# Does '550-cord' really support 550 pounds? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 8, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578 "2010-08-08T03:58:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/1 "2010-08-08T03:58:11Z")
Will a single length of 550-cord really support 550 pounds? ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/2 "2010-08-08T04:12:06Z")
New 550 paracord should hold more than 550 lbs statically suspended. It is rated for 550 lbs but there is a safety margin built in. Age, abrasion, knot quality etc. could affect how much it can hold in practice. Most of its strength comes from the woven outer sheath which is really strong and is rated for 300 lbs. There are seven pairs of inner strands that aren’t that strong individually but contribute to the rest of it. The biggest problem would be breaking it with sudden jerks so you would not be able to drop a 550 lb weight tied with it and expect the cord to catch its fall without breaking. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/3 "2010-08-08T04:18:05Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > New 550 paracord should hold more than 550 lbs statically suspended. ISTR reading a review where a guy bought 550-cord and gently set himself into a loop of it and it snapped. I think he weighed somewhere in the mid-200s, the the cord parted not at a knot or loop. Probably was commercial cord and not mil-spec. > [@Shagnasty](#): > > There are seven pairs of inner strands… This reminds me of another question. I have an Air Force survival manual I picked up when I was in the Civil Air Patrol. It illustrated how to make a gill net out of the inner strands, using the casing to support them. How many feet of cord do parachute shrouds comprise? ---
**Author:** ![sweeteviljesus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/898d66/32.png) [@sweeteviljesus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sweeteviljesus)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/4 "2010-08-08T05:27:49Z")
Not really an answer to your question, but 7/64" Dyneema is going for 20 cents a foot at [Redden Marine](http://www.reddenmarine.com/marine-supplies.cfm/multi-purpose-amsteel-blue-assorted-colors/samson-rope-amstlblu764blk/amsteel-blue-7-64-black.html). That is roughly twice the price of paracord, but it is supposed to be rated to 1440 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/5 "2010-08-08T06:00:18Z")
How does sudden acceleration (such as from a fall) tie in to the rated strength? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/6 "2010-08-08T15:11:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > … I have an Air Force survival manual I picked up when I was in the Civil Air Patrol. It illustrated how to make a gill net out of the inner strands, using the casing to support them. How many feet of cord do parachute shrouds comprise? My now-ancient recollection is there are / were 24 shroud lines in a typical USAF chute, and they were about 30 ft long from harness to canopy rim. The lines went all the way up to the canopy crown, but cutting them out of the canopy body was difficult, so you’d plan to use the exposed line first for your various survival purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/7 "2010-08-08T15:21:54Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How does sudden acceleration (such as from a fall) tie in to the rated strength? As **Shagnasty** said, 550 pounds is the static rating. A jerk on the end of the line (:p) may exceed that limit. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > My now-ancient recollection is there are / were 24 shroud lines in a typical USAF chute, and they were about 30 ft long from harness to canopy rim. The lines went all the way up to the canopy crown, but cutting them out of the canopy body was difficult, so you’d plan to use the exposed line first for your various survival purposes. Thanks. It’s academic, of course, since I’ll probably never find myself under the silk; certainly not against my will, nor ever be in a survival situation where a parachute is available. . ---
**Author:** ![Crackrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/919ad9/32.png) [@Crackrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crackrat)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/8 "2010-08-08T18:03:48Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How does sudden acceleration (such as from a fall) tie in to the rated strength? As was mentioned, the rating on rope is for a static load. The rule of thumb I learned doing suspension bondage is that for a dynamic load you want your rope to be rated for 10 times the rating you’d use for a static load. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/9 "2010-08-08T18:13:30Z")
> [@Crackrat](#): > > I learned doing suspension bondage… Would you like to know the first thing I thought of when I read this? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/10 "2010-08-09T02:33:36Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > … knot quality etc. could affect how much it can hold … I don’t _think_ there’s a knot, no matter how well tied, that doesn’t reduce the strength of the line it’s tied in, > [@](#): > > … A rope with a bowline retains approximately 65% of its strength at the location of the knot,[[9](http://www.caves.org/section/vertical/nh/50/knotrope.html)] although in practice the exact strength depends on a variety of factors.[RIGHT][CITE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowline)[/RIGHT] this from [9], > [@](#): > > All knots reduce the breaking strength of rope. The question is, has been, and will always be, how much? > > The general rule has been a knot reduces strength approximately 50%. That is almost true. … CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/11 "2010-08-09T10:01:49Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > > [@Shagnasty](#): > > > > … knot quality etc. could affect how much it can hold … > > I don’t _think_ there’s a knot, no matter how well tied, that doesn’t reduce the strength of the line it’s tied in,this from [9], > > > [@](#): > > > > All knots reduce the breaking strength of rope. The question is, has been, and will always be, how much? > > > > The general rule has been a knot reduces strength approximately 50%. That is almost true. … > > CMC fnord! Is there a non-highly-technical explanation for this? ETA: > [@Crackrat](#): > > > [@Reply](#): > > > > How does sudden acceleration (such as from a fall) tie in to the rated strength? > > As was mentioned, the rating on rope is for a static load. The rule of thumb I learned doing suspension bondage is that for a dynamic load you want your rope to be rated for 10 times the rating you’d use for a static load. And thank you for this 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-550-cord-really-support-550-pounds/549578/12 "2010-08-09T12:32:32Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > Is there a non-highly-technical explanation for this? Tying a knot in the rope results in kinks and bends, which focus the forces on the rope onto a smaller area. The tighter the turns made by the rope in the knot, the weaker the knot is compared to unbent rope. Suppose a rope rated to 100 lbs is made up of ten fibers, each of which can support 10 lbs without breaking. If you lay the rope over the 90 degree edge of a table and hang 100 lbs from it, the fibers on the inside of the bend and the outside of the bend will be differently loaded, to the point that some individual fibers will exceed their 10 lb maximum. Once those fibers part, the load is spread to the remaining fibers, which fail in turn.