How to Tie Down Gear You Don’t Want to Lose!

[Big Frank]

I saw this first pic in an article about "dummy cords" online. It has clear instructions for tying a bowline knot. But what I found more interesting was the first step - gutting the piece of paracord and only using the outer sheath. It's still plenty strong for anything you would use it for, lighter, and more flexible too. If you have anything that's valuable, or you can't afford to lose for any reason, you can tie it to yourself or your gear. Imagine navigating at night when a branch sneaks up on you and knocks your compass out of your hand. It falls to the ground just as the man behind you conveniently steps on it. Yikes!

The second pic shows an example of a dummy cord in use. No.36 Bank Line is good to use too. You can buy a 100 foot spool of it for $10.99, compared to bulkier 550 paracord at $12.99 per 100 feet. That size of bank line has 340 lb Tensile Strength, and is only .085" Diameter. 550 cord has a Tensile Strength of 550 lb, hence the name, and the Diameter is 5/32", almost twice as big as the bank line, which is better than paracord in a lot of instances, mainly because you can carry twice as much in a smaller package. There are videos on YouTube about using bank line instead of wasting 550 cord for most things that don't need 550 pounds tensile strength. You can get it at store like The Home Depot or online, and it comes in many sizes and strengths.

I saw a picture of a short dummy cord attached to a pair of NVG on a combat helmet. If they fell off, they would dangle from the helmet instead of being lost or broken. Night vision devices, scopes, lasers, flashlights can be tied down. As a hunter, you would want to secure your GPS, compass, water bottle, binoculars, and maybe your knife. When you go kayaking, use it to avoid being up a creek without a paddle. A signal whistle would be a good thing to never lose, and so would a lighter or match box. Cut your cord a foot longer than you want it, and it should be about the right length when you knot both ends. Bowlines on both ends allow you to loop one end through the other loop. Then you clip a Nite Ize S-Biner or other attachment to the othe end.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCpDnLBQ-v4