what is the big deal with the paracord wrist braid ?

Is this outdoor fashion gear ? Does it serve any practical purpose ? I see some people wear it on camping trip although they already have plenty of paracord ropes.

"survival bling"

I can understand having extra stuff that comes handy in rough times. I do benefit from the "cache" idea by pre-positioning stuff around my office and other places. I put fresnel lens and a few bandaids in my wallet, and so forth. However, going through several forums and other sites, it appears that wearing or EDCing some stuff is becoming a fashion sort of thing.

Look at this You Tube video ( minute 7:00 to 8:30 ) , you will notice a guy complaining that he does not have enough cordage for building a better shelter . Funny thing, he is wearing a paracord wrist braid on his right arm.


SAN Cold Water & Hypothermia Prevention
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dju4AOVV1cA

funny you should mention. I clicked on some YT video that showed how to open a can without a can opener (I know, sucker for 'magic'tricks), classic stereotype; lightweight tan tactical boots, jeans, paracord bracelet, big watch face knockoff chronograph watch, zero ability with a set video camera. At least he had a decent knife.

Good catch. I had previously watched that video and missed that.

And deployment bling. I got one (made by local Scouts) before going overseas. Wore it about 6 weeks before it stunk to high heaven and I realized I'd never need it.

They have one survival use that hasn't been mentioned. My son is stationed at a polar airbase and the sun doesn't come up for 5 months at a time. He makes and gives away the paracord bracelets. I think they're helping him survive the long night.

Have a paracord belt I made,gotta have a belt,may as well have a use beyond holding pants up.Would also like to make paracord dog leashes,hey,rope really is a handy thing to have,so why not?

Anything that has a practical purpose,why not give it extra capabilities?

Shoot,paracord can help with making shelter,you can make suture material,floss,it has a lot of uses.

A lot of it is survival bling, but some of it is useful. I took a course with the Sierra Club about 10 or 12 years back, and they had SERE instructors guest lecturing at the graduation campout. I remember one particular piece of advice they gave: "You can never have too much cord, too many knives, or too many ways to make fire".

It's also just plain fun to play with. It's the modern day version of sailors' fancywork knots. I've made the usual hatbands and zipper pulls out of it. I tried to make a belt out of it, but it was too thick and ended up using 4mm macramé cord (160 ft worth of clove hitched cord).

If you're looking for actual useful (easy to pull out) plaits for survival bling, look up a double chain sinnet. It's also called a bugle braid, and requires an obscene amount of material (6-12 in/in).
http://www.free-macrame-patterns.com/bugle-braid.html

I think this braid is just a outdoor Jewellery. It is better to carry paracord in a separate bundle. The video just make me feel so frustrated by unprepared people trying to look like Bear Gryllis or Ray Mears.