Quick Release Survival Bracelet/Quick Release Paracord Bracelet

Please watch the video below to understand how this bracelet works. It's very cool!.

Throughout this tutorial I will demonstrate how to make a "Gator Quick Release ParaVival Bracelet".  ParaVival is my new gear company, and it's also short for paracord-survival. The Gator bracelet comes with up to 15 feet of paracord and can completely unraveled in under 20 seconds, perfect for any emergency or survival situation.

Also find the tutorial and other paracord supplies like kits and cord here: http://www.paravival.com/how-tos/bracelets/gator-bracelet

Also find me on Facebook to check out my latest projects and blog posts!

https://www.facebook.com/ParaVival

Check out a video of the Gator unraveling below:

Step 1: What You'll Need

What You'll Need:

• 15 ft. of paracord
• Tape measure
• Metal Shackle
• Scissors
• Lighter
• Jig. (Optional)

Check out our Paracord Kits

-We use a small piece of wood about 3' x 1'. Plywood works great for this. We simply screw an eyehook into it so we can attach the shackle to it while working. You can see the eye hook at the top of the picture below. Again, this is optional. You can do this by simply holding it it your hands.

Comments

[PTHFNDR4LIFE]

Can you use two colors of paracord for this bracelet or can it be only made by one color of paracord?

[Paravival]

I'm sure it can be done. But it may or may not affect the quick release aspect of it. The cow hitch is the center of all the cord. So that is where both the colors would meet up. So I guess you could fuse them together and make a cow hitch at the point where you melted the two colors together? Or maybe you could just bring both cords through and braid over them and eliminate the cow hitch.

Anthony

[Melvin71]

this was a great project and worked out well the only thing I had to figure out was that you keep doing the first braid then second, first then second which you didn't really specify or just missed it but overall nice work.

[teufelaffe]

What size shackle are you using?

[Paravival]

I'm sorry it's actually a 3/16th size shackle. I guess they measure it by the diameter of the metal, not the width of the shackle itself.

[Paravival]

Its more of a preference but I use a 1" shackle. You can use 1 size bigger or one size smaller. I wouldn't go much more than that in either direction.

Anthony

[stealthop]

your paracord is a bit expensive , i see paracord cheaper on google . is there a reason for this?

[Paravival]

Most paracord you will find on the web is not real MILL Spec Paracord. It's called "commercial paracord". I get mine from an aviation website which has a direct contract with E.L. Woods Braiding company which is one of very few companies which produce true MIL-C-5040 Type III paracord.

Most stuff you buy online will still hold 550 pounds strength. But it does not pass the same military parameters as the commercial stuff does.

The commercial cord has 7 inner strands, each containing 2 strands of there own. While the MIL-C-5040 Type III has 7 inner strands each containing 3 strands of their own, and also is said to be able to actually hold upwards of 700-800 pounds.

After extensive research I could only find one true supplier for the real stuff, and they have a certificate stating it comes from E.L. Woods Braiding company.

My prices are so high because I need to make money also. I just started the website a few months ago and I do not have the capital to buy enough of the cord to lower the price. I look forward to lowering the prices soon.

Again you might see some websites stating they offer MIL-C-5040 Type III. But it is actually pretty rare and most of the time bogus.

[stealthop]

ah, ok thats good to know . so next time i need paracord i will come see you at paravival :)

[lperkins]

Nifty idea, but I don't know that 15' of cord is enough in a survival situation... I'm thinking I'll get some slightly larger cord and make a belt. ;)

[Paravival]

Iperkins

Check out my articles here Using Guts Of Paracord

You'd be surprised how much you can actually get out of 15 feet.

But belts are much better ( : !! I'm going to make an intructable for a belt soon.

Anthony

[rjbatc]

On the front page the title only says "How To Make A Quick Release Survival Bra"
- pretty funny if you ask me

[freeza36]

I noticed the same thing. But for some reason all I saw was "Quick Release Bra"

[Paravival]

hahahaha thats hilarious I just noticed that.

[freeza36]

Haha usually someone would step out and say "get your mind out of the gutter" right about now.

[Paravival]

I don't know whether to change it or not haha. What do you guys think?

[sockit]

Although I liked the instructable, I was thinking I might have enjoyed it more if you just left the title alone and changed the instructions!!

[Paravival]

haha Maybe I'll make a real quick release bra for my next intructional. hmmm we'll see.

[james.m.k]

Make sure it's a Quick Release Survival Bra!

[simondburt]

It says to make sure and pull each knot tight... but I am left with half the original length! to make a braclet long enough for my wrist I only used 8 feet... what should I do to get better use out of the 15/6 feet of cord?

Also, do you ship cord overseas?

[Paravival]

If done right you shouldn't be able to use anything less than like 12 feet of cord.

Where/what are you stuck on?

I can try and clarify this for you.

When making your braids, you don't want it to be SUPER tight. You give it a nice an easy tug and make sure it's symmetrical and not looser on one side than the other.

This is the same for the Cobra bracelets too.

I'd try again and make it looser. It's probably more loose than I'm making it out to be.

We can ship over seas but it would cost more. Currently the site does not offer it but we do make exceptions.

[Paravival]

Im not sure where you're seeing it say (Pull each knot tight).

Step 6 mentions to make sure the "Stablelizing" part is tight, and another thing mentions being tight in part 6 of step 7 and 8. But think "tight" as in like just enough where all the cords are pulled together, no loose cords or "air pockets" if you will, in the "knot" when done with that particular braid. You by no means want to pull the crap out of it really tight because then your going to lose your "Quick Release" capabilities, and possibly use less cord like happened to you.

But i'm a bit confused because most of the time when you make your knots tighter, they end up much smaller, leaving more room for more braids, and it usually allows room for more cord???

I'm here to help walk you through it if you need any assistance! Hope this helped at all..

Anthony

[simondburt]

I see what you mean, I was just pulling them too tight, I am used to having to pull a knot tight so that my hammock doesn't slip out of the tree or so my kitchen tarp doesn't fly away, or better yet that the Frame packs that my kids used didn't fly off the roof of the camp when barrelling down the highway!

I just need to realise that this is supposed to be 'loose' to allow for more cord usage!

[ineed-iwant]

I am having a really hard time at the end finishing them..They dont want to stick together.. I have heated them as much as to turn the end black HELP PLEASE

[Paravival]

Your not trying to get it to stick to anything. When you melt the ends, you spread the melting nylon so it's wider than the original cord. If you were to look at it by itself the end of the cord would look like the top of a mushroom. The mushroom head is what hold the cord from being pulled through at the end. If you just left it, it would unbraid. So melting it, and forming this mushroom head type of end, this stops that.

I'm gong to do a small tutorial or video on how to do this, and also an alternative way of ending the bracelet as well.

Should be done in the very near future.

Hope this helps

Anthony

[gonzoRN]

I use a pair of hemostats (clamps) to pull the ends back through braided bracelet--they're invisible.

[Paravival]

You do not want to do this with this particular bracelet. Doing so may affect the "Quick Release" aspect of it. And I do not recommend doing this with any of my survival bracelets either because it just makes it so hard to unravel when you do need to use the bracelet in a time of need.

If your just using it for show, and like the bracelet itself, this is definitely the way to go.

Just my opinion.

Anthony

[MiltReynolds]

Most excellent! I appreciated the high-quality photographs, carefully worded step-by-step directions, innovative design. Definitely going to check out your website! Keep up the good work!

[Paravival]

Thanks! I appreciate your comments and I will definitely keep up the good work!!!

Thanks again,

Anthony

[RoboTronics21]

It is me who should be thanking you man for posting super awesome instructables, i liked the gator a lot and will try it out soon keep on making great instructables, and nice updates to the site too!!!!!!

[RoboTronics21]

Hey man like all your instructables this one is really great it actually kinda looks like two cobra bracelets joined together and whats this weave called?

[Paravival]

Hey there RoboTronics21. Thanks!

I'm not too sure what the weave is. I have seen it been called the "Blaze Bar". But for my stores sake it is the "Gator". VERY rugged, quick, and survival ready. It's my personal favorite. Theres still a faster deploying bracelet though. My "Fishtail" bracelets accompanied with a "Shackle", can unravel it literally 5 seconds if you are fast enough! The longest part is just unscrewing the shackle bolt, then 1 simple pull and boom all your cord is out.

I have the King Cobra tutorial coming soon, and I'll follow that with the Belt hopefully soon.

Thanks for enjoying my work and keeping in touch I really appreciate it.

Anthony

[audreyobscura]

This came out really nicely, and its a good color. Excellent photos, great directions, thanks for the share.

[Paravival]

Thanks a lot! I still need to add some instructional videos and images for some parts that are a bit unclear. But for the most part its followable!

Thanks a lot!

Anthony