Why no love for zip ties?

Things things are incredibly useful, incredibly small, yet almost never mentioned in PSK discussion.... why not?

I have some with me all the time, and I'm always putting them to use. They're so small I see no reason why anyone couldn't throw 4 or 5 of them in their PSK.

zip ties, duct-tape, coat-hanger wire, bailing twine, are all very useful items and none of them make much of a dent in my PSK plans. I have a snip of duct-tape in there and a bit of thin nylon twine but zip ties take up enough room as to cut into my room for snare wire. I could probably use the snare wire for whatever I could do with zip-ties but not the other way round.

OTOH in my BOB / home preparedness kits I have a big box of zip-ties in varying sizes along with a really large hank of paracord and some "real" rope and block and tackle. I could use my BOB / home preparedness kit to stabilize a building enough to enter and retrieve items or people. I don't plan on doing something of that nature with my PSK.

My PSK is for surviving in emergency situations which could be survived out of pocket. If I faced collapsed building scenario with my PSK only I would get out and stay out. Then I would want enough cordage to establish shelter from expedient material. Zip-ties could help here. But I also will have other needs such as drinking, eating, signaling, defending, navigating and occasionally medicating. These needs all compete for space in my Altoids tin. I don't have sufficient room in there for something that is not as versatile as duct-tape. Zip ties only lash things together. You can't use them to supplement your fishing line after that big bass swims off with your first 20 feet of monofiliment. But if you happen to snare a deer and don't have to fish you can use the monofiliment to lash together your smoke house to make jerky out of that deer.

They have their use. I have them in all my bigger kits, tool kit in the truck, at home, etc. But I don't see their usefullness in covering the basics. I suppose they could be used to make shelter, but so could a small length of string/twine/rope/wire.

Sorry, I'm married to bailing twine and don't plan on adultery! <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Plus, you can always use it for fire starting materials.

well i got them in mine PSK and FAK. SOme other kits has them as well.... very usefull indeed.

I just don't know what I would use them for. I don't think their versatile enough for me to include in a small kit. The heavier duty ones I've used ten to break around twenty pounds.

I agree, for shelter building they are quite usefull. Even better than cordage because they tighten up quicker. However they are harder to reuse and can't be used for much else.

If their small enough for a PSK then I think their too small.

Para cord will hold 550 pounds, can be used for rope, sewing etc. Zip ties do neither.

I do keep a couple hundred in the car and a couple hundrend in the house where siz and weight are not an issue.

well i keep a few in my bag just in case. and i know the US military uses them as well as most law inforcement
for cheap hand cuffs .
i use them for more permanent aplications where i would not want to waste para cord. like long term survival structures,equipment to equipment attachments,keeping para cord/rope/twine bundled and redy to dispence(then just tighten the zip tie after you take some cord) on the out side of a pack or belt, applications that need some thing a bit more resistent to abration. i know there are alot more i just cant think of em now. but mostly its cuz i dont want to cut up my para cord. but i dont carry them every day in my psk as its very small and almost non existent

I love the things, and keep them in all my large kits, as well as a couple small ones in my PSK.

My latest use for them came up just a week ago. I spent the last 2 weeks at Thunder Ranch learning how to better use my rifle. On one of our night shoots, my rifle sling lost a rivit, and became pretty useless. Trying to take a rifle class without a sling is a royal PITA, so first I set off to try to fix it with duct tape, only to remember the zip ties in my pack. Two ties through the old rivit hole and it was stronger than the original. It easily held through the rest of the class with hard use, and pretty much saved my two weeks. I will never be far from some ties from now on. During the classes, I also used several other (mostly first aid) items from my kit. I was really glad I had it, and so was my partner, who also benefited from my preparations.

Sad to be back at work today <img src="images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Greg