Paracord Deployment Bag

Intro: Paracord Deployment Bag

I was first introduced to Paracord back in the early 80's in the Civil Air Patrol. Been hooked ever since. Now, yes, the Paracord bracelet is a very cool idea in principal, but I have never been convinced it is the best way to carry paracord with you. I have worn my bracelet for over 11 years now, and I have no intention of disassembling it unless I was in a life or death circumstance. That being said, I use Paracord all the time and I carry it with me all the time. This is how I carry it...in a Paracord Deployment Bag. I originally made this 20 years ago to keep Paracord handy, and accessible at a moments notice. I designed this after the rescue deployment bags used in swift water rescue, only way smaller. My original one went missing after an outing a few weeks ago, and I feel lost with out it.Time for a new one, and I might as well document it...so here we go.........

STEP 1: What You Need..

Items are simple:

5"X5" piece of cordura nylon

8" length of 1/8 bungee

Scissors

Polyester thread

Needle

Disclaimer, yes you can use a sewing machine, basting tape, neoprene, duck canvas, hemp, inner cords from paracord, crochet out of recycled grocery bags, leather, pleather, denim...a hundred different materials and a hundred different sewing methods...please don't ask "can I use, can I substitute" in the comments. Yes, you can do what ever you want and alter it as you see fit, this isn't an Arduino circuit, its a simple bag. This is how I made mine and it lasted 20 years...nuff said!

STEP 2: Measuring and the Pattern

The cordura measured out about 5X5. What I really did was wrap my thumb with an inch or so of material on the sides. The technical term is eyeballing.

Fold it once so its inside out.

STEP 3: Sew It...

Thread your needle with the thread, about 3 foot doubled over works.

Start sewing. Nothing fancy here, just a whip stitch. Pull it firm, but not cinched super tight.

Sew two sides stopping about 3/4 inch from the end.

STEP 4: Make a Seam

Fold the end over creating a seam that your bungee will go thru.

Simple hem stitch all the way round.

Leave the ends open and run your needle through a few times at the corner to reinforce it.

Then secure it with a knot. Again, nothing fancy, a simple double hex surgeon knot will suffice...Yes, I am kidding ;o)

STEP 5: Optional Step

I like to bury my tailing end of the thread after its been tied off. Just run it down the edge and cut it off. I don't know if this helps or not, but it makes me feel better.

STEP 6: Run Your Bungee

This material is pretty stiff so its easy to push the bungee thru. You can use hemostats, wire or even a curved canvas needle if needed.

STEP 7: Flip It Inside Out

I think the title says it all....look its a bag!

STEP 8: Stuff It!

Your bag is ready, now stuff it.

Tie off your bungee and cinch it closed. You can leave a little tail out so you can rapidly deploy as much cord as needed, whenever you need it.

STEP 9: Using It

As you can see, its about the size of my thumb, about 3 inches long. Easily fits in a pocket, on a belt loop or a key-chain. Perfect for EDC where rapid deployment of paracord may be needed. Easily refilled.

How much does it hold? With the rough dimensions I give here you can easily get 15 feet in there. BUT, as you break the bag in, it stretches a little, and as you get better at stuffing you can get an extra foot or two in there.

And there you have it. Simple and easy. Please share a pic if you make one.

Lex

This bag ended up holding 17 feet of paracord and is a bit over stuffed.

Please vote for me in the paracord contest

Comments

[saintez]

Love this ~ will use it next semester in my backpacking class :o) Thank you for sharing and having great instructions!

[Lextone]

:)
Thank you

[michaelrobbutler]

I made this one out of a thick blue fleece, its much bigger than i intended but i didn't want to cut the material, i also added a toggle to mine and i thorough a small knife in mine with the paracord to free up pockets! Thanks for posting!

[Lextone]

Thank you for posting. Like the added toggle. Keeps everything nice and tidy.

Lex

[michaelrobbutler]

Throw*

[gizmologist]

A very good idea. I don't use 550 line that much in the field or I'd make one.

[Lextone]

Thanks. I use it often. It solves my storage and accessibility needs quite well.

[jjonesdesign]

To be fair, you have large thumbs. ;) It's ok so do I!

I have to say I'm very happy I found this indestructible. Like you I am somewhat of a paracord lover. In fact I have large amounts of it for no real reason other than its amazing. I run a prepping website with my family (365preppers if you want to take a peek). I plan on making some of these as you modeled to give away to our viewers (I just know they will get a kick out of this!). So I wanted to say thank you for sharing your idea.

Now to impress the ladies with my mad sewing skills (thanks boy scouts!).

Thanks again!

[Lextone]

Rock on! Maybe make an extra one or two as a thumb cozy :)

Lex

[jzvo]

I just discovered paracord through your posting here. I'm intrigued... how have you used your 15'supply in a practical sense? thanks

[Lextone]

Well, it usually gets used in shorter lengths. From a 1 foot piece to put a lanyard on a tool, to a 3 foot piece to replace a pull starter on a chainsaw, I pull out what I need, cut and go. The most common use for me would probably be for gear ties on my scuba rig. I am always reconfiguring for different dives and new trips. Sometimes you just need to tie stuff down. :-)

[Kiteman]

Oh, that's a clever scaling-down of a survival tool!

[Kiteman]

Sudden thought: use a decently-strong carabiner as your key ring, and keep one end of the cord tied to it permanently to allow rapid deployment and attachment of the cord.

[Lextone]

I like the way you think. You would need a loop on the bag to hook it to. The paracord deploys quite easily otherwise.

This is what I designed my bag after. The weight of the line in the bag gives it enough mass to be thrown. As it pays out the weight gets less but the inertia allows it to go a longer distance. There is a disc of neoprene in the bottom to keep it afloat and the high vis poly line also floats. I have a bag similar to the one pictured above that I use to teach Dive Rescue and Accident Management. Mine holds 50 feet. Others hold up to 150'. They are very effective. Just about every one of my students, that own boats, end up purchasing one after seeing it in action.

[Kiteman]

Haha, that's the "survival tool" I meant in my previous comment.

A friend who canoes and kayaks a lot with beginners has a bag like this - he does regular target-practice with it, just in case.