Bankline is the favorite of many military folks that go into remote places with minimal equipment. It is strong, UV and rot resistant. It takes most knots well and easily untied. Although the original was coated with a smelly tar substance, the last batch I ordered had no smell.

I use it for "primitive" construction and have seen it last for several years in extreme environments. It remains strong and knots stay tied even underwater.

I would bet that if you were to inspect the gear bags of those soldiers you would find more bankline than paracord.

Here is an amazon link
https://www.amazon.com/Catahoula-Manufac...7297&sr=8-1

That said, I do not use it for most applications. I have been using the type of cord found in Venetian Blinds which is also UV resistant and strong enough for my use. It is braided, not twisted. Just a matter of personal preferance.

The premade kits I have seen use incredibly cheap nylon cordage, probably 1/3 the cost of even bankline. Even the better premade kits have very cheap cordage so far as I have seen. If a kit is selling for $10-$20 imagine how little the contents must cost in order to sell it for a profit!

The only kits I look at include 550 cord.

Jeanette Isabelle

Check out Doug Ritter's original PSK sold through Adventure Medical Kits. Too small for paracord, and while I love the kit (and have four of five of them) it includes fairly generic cordage. I upgraded mine with bank line.

I don't believe there are any Federal aws or regulations that mandate only one kind of cordage in a survival kit. Put in two or three, if you wish. Most any will get the job done.

Yeah, cordage good, too much cordage not necessarily bad. A few years back I got a deal on a 1000’ reel of 550 paracord and figured that’s not too much. I made up a couple 100” lengths and quite a few 20” lengths. There’s probably 600’ left on the reel. My truck has one of the 100’ lengths and a friend of mine got the other. I’ve got a 20” length and sometimes two in my kits. It depends on the size of the kit and your intensions.

I use micro paracord for the same uses

I think perhaps the reason parachute cord is popular in survival kits is because a lot of survival skills were developed for aviators who bail out, who naturally have a lot of paracord to use.

Nothing necessarily wrong with that. It depends on the situation and on the method for carrying it. In my daypack, I carry 25' bright orange paracord (non-mil spec), 75' of #36 tarred bank line, 25' of #12 tarred bank line, and 25' of jute twine for various tasks (along with the light twine in the PSK). It all fits in a zip-loc bag stored in a pocket in the daypack. I haven't used the paracord from the kit but everything else I have.

I am unfamiliar with the term “bank line”. Is Tarred Nylon Twine considered “bank line? If so, what are the advantages?