Fire Cord

Posted by: hikermor

Fire Cord - 06/05/16 08:13 PM

"It's more than just paracord" proclaims the literature of Live Fire Gear https://www.livefiregear.com/

And they are correct. The 25' of Fire Cord contains a bright red inner strand, in addition to the seven conventional nylon strands, that is suitable for starting a fire. I just whacked off a chunk and went outside to play, er, test. The single, relatively thick, strand of red cord pulled readily from the nine inch length I whacked off and readily ignited from a single match. I fluffed up another end and tried igniting it with sparks from a spark-lite, with no success. More fluffing of the end of the fire cord might have given a better result.
."
Fire cord ignites readily, in much the same manner as a candle wick, due to its ingredients -"mineral oil, polymer resin, hydrocarbons, aniline dye, natural oils, and petroleum distilates."

incidentally, I tried using 'Advanced Purell" as an accelerant, and that was definitely a dud. Old style Purell is quite effective in creating a blaze - not so the new stuff.

While billed as 550 Fire Cord, there is no information as to the tensile strength of this product on anything I have seen, so don't try anything heroic with this cordage.

All in all, I am satisfied with this product, and I will include it in my kit, and probably wrap a couple of knife handles with it. I purchased bright red cordage, but it is available in various other shades, including camo, I believe. i have a slavish addiction to multiple use products, and I would say this one that works rather well.The same can be said of a small birthday candle, or similar.
Posted by: bacpacjac

Re: Fire Cord - 06/05/16 09:06 PM

Very cool, hikermor! Thanks! I'm starting to see this stuff on-line more, but it hasn't hit my local army surplus yet. I'd like to try it out. Like you, I like multi-purpose prooducts, especially when it's a simple addition to something I already use and love, like paracord. What do you think so far? Does the paracord retains it's high quality and properties?
Posted by: hikermor

Re: Fire Cord - 06/05/16 10:53 PM

I would say the paracord is fine until you use the red cord for its purpose. When I cut off my 21 cm piece and pulled the red cord, all the other strands came with it. If I ever use this stuff for fire starting,I will probably whack off 5 cm at a time (I am learning to speak Canadian, he said in measured tones), leaving the rest unhindered for other uses.

I am amazed at running across discussions of using pcord for situations involving life safety, as in rappelling, where its use is dreadfully inappropriate. Shoe laces, lashing, stuff like that I would think fire cord is just as handy as the regular stuff.
Posted by: jamesraykenney

Re: Fire Cord - 08/16/16 10:57 PM

I have some of the Fire Cord, but I prefer the TITAN Survival Cord. Same idea but uses waxed jute which I THINK is easier to light with a spark(but I have not tested it yet). It also has a strand of 25lb nono fishing line and a metal conductive wire, in addition to the 5 strands of cord, with each of those being made of 3 smaller strands... You can get a LOT of material out of this stuff. I guess I need to do a review of this stuff, but I just never seem to have any time anymore.