Paracord on the Big Screen!

The new movie "End of Watch" takes the audience for a ride in the streets of LA from the view-point of a police cruiser.  The movie is about two police officers who have a knack for making the big bust and seem to always be in on the action.  One traffic stop however gives them more than they were bargaining for when they get on the Mexican drug cartels bad side.  Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena as the two police officers who are the main characters in the film, they play Officer Brian Taylor and Officer Mike Zavala.  

One thing most movie goers probably did not notice is what Officer Taylor (Gyllenhaal) wears on his right wrist... a paracord bracelet!  Although we can not say with any certainty if it is a Rescue Bands paracord bracelet, it is the exact same style as our Vintage Cobra with the stainless steel D-lock, found on Rescuebands.com .  And we did leave a few bracelets in LA a few months back, just sayin'...

Either way it is pretty cool to see the paracord movement hitting hollywood! 

Sizing your Rescue Band

When sizing your Rescue Band the first step you should take after picking out what style Rescue Band you want is to measure your wrist to make sure you get the correct size.  To get the right measurement you should do the following:

Step 1- Wrap a flexible tape measure or a piece of string completely around your wrist, just below the wrist bone (towards elbow), without creating slack and without creating pressure to your wrist (where you would place a wrist watch). If you use string, measure item against a tape measure or ruler for accuracy. \

Step 2- Select your size from our sizing drop down menu (located on the purchase page of our website for your particular style).  Choose the size that is closest to your measurement. 

Our goal is to create a great fit so please be sure to double check your measurement. Your bracelet will be handmade slightly larger than the measurement you submit to Rescue Bands for comfort.  When constructed, the inside circumference of the closed bracelet will match the size you provide.

Curious about how much paracord you’re getting in your bracelet? Below you can see approximately how many feet of cord you get based on the size of your bracelet. 

Cobra Braid (for Cobra 2 color, each color is responsible for half the total length)

Men’s

Extra Small 6” size has 7’2” of cord

Small 6-1/2” size has 7’9” of cord

Medium 7” size has 8’4” of cord

Large 7-1/2” size has 9’1” of cord

Extra Large 8” size has 9’6” of cord

Women’s

Extra Small 5” size has 6’ of cord

Small 5-1/2” size has 6’7” of cord

Medium 6’ size has 7’2” of cord

Large 6-1/2” size has 7’9” of cord

Extra Large 7” size has 8’4” of cord

Keep checking the blog for more sizes and paracord lengths for our other styles 

What is an EDC?

EDC or Every Day Carry is pretty much just what it sounds like, something that you carry every day.  Of course not everyone has the same idea for an EDC, the most extreme EDC carrier might be preparing for the end of the world as we know it and carry a gun, knife, and some dry food rations.  On the other end of the spectrum you could see a business man who carries a flash drive, laser pointer, and iPad. 

Somewhere in between is where you can find the Rescue Bands EDC products.  Currently available in two styles, the Lite and the Axis, these EDC’s are capable of saving your life or helping to overcome the minor speed bump in your daily life. 

The item on the Axis that I find most useful is either the waterproof/airtight lighter or the mini crowbar.  I can imagine the lighter to be the most useful in a survival situation.  Having done some survival training myself I have a pretty good understanding of how important fire is and how challenging it can be to generate a fire in these situations.  The crowbar certainly has its uses in the wild but I tend to use it more often to open a package or pry the top off a beverage. 

The most useful tool on the Lite for me is probably the Philips head screwdriver.  It happens to fit perfectly into the screws that attach my wakeboard bindings to my wakeboard.  If you’re a wakeboarder you can probably appreciate the convenience of having a screwdriver that fits on your keys or just stored on the boat.  With the little Philips head on the Lite, you always have a screwdriver if you have your EDC.

And of course both EDC’s from Rescue Bands have 3.5’ of parachute cord.  The uses for this stuff are countless but I’ll stay on the wakeboard example for a little longer, think back to if you’ve ever been riding and either your laces on your bindings broke, your tow rope broke, or you don’t have enough rope to tie up to the dock.  The paracord solves all of these issues.  Especially the binding laces, for some reason mine never hold up for more than a few months and I end up going through a few pairs of shoe laces before I am done with the bindings.  I’ve started using the paracord instead of the shoelaces and haven’t had any problems.  If only the binding companies would just put this stuff on their bindings originally then I wouldn’t have to replace them.  

Rescue Bands Giveaway!

CouponFreeStuff.com blog is hosting a Rescue Bands giveaway!  To find out more information, go to their website here.   Rescue Bands loves to interact with Mommy Blogs and our products are perfect for busy moms on the go!  Our brand has recently been featured on Zulilly where Moms get deals every day on their favorite brands.

Five Ways to Use Your Rescue Band

Rescue Bands and the parachute cord they are made with have many uses that can be employed for a number of different situations.  Typically when thinking of a Rescue Band we think of its utility in terms of survival situations, like creating a sling for a broken limb, or using one of the inner cords as fishing line.  Rescue Bands aren’t just for survival though; there are lots of ways that your Rescue Band can help you out in a less than dire situation. 

Use your Rescue Band…

As a belt:

It sounds kind of funny but I can tell you from experience that showing up somewhere, like work for instance, in your khakis and polo and realizing you forgot to put your belt on can make for a long day.  Granted a piece of paracord tied around your waist isn’t going to replace your Italian leather belt but it certainly beats not having anything.

As a backup surfboard leash:

For those of you that aren’t surfers http://ijustsurf.com/the-blogs/learning-to-surf/the-humble-leg-rope-surfboard-leash/ .  Now that surf leashes are the main stream and just about every surfer is wearing them (not just for kooks anymore) it has become socially irresponsible not to have one on.  It’s sort of like a courtesy; if you wipeout and have a leash on your board it’s less likely to catch a fellow surfer on its way into shore without you.  So what do you do if your leash breaks?  Most people, at least the people I know, don’t have an extra leash just in case their primary one breaks.  Why bother, they cost upwards of $20 typically and they very rarely break.  At the same time however,   if your leash happened to break and you were at the beach with killer waves, would you want to leave to go pick up a new leash or risk riding without one and losing your board?  No, but you don’t have to, you have the convenience of a Rescue Band on your wrist, just unravel it and attach it to your board and your good to go.  (And Rescue Bands will replace deployed bands for FREE if you submit the story of how you used it through the website).

As a tow-rope:

No, not that kind of tow-rope, we’re sticking with the action sports and using it as a tow-rope for watersports.  With the ability to hold up to 550 lbs your Rescue Band is strong enough to pull up even the biggest of friends.  As a matter of fact I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone who weighs 400+ lbs up on a set of skis or a wakeboard, they typically just stick to floating.  Anyways, typically when doing this sort of activity and the rope breaks the entire rope isn’t useless, it is usually just a 5 ft section of line that has become weak.  Solution?  I’m sensing a trend, use your Rescue Band and replace the section of line with it.  A good wakeboard tow-rope typically will cost over $40, which is sort of a lot if all you need is a 5ft section to replace what broke. 

A clothes line

This idea is actually not our own, one of our customers sent us a testimonial describing how they used their Rescue Band.  As a college student she needed something to hang her clothes on to dry, and wouldn’t you know it, a Recue Band did the trick.  If you’re not a college student trying to save your quarters you could still use this idea while your camping or on vacation where swimming is involved.

A zipper pull

One of the most frustrating things to do is trying close a zipper that has lost the attached piece you actually pull it with.  It seems like this happens all the time and typically when it’s inconvenient.  If you have a Rescue Band on, just deploy it and cut a small piece of it to loop through where the original pull was, problem solved, frustration averted.  After deploying your Rescue Band as a zipper pull you will probably have a lot of surplus paracord, burn the end that you cut and hold onto it, you can probably use it for something else. 

This Rescue Bands customer used his band as an emergency sling after a winter sports accident!

Paracord 101

History

Parachute cord commonly referred to as paracord or 550 cord is a high strength cord originally used in the suspension lines of US parachutes during World War II. Once in the field, paratroopers found these high strength cords to be particularly useful for a wide variety of tasks and were often the first part of a parachute to be removed and retained for practical uses. Typical paracord uses included attaching equipment to harnesses, tying rucksacks to vehicles and much more. The interior fibers were also frequently removed when finer cordage was needed. These inner cords were commonly used to repair gear, act as boot laces or even serve as fishing lines in survival situations. However, despite the parachute cord’s historic association with Airborne units, virtually all US units had access to these versatile cords and they were used in almost any situation where strong cordage was needed.

After World War II, parachute cords became readily available to civilians, first as military surplus and then as a retail product. The highly versatile cord was even used by astronauts during the second space shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Telescope. Paracord has also been widely used since the 1970s for whipmaking due to its extreme durability and elasticity.

What is it?

A paracord is a high tenacity nylon kernmantle rope. A kernmantle rope is simply a rope constructed with an interior core of fibers (kern) protected within a woven exterior shealth (mantle) that is designed for maximum strength, durability and flexibility. In addition, nylon doesn’t rot or mildew thus making paracords impervious to the elements. There are six types of military issued paracords; Type 1 Type 1A, Type 2, Type 2A, Type 3 and Type 4. However, the most commonly found paracord is Type 3 which typically contains 7 inner cords and has a maximum breaking strength of up to 550 pounds and where the name 550 cord is derived.

The “Paracraze”

In recent years, the paracord has reached an almost iconic status amongst outdoor adventurers and survivalists alike due to its seemingly unlimited number of uses. Paracords are now being used to repair various equipment, secure gear, construct temporary shelters and even first aid. Although paracords are now used for a number of mainstream uses, it has not lost its identity as a highly functional military cord and they can be found anywhere US service men and women are located.

Fashionable Functionality

In addition to the paracord’s number of utilitarian uses, it’s also becoming a fashionable accessory. These once humble parachute cords are now being used to create colorful braided paracord bracelets, keychains, pet collars and more. However, they have certainly not lost their utility benefits and can easily be unveiled when needed. Paracord bracelets are currently available in a wide variety of different woven patterns and will extend to various lengths depending on their style and size.

If you would like to learn more about paracord accessories and how this versatile product can help you be equipped and ready for almost any emergency in an instant, visit rescuebands.com.

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