A friend asked me today "what's the rating was on the individual the strands inside 7 strand mil spec 550 paracord". I once saw a great breakdown of all the specs on 550 cord either on these forums or in an online doc, including the rating of each of the 7 inner strands as well as the "sub" strands that make up each of the 7 inner strands and the sheathing without any of the inner strands. Unfortunately, I can not seem to locate this information for him now. I figure this would be a great bit of information for the forum archives as well, so I thought I would ask.

Anyone know where to find such a detailed breakdown?

Thanks!

11lbs each... funnily enough I was educated on this just last weekend!

Check this out:
http://cambriansurvival.co.uk/kit-shop-6.html

Youcannot go wrong to buy your kit from this supplier: great guy, great service!!

11lbs per inner strand seems very low to me, both from personal experience and from what I have read. I did a quick search online and found this:



This sounds more along the lines of what I have experienced.

The mil. spec. cord has seven identifiable twisted strands in the core (each about 35 lb. test). Each inner strand is itself comprised of three strands (each about 11 lb. test). The sheath is rated at about 300 lb. test by itself.

Thanks for clearing that up. Apparently romania was right about the 11lbs, I just misunderstood exactly what part was rated at 11lbs.

Thank you very much everyone for your replies. That is exactly the information I needed!

Also, the term REAL paracord is misleading...
Some people think that anything that does not have exactly SEVEN inner strands is not REAL paracord...
That would eliminate the EIGHT strand stuff that was linked to earlier and that is used by(I think) the British military...

SEVEN strand is one of the WEAKEST of the paracords!!!
I have some 13 strand stuff that I got from a 'Rigging' store(parachute making supplier) that is MUCH stronger... Most of the really strong stuff is only available in white though...
I use a lot of the orange stuff, but I just found REAL 'Blase Orange' paracord and MAN does that stuff show up in the sunlight!!!

Ugh... Linkage? <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

i liked your response to the real paracord--as usual there is always a more experienced player out there -
Now, do you know where I can buy said cord online?

thanks
Gs

eight - pararcord:
http://cambriansurvival.co.uk/kit-shop-6.html

I'd like to see the orange cord... any linkey?

The box mine came in is at home... I will have to look for it later.

I don't know about the UK but County Comm has orange 7 strand parachute cord.
Orange parachute cord

Wow, like the dayglow orange!! Very mountain rescue style!!

Thanks Craig! <img src="/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

I have some of the CountyComm orange paracord. It is very bright, though I can't say I've been able to compare it to any other orange paracord. It's great for lanyards, especially on dark knives or flashlights that tend to disappear in dim light or tall grass.

Finally found it!!!
http://www.paragear.com/templates/parachutes.asp?group=32&level=2&parent=193

If that does not work to to http://www.paragear.com/default.asp
On the left pick
Rigging Equipment
then
Raw Materials
then
Suspension Line
They have everything from Type I to Type V...
Type I 100lbs
Type II 400lbs 4 strand
Type III 550lbs 7 strand
Type IV 750lbs 11 strand
Type V 1000lbs 14 strand
Plus a lot more stuff like
Type IIA Which is the sleeving for type II

Speaking of Lanyards.....I am trying to learn how to braid para cord......can anyone point me in the right direction?.....Thank's.....Krell

What kind of braid do you want?... round, flat, three strand, four strand, more??? It's been my experience that 550 braids/bends just like any other cordage.

Troy