Introduction: The Best Paracord Water Bottle Holder (Convertible!)
I have been on a lot of outdoor adventures, and seen almost every water bottle. I've seen brand new bottles, fancy bottles, old bottles, sticker-covered bottles, big bottles, little bottles... you name it, I've seen it.
I've seen a lot of nalgene bottles, especially ones with broken tops so the lid not attached to anything. The lid thingy is not very well suited for a handle, as it is prone to breaking and digs into your fingers, too.
I'm not saying this project is only for nalgenes, but nalgenes are certainly in need of a better handle!
I've also seen various water bottle handles, either going over the top of the lid or having a carabiner on one end to attach to your belt. Why not both? Here we go!
Supplies
-a water bottle in need of a handle
-paracord (6-7 feet/1.8-2.1 meters); I used about six feet for the handle seen in this instructable with a large carabiner
-carabiner
-lock for paracord/6-8'' or 15-20 cm scrap of paracord
-lighter
-scissors
Step 1: Fold the Paracord in Half
Easy enough.
Just make sure it's equal on both sides.
Step 2: Tie the Knot (for the Handle)
Find the loop in the middle. Tie an overhand knot in it. It doesn't have to be that big, just enough for the carabiner to go through.
Step 3: Insert the Lock
Hold down the button on the lock and insert both lengths of paracord through it.
If you don't have a cord lock, that's fine! just grab your little scrap of cord and tie some cobra knots as seen above (not my image, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wQTDiqGHIc&t=183s)
Step 4: Fit the Bottle
Now put the area from the knot to the lock around your bottle of choice, and tighten the lock around it so it's snug. You should experiment with this step to see where the cord is snuggest around the bottle. usually this is right below the lid.
Step 5: Carabiner Time
take your carabiner and insert into the loop from the first step.
Step 6: Making the Handle
take your paracord and loop it through the carabiner, with one cord going left to right and one going right to left through the carabiner.
THIS IS IMPORTANT: Make sure your handle size is to your liking. Generally you want it to be on the SMALLER side, especially if you are using a large carabiner! I made mine a bit too big.
Step 7: Start Tying!
If you don't know what a cobra knot is, check here:
https://www.instructables.com/Simple-Cobra-Knot-or-Weave/
While you're at it, if you're new, check here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsJwKc57Yjc
If you know what you're doing, start tying! You can even use a different weave (quick-deploy cobra, for instance?)
Step 8: Stop Tying!
when you get close to the cord lock, stop! you may need to undo a few stitches in order to have enough room for the cord lock to go up so you can slip the bottle out.
Step 9: Finishing
When you reach the end, (make sure you still have the extra room as mentioned in step 2) cut off the remaining paracord and melt the ends.
Step 10: Uses!
Now you have your handle. Notice you can undo the carabiner and slip it out of the loop from step one. Now you have a sort of a lanyard you can clip to your belt, any other loop, shelter ridgeline, another bottle's handle, etc. Plus, it's easier to drink out of without the need for buckles. Put the carabiner back in the loop and now you have a handle, suited for holding in your hand, putting on a hook, making it easier for kids to hold on to, or using to hold a slick wet bottle if you're filling it.
I'm sure someone can figure out more things to do with it. With a single-walled metal bottle, some more cord, duct tape, and the other C's of survival you could make an awesome mini kit! Or do a different weave for the handle, put beads somewhere, make it two colors... there's a lot of room for improvement.
If you do make something cool out of it, show me! I'd love to see it. Until then, thanks for reading!
