Hi,

What natural fiber cordage would come the closest to 550 paracord in terms of compactness and reliability, for applications like lashing, building snowshoes, stretchers, taut lines and so on? I know the properties of paracord like high stretch, tensile strength and construction (mantle with removable strands) can't be reproduced in natural fiber like hemp, but what would you use as a substitute for its intended purposes?

Thanks
Frankie

Well, since 550-pound parachute cord has “intended” uses numbering into the millions, you very well may have millions of options. For something that is just cheap and versatile, good braided cotton rope works pretty well. It has its downfalls, of course, but so does anything else.

I don't consider a natural cord to be as versitile as 550.
Sure you could use it for similar tasks in some cases but the 550 is more durable and can be separated into its 7 stands and core giving you 8 different cord. In addition natural fibers will probably not have a 550 pound breaking strength.
Natural cord will work but do not neccesarily replace synthetic cord like 550.
Bill

The best bang for the buck I've ever used for natural fiber has to be true hemp. Unfortunately, it is getting difficult to come by.

I know, and you can unravel the 7 strands into three even thinner strings that are very tough and thin enough to use as dental floss.

But my question is which one amongs the traditional types of natural cords and strings would be most appropriate for lashing, building shelter and so on. There's sisal hemp (bailer twine)which is used for bailing hay, linen flax string which is used for making bows, jute available from military surplus that when carbonized make a good charred cloth, cotton and hemp. There's also manila ropes, made from a plant in the banana family.

So far I think real hemp would be the way to go but where can I buy this stuff?

Thanks
Frankie

Oh I see why it's difficult to come by. I just found out that hemp is actually the cannabis plant. Is it the reason?

YEAH, probably but hemp is not bred to have the most thc and actually hemp has very little thc and so you can;t get high off of it (tho some retards might try). bottom line The drug is bred to have higher consentrations of the thc, them hemp does, even tho they are the same plant and species.

From my experience with climbing rope and cordage, nothing natural comes close to nylon. But in my neck of the woods, if I needed natural cordage, I would turn to yucca. Many species come with their own attached needle, and I have seen 800 year old Anasazi yucca cordage, about 3/16th inch diameter, that I could not break with my bare hands.

Silk.

Baring that, I use both jute and sisal for general tieing and building of practice shelters. I've found them to be largely interchangeable in most respects, although I do prefer sisal- I think it makes a better tinder.

Uh, yeah, well, if you've priced silk rope lately I think I would rather spend the money importing (albeit slightly illegally) natural hemp rope instead. Sisal, Jute and Yucca are a far cry from how well hemp does. But if you gotta use something easy to get your hands on, I guess sisal rope is fair.