Customer Reviews

1000' Foot OD Olive Drab Green Parachute Cord Paracord Type III Military Specification 550

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Be careful and consider this before you spend your money. The real 550 Type III Parachute Cord that is sold to the military must meet a military specification as documented in Mil-C-5040. While this ad does not claim this, they do claim to be "Military Specification", which means absolutely nothing.

According to the actual Mil-C-5040 government document 550 type III Paracord should be made up of between 7 and 9 strands and each strand shall be 3-ply. Although I have yet to see a true Mil-C-5040 cord that was anything but 7-strand/3-ply. The stuff being sold here is 7-strand/2-ply, this is easy for a trained eye to pick out the 2-strands from the third photo, as the 3-ply strands are a much tighter twist.

Also, Mil-C-5040 requires that one of the strands have uniquely colored identifier thread(s) to identify the manufacturer, this cord does not.

That is not to say this is not good paracord that meets the specification for 550lbs. strength. There is a lot of garbage being sold out there. This is likely a commercial variant of the Mil-C-5040 cord and probably made by the actual military supplier. The added cost of labeling it as Mil-C-5040 comes in the cost of meeting the government demands for inspection of each small lot. Why pay for that. It all comes down to you get what you pay for, I have yet to find true "Military Spec" Mil-C-5040 paracord for less than about $90-$100 per 1000 feet. BTW, the true Mil-C-5040 type III cord will hold up to about 750lbs. before breaking.

I have both the commercial and Mil-C-5040 variants of Type III 550 Paracord from each of the two top military suppliers and I would not hesitate to use any of them for most purposes. That said, the Mil-C-5040 versions are noticeably more robust. See my detailed review of the commercial vs. true Mil-Spec cords from the same military supplier on bladeforums.com (Search: 'MIL-C-5040H Type III').

I've tested this spool to 300lbs, being myself and my gear. Since knotting can reduce a rope's strength by up to half, that is really as much as I expected from this stuff. Plus, it is light and not at all bulky.

All 7 strand paracord is terrific to use. However this is commercial paracord and NOT military spec paracord. MIL-C-5040 mil spec is 8 strand, with the 8th strand being a (in olive drab paracord the 8th strand is green/white) striped strand. note that both commercial 7strand and milspec 8strand are both rated to 550 pounds. if you have a length of each in your hand you can easily feel the difference, even without looking at it.

someone posted above that they are in the air force and 7 strand is what they use. they are either wrong, or a supplier provided cheaper commercial paracord to make a higher profit hoping no one would notice (sadly this happens far more likely than it should).

As others stated, not much to say about Paracord. This is the real deal. Get some.

Paracord is paracord, there's not much to say. I work for the Airforce and these are the same spools we get from supply. One thousand feet OD outter 7 strand inner white. Quite strong and fun to use for weaving and other odd jobs.

The product arrived quickly and as advertised. This is a full seven strand cord. I've used it for a number of projects from creating handle wraps to key fobs and paracord braids and it has worked well. I have yet to use it in any load bearing tasks but expect it to perform well. I would certainly recommend this product to a friend who was interested.

Paracord is one of those must have items. I was a little apprehensive about ordering a 1000' spool, but the entire thing is about the size of a large coffee can. I've already used it to make one paracord bracelet and played with the sheath and inner strings. This is great stuff.

One word of advise, when you're ready to start working with the cord, have a lighter handy. I find the long-neck lighters easier and safer to work with. It keeps your fingers away from the molton nylon. After you cut the cord, use the lighter to burn the end. I prefer to keep the heat on until the cord starts burning on its own. Once you remove the heat, it will quickly burn out, leaving a nice, solid end piece. BE VERY CAREFUL! The end of that cord will be semi-liquid for about 60 seconds and hot enough to burn for another 60 after that. Let the cord cool completely before working with it.

One thousand feet of 550 mil spec paracord equals a lot of fun for a middle aged dad and two young sons. I think everyone needs a roll of paracord. Once you have it around you will wonder what you ever did without it.

I've been using this for a multitude of purposes, tent lines, boot laces, etc. This is the first purchase of paracord I have ever made so I don't know if this is normal, but I seem to have trouble sealing the ends with a flame after cutting. The inner cord and outer cord will melt together but it doesn't take much to cause them to separate again. One web site suggests dipping your fingers in water and pressing the ends while they cool to create a flattened rather than bulbish melted end.

I ordered the 1,000 ft roll of 'OD Olive drab green parachte cord paracord type III military specification 550' and got exactly what I paid for. Alot of reviewers have gone on about it not being what they used in the military etc. This stuff has a core of seven, white twisted pairs. There is no color coded strand, nor was there eight pairs. I'll use this cord to hoist my pack up a tree to keep it away from animals; tying down the tent; hanging clothes in camp, hoisting a deer up a tree for field dressing etc. I won't be scaling cliffs with the stuff so it's not essential to me that it breaks at 550 lbs or 450 lbs. What I like about it was the price; less than 5 cents / foot. I've paid twice as much in the local hardware store for junk with the fluffy pillow stuffing core. This product will serve my purposes. As far as delivery time; I ordered from Love It Enterprises. They said it would be delivered in 8 days and it was.