced - expected it would be easy to get hold once I was out - until it was gone. Now I have to pay for it - damn

Hope this helps people