Paracord is strong but DOES quickly deteriorate in UV. Our antennae used to fall all the time if we used this.
Paracord is nice and it is what we all used in the military. And every Rambowannabe knive must be adorned with it.

That being said, I don't need to rappel with my cord, I've never needed cut paracord open, and I don't carry Rambwannabe knives.

I don't know about sisal.

Jute burns and makes a decent birdsnest. It is also strong enough for MOST purposes. And you can store about 3 times as much jute as paracord in the same space.

I DO carry some paracord but also carry some twine (plumbers? carpenter? something like that). I could never carry as much paracord as I carry in twine.

If you are paying $$$ for paracord, you might want to consider some of the other smaller diameter cord found at climbing places. They aren't much more expensive usually and are more than stronger enough to fit the bill. Maybe something like this: http://www.ems.com/catalog/product_detail_square.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441775671&emssrcid=BizRate.com