“The difference between fucking around and science is writing it down”, so here we are. Enjoy some anecdotes.

Since I had bought a snugpak hammock, which came with what I believe to be 750# paracord for the tie/choker, I started looking at some heftier options. Namely just for fun. 550 cord and bankline will do most anything you need.

Got some 1/4” para-max from Golberg. Interesting stuff. Rated for 1100#. Very stretchy. Handles like 550 cord, but bigger.

Also grabbed some ARM Battlecord, rated at 2650#. Advertised as a static line. Still 1/4” class. Much stiffer than the paramax. Hardly any stretch.

Some comparisons of them. First, I tied them off to my bench vise and stretched them out. The Para-max was approximately 75ft, and giving it a solid pull felt sloppy and stretched easily 18” just with me giving a decent pull. The Battlecord, a full 100ft, gave maybe 6” on a hard pull. Both lines behaved the same with knots, IE they tied, loaded, and untied the same. These two enjoy the Bowline, Anchor hitch, Figure 8, and Double Fisherman’s. They did not like the square knot or sheet bend, as I later found out.

I setup a rig of each with an Anchor hitch, followed by a single Fisherman’s as a stopper, on a carabiner. Then used a figure 8 with enough loop to choke a 2x4. What does any good jackass do? Get on the 2x4 and jump around, swing, bounce. The figure 8s tightened up pretty good with my 220# loading them. Still untie-able. The anchor hitches did not slip, and the fisherman’s stopper was still hand tight on both. I could feel the Para-max stretching and shrinking as I jumped. The Battlecord was solid the whole time. Both lines were around 3’-9” between anchor and figure 8. The Battlecord remained that length (negligible stretch), while the Para-max gained nearly 8”.

I needed to break some stuff. So the wife helped by holding the brake on her truck, while I pulled with mine. Started with the two tied together with a Double Fisherman. No stoppers in this whole mess. I wanted failure dangit. The PM broke somewhere inside the DF. Knot held. I had to rev my truck up decently to break it (1200ish RPM).

Tried a square knot. Would not hold truck back from idling (550rpm). Sheet bend slipped out easily at 750rpm.

Line failure on the PM was around 1200rpm, while the BC held out to around 1400rpm. Of course my truck’s engine has a power curve like all others, so the 200rpm difference is significant in my opinion. Significant stretch in the PM.

Bowline held to line failure, and still came undone on both. Figure 8s held, but locked up. Anchor hitch held up and drew down bad, but it may have came undone for the motivated with some help from pliers. Tried to remember how to tie a Siberian hitch, failed, and created some odd combination of a Mooring and Siberian hitch. Anyway, that also held to line failure, but was absolutely wrecked and not able to be untied.

Not sure what I’ll do with either of these lines. Besides that I used some of the PM to replace the sagging 750 cord and make a ridgeline for my hammock. We will see how it sleeps. Part of me wants to think it will give a bit firmer hang, but still be cushiony. The BC would probably work nicely as a stand alone ridgeline when making tarp shelters, or maybe you guys in bear country would use it to hang a cooler (basically making a bear swing).

https://sterlingrope.com/equipment/other-products/cordage/accessory-cords/

What do those cords do that others don’t? Where do those cords fail when others work fine?

Seems like nobody cares to elaborate on their rope products beyond a MBS if they aren’t hefty enough for climbing use. Probably because of the idiots and lawyers that come with them.

Edited:
I'm removing my reference to high strength, low elongation cords because their use can increase forces in horizontally tensioned applications, and create unforeseen dangers in the system and anchoring points.  While the consequences are usually just someone being sore from hitting the ground, or catching a small aluminum linkage to the head or face, about once a year it involves grave injury from collapsed masonry structure in the US.

Sometimes rope stretch is annoying, sometimes it's a blessing.

The stuff you are referencing is glorified 550 cord.  It's going to stretch under load, stretch when wet, be more prone to abrasion, and probably have weaker knot characteristics when compared to cord intended for safety use.   This Battlecord stuff boasts something akin to a 14kN rating.  That's a rating comparable to cords that other companies are recommending for safety related uses, and looking at the ARM website, there is simply no way I'd use their Batltecord in such a manner.  It's a glorified shoelace.  There are cords in the 5-6mm range that are truly burly and low stretch, and their prices run 3x to 10x the price of Battlecord, because it's not glorified shoelace.

I don’t pretend to know shit about climbing, because I don’t… what I do know is that neither are suitable for climbing, but they are stronger and tougher than 550 cord (ole reliable) or bankline.

Neither are supposed to be used for climbing, hence not having a kN rating. I’m sure either would work plenty fine for lugging “accessories”, maybe there’s a place for them in climbing type activities, like tying up a 50lb bag of gear. Whatever, again, I don’t climb, and the only climbing type activity I’ve ever done is the rappel tower on Parris Island. Besides using a construction harness for tying off, which all falls under OSHA and we typically use rigging that makes climbing stuff look like a kid’s play set.

Yup, it’s cheap. The Paramax goes for around $45/100ft and the Battlecord around $30/100ft. Definitely more palatable for doing dumb stuff with than the cords you shared above. You’re welcome to burn up some $1/ft cord and share with us some testing. If you have the tools to scientifically test ropes, I’ll send you some of the PM and BC to break. Looks like the stuff you linked is what climbers would actually use for tying off their 50lb gear bag. Is that a correct assessment?

Sometimes you need more heft than 550 cord, but you also don’t need something certified for UIAA falls (I did have to look that up). Such as a nice stiff ridge line and hammock riggings. Maybe you would use it to get a grip on a deer to drag through the woods, then to hoist up said deer for field dressing, then maybe even tie it to the hood of your fucking car. I don’t know what kind of weird shit you do on your own time. Hell, the one is even called PARAmax. It’s not just “glorified paracord”, it IS paracord. There’s even bigger, smaller, and in-between sizes of “paracord”. They are products that are available and affordable. I believe that I offered some kind of help to the Hive, by means of actually using the junk and posting about it. Maybe it will help someone who is liable to have interest in this kind of product. Like people who do outdoors type things, and are inclined to view a fucking “General Outdoor Discussions” section of a forum that is named after a device which is typically used outdoors.

Hmm, another possible good use for any of these “accessory” cords, if you must, is to first tie some kind of hitch knot, snugly around your dangly bits, and then giving your balls a tug.

Maybe I should just go get a subscription to “Cordage, but stronger than 550, and weaker than climbing rope” monthly magazine. Where they just blow it out of the water ever freaking month about the latest hotness in tying some bullshit together. Would be a good read to stay current in the world so I don’t look like some dickbag on the internet. I want to learn the true nuance of medium duty cord. Where can I sign up?

Hey, @midcap what kind of cord or rope do you use for tying up fat girls? Do you prefer a static or dynamic line?

I'm not comparing this to climbing ropes.

I use 3” nylons rug boat rope I got from KennyW

Sterling was mentioned in this thread because they have been in the business for a long time and offer great products, and without the hyperbole of ARM.  

What do they offer that this paracord stuff doesn't?  They have products in this weight/diameter class that are top-flight products with good abrasion resistance and very low static elongation; heavy duty stuff for its geometry.

Burly paracord that's built like ... paracord?  Why would it behave like anything other than paracord with respect to static elongation, elongation with respect to retained water, abrasion, etc?

In the OP, it looks like you want something with low static elongation, but you are using a design that's specified to stretch, and stretch to a wide degree - as it was originally intended for control and retention of parachute canopy deployment.

Thanks.

Well how the hell am I supposed to know? I didn’t know Atwood or Golberg existed until like two week ago. Until I wanted some cord bigger than 550 that is allegedly made in the US.

Well, since one of them, again, is literally fucking paracord, I’m not disappointed that it behaves like it. In fact, I’m quite pleased, because whether I like it or not, it did exactly what it is designed to do. Since there are almost no reviews that seem legit, how the hell am I supposed to know that the stuff actually does it’s damn job? How is someone who doesn’t keep up with Cordage magazine supposed to shop for cord? Because it seems to fit the bill nicely.

Looks like the BC is pretty well a “low static elongation” with high abrasion resistance… I noticed that it didn’t stretch, when I was putting loads on it. See how I noted that property in the OP? You know that big thick sheath on it protecting the load bearing strands? Being all sheath like. Funny how that shit works, isn’t it? Should I count the passes of 120grit sandpaper to cause sheath failure? How many passes of sandpaper until the Sterling stuff busts? Do you even know? Do you actually use it? What do you tie off with it that makes so much difference that you need to spend $1/ft vs $.30/ft but you still won’t tie yourself off with it?

What’s your point dude? Do you have anything actually useful to talk about? Or do you just want to shit on two items that are somehow inferior to your chosen cord? Are you the guy in GD that insists because I don’t carry a $5,000 pistol, but a $500 one that works fine, I will die?

At least demonstrate through some conveyable means that it’s worth it. Or even useful. Because right now, it’s just $.70/ft more expensive for a nominal increase in strength.

ETA: let’s again be clear, that I am NOT using any of this stuff to tie myself off, or pick critical loads overhead. I’m looking at CORD products, for general use. What anyone does with their shoelaces is not my problem.

Just because something is rated in kN doesn't mean it's intended for climbing or safety related uses.  kN is no different than lbs, more accurately labeled as lbf, or lb_f; they both a measure of force.

To say this is just used for stringing stuff up, belies the realities of forces involved in horizontally tensioned systems with downward loading.  The forces in hammock setups are more than most people realize, and people die because of this.  The trigonometry is an eye opener for most.  Truth be told, this very setup, in conjunction with a ruler or tape measure, and the weight of common objects is an easier way to measure breaking force than using a pickup truck.

Yes.

I’ve strung up a hammock using a tarp and a single line of 550 cord and slept fine. You don’t need six wraps of 3klb rated cord to hold one up.

The hammock I bought came with 750 cord as the rigging. Which has been replaced with 1100 cord. I even took it out yesterday and had a quick hang mid hike just to try the stuff. Nice and springy as I’d expect from paracord. Good hang.

Ultimately, what’s your point dude? It’s like I’m hearing that some 500lb ratchet straps are useless for securing a grill in the bed of a pickup, because you need a bunch of 5k straps to secure a bulldozer on a flatbed. Both can be true, and not invalidate each other.

I ordered a 500 ft spool of bank line from Amazon for about $15. It's 3 braided lines so you can break it down if you don't require the 300lb strength of 3.

Hahahaha...

@FritzTKatt

1/2”mule  tape
If you know someone in utilities, they throw away 100’ a week. It’s like 1/2” webbing . Amazingly strong - hence utilities use it to pull cables underground.