In a pinch, paracord is more than just a tool for binding, tying and hauling things!

It is so diverse, it is hard to come up with stuff paracord cannot be used for in a survival situation!

Emergency Paracord Uses

Sutures:

Becoming severly wounded in the wilderness is as life threatening as it gets (especially if not quickly treated).

Many injuries have no quick and easy solutions, like open deep wounds and severe lacerations.

You become injured something as small as falling on a dead branch or as extreme as an animal attack.

But when professional medical attention isn’t an option, you have to get creative to survive. Often the only real option to decrease the risk of serious infection and massive blood loss is to stitch up the wound.

In these extreme emergencies, you can use the inner threads of your paracord as sutures. Only use these sutures until you are able to make it to advanced medical care.

Here’s How…

The inner strands of paracord are both small enough and strong enough to close a wound in an emergency.

Pull the outer threads away from the paracord casing exposing the internal strands. Now pull out a few of these strands, the longer, the better. Now, thread a suture needle leaving a long tail of paracord strand remaining.

Your first suture will begin in the middle of the wound. Use a good set of hemostats (if you have them with your survival medical kit) and hold the threaded needle to maintain sterilization.

About a half of centimeter from the wound opening, push the threaded needle head into the skin.

The needle will exit through the wound. Readjust the hemostats and thread the needle from the inside of the wound to the opposite side of the wound from where you began. Pull the thread through the wound leaving a small tail of thread out from the original entry position.

Take the suture thread with the needle and wrap it around the hemostat head twice. With the hemostat grab the tail of the thread and pull it through itself. Allow the two loops of thread on the hemostat to fall, making a knot.

Pull the thread until the edges of the skin are touching, not overlapping. Continue this process beginning in the middle of each suture, working in halves.

Splint:

Besides open wounds and lacerations, you may run into muscle, bone or joint injuries. Pain from such injuries vary in degrees of severity, but the worst cases will leave you 100% immobilized.

Although not immediately life-threatening, a muscle, bone, or joint injury can hinder a rescue.

This raises the severity of your situation by exposing you to the risk of hypothermia, heat exhaustion, or dehydration.

Instead of giving up, use some paracord to splint the injury and control the pain. Hopefully its just enough to find your way out to safety and to receive advance medical attention. Instead of being left immobile and in the harsh wilderness alone.

Here’s How…

Lay out some soft material (jacket, shirt or socks) under the limb you want to splint. This soft material is primarily needed for cushioning.

Then lay out a hard object such a walking stick to keep the injured limb stable.

Wrap the paracord around the injured limb, cushioning material, and your chosen hard object.

Tie a knot tight enough for a secure hold, but not tight enough to limit blood flow.

For a joint injury, tie the knots above and below the injured joint. For bone injuries, tie knots on the above and below joints. Braid or double/triple up on the cord for added strength.

Sling:

Based on the location of your injury you may need a sling to control the movement of your injured arm or shoulder. This will provide similar protection as the splint but as some injuries can not be splinted a sling may be your best option.

A sling will provide limited movement allowing you to make it to safety with less pain and further damage to your injury.

Like the splint, you should use a jacket or something soft for comfort and a straight stick or ruler for stability.

Use the paracord to tie a slip knot around the wrist, including the jacket and stick. Pull the paracord back behind the neck and secure it to the elbow in the same way as the wrist. Place another piece of cloth under the paracord on the neck to prevent rubbing and irritation. Increase strength by braiding or double/triple up on the cord.

Makeshift Stretcher:

When there are broken bones or severe illness and walking is not an option you’ll need to make a paracord stretcher.

Why wouldn’t you just come back with help instead of moving the victim?

Because if at all possible, you should never leave someone on their own or split up a group in the wild. If you leave an injured person, the risk for dehydration, hypothermia, heat exhaustion or animal attack increases.

These symptoms will eventually lead to delusions and poor decisions. Instead, with a makeshift paracord stretcher you may be able to keep moving as a group.

Here’s How…

Find the middle of your paracord and measure out 5 lengths each direction. You should have a total of 10 lengths.

This should look like a slithering snake or many flatted “S” shapes strung together. This will become the part the injured will be laying on.

With the extra piece of paracord, tie each of lengths creating a loop using a clove hitch (remember the important knots we discussed earlier). Thread the rest of the paracord through the loops and tie the end back to the body of the stretcher.

If you have poles that are the same length of the stretcher, use that instead of paracord for stability. If not, weaving the paracord through the loops will be enough. In order to add strength, braid or double/triple up on the cord.

Self Defense Paracord Uses

Tripwire:

Not only should you protect yourself from nature’s elements but from deadly predators as well.

These predators can be of either the animal or human variety, but both CAN and WILL threaten your safety.

With a trip wire, you can temporarily disorient an intruder allowing you enough time to protect yourself from the threat.

Use the inner threads of your paracord. These threads are strong but are harder to spot than the exterior color of the paracord’s outer casing. Now tie the threads tightly between two trees at shin height.

Ideally, place them in the exact location you anticipate an intruder to travel through. This needs to be no more than a foot above the ground. If there are no trees in the general location, use two boulders or use two spikes hammered into the ground.

Restraints/Handcuffs:

If you must restrain someone who wants to hurt you or your family, it may be a good idea to tie them up. When supplies are limited, (such as TEOTWAWKI) people’s ethics are tested and everyone starts fighting for their own survival.

At this time, decisions and actions are for themselves only, causing threats to grow.

Here’s How…

Braid your cord to 1 ½ inch thickness. Create two loops of the same size. Then overlap the loops and thread each loop into each other. Insert the intruder’s hands or feet and tighten.

Hunter & Gatherer Paracord Uses

Fishing Line:

When you find yourself in the wilderness, out of prepackaged food and hungry, you will need to resort to other sources for calories. If you’re near a lake, river or stream all you need is some fishing line, bait, skill and a boat load of patience.

Here’s How…

Remove the inner threads. Tie the ends of the threads together using a bend knot to create your desired length. Use a stick and source a soda can and use the tab to make a hook. Toss your line out and start drowning some worms.

Toss your line out and hope for the best.

Trotline for Fishing:

Fishing is often extremely time-consuming with little reward. For example, fishing with a stick and line requires you to sit and watch the line with the real possibility of getting skunked.

However, a trotline can increase the odds of catching more fish over a period of time and doesn’t require your full attention. A simple trot line left overnight with multiple hooks can be rewarding with minimal energy exerted and less time wasted.

Here’s How…

Use the same method as you would create the fishing line. Then tie small drop lines, “trots” with hooks attached, 2-3 feet apart. Tie the line to two points over the water.

Fish Stringer:

Maybe you found a honey hole where the fish are hitting left and right but you need to stock up to ensure you save some the food for an extended period of time.

You need something to carry all those fish back to camp or maybe you want to keep them alive in the water while you continue to haul the fish in.

This is when you need a fish stringer. With some paracord, you can create a makeshift fish stringer to hold all your fish.

Here’s How…

Based on the amount of paracord you have, you may want to use the outer sheath of the paracord instead of the entire cord.

Tie one end of the sheath to a rock, then make a slip knot through the first fishes gills then for the rest, just slide them on stopping when they hit the first fish.

Hanging Food/Game:

When camping in the wilderness there will be other hungry wildlife around. Or maybe you’ve just dropped a deer and nightfall is approaching quickly.

Either way, your primary concern is keeping hungry predators coming in and stealing your food.

The strength and versatility of your survival paracord will help you to get your animal up off the ground.

This will help to keep your game out of the reach of thieving animals and maybe even out of sight of thieving people.

Here’s How…

Scout out where you will want to store your food and determine the length of paracord needed.

The length or the cord will need to be at least twice as long as the height of the sturdy limb.

Throw your paracord over the limb and tie your food to it. Pull the other end until the food is safely in the trees and secure the rope to another limb or the trees trunk.

This is the same method used for hanging game for a butcher. The difference is how you tie the game.

A strong limb is needed to put between the hind legs to ensure the game cools properly. Then tie your slip knot around each end of the leg to hold the game head down for dressing. *For strength, braid or double/triple up on the cord.

Traveling Paracord Uses

Tether Yourself to Your Bug Out Bag:

In the wilderness or TEOTWAWKI, you’ll need to make sure that your bug out bag can’t be taken from you either by accident or by force.

So by tethering yourself to your bug out bag, you limit the chances of theft. In survival situations, ethics are tested and valuable survival gear is an easy target.

Here’s How…

The type of pack you have will determine how and where you tie your pack to yourself, but a basic figure eight knot should do the trick. Simple but effective.

Trail Markers:

You increase your odds of getting lost when traveling outside of the safety of your campsite.

Even if you have a great sense of direction, a pop-up storm or accident can happen and increase the chances of getting lost or disorientated.

Here’s How…

Use small strips of paracord and tie them to branches at eye level.

Across Stream Guide:

Don’t let a stream detour you from a path you need to follow. Use paracord to assist in crossing a high or fast moving stream safely.

First, tie the paracord around the first person who is crossing the river first using a bowline. If you have enough cord to easily make it across, tie the other end to a sturdy tree. Once the first person makes it across, they untie the paracord from themselves and tie it to a tree on the other side. Then the second person unties it from the tree and tied it around themselves.

This method keeps from putting both people at risk at the same time.

However, if there is not enough cord to reach across, the next best option is to tie the cord to each other and slowly make your way across together. If one falls, hopefully, the other person can stay up and “catch them”. However, it may be risky as the first person falling may be too much to handle and both parties end up being swept away.

*For strength, braid or double/triple up on the cord.

Not much changes with a single person scenario except the before crossing the river the paracord is first tied to the tree. As a single person crossing, you will have to leave your tied off paracord rope behind but it may be worth it if the stream is extremely dangerous to cross without it.

Everyday Survival Paracord Uses

Secure A Tent / Tarp / Hammock:

All you need to create a simple shelter is a lightweight tarp and some paracord.

Thread the paracord through the eyelets of the tarp. Secure the paracord between two trees like structures using a bowline knot. Or drape a tarp over secured paracord for shelter.

Or the tarp can be tied end to end between two trees to make a simple hammock. Remember, for extra strength, you can always double up your line or braid it.

Repair Torn Clothing:

Imagine you’re out on a long hike when you slip and fall. You begin to slide down the trail until you come to an abrupt stop. Fortunately, you’re ok , but you the waterproof pants you’re wearing has a six-inch tear.

That tear is letting moisture in. The handy paracord in your pack can easily be used to sew that tear up.

Use the thread from inside the paracord. Thread your makeshift needle and whip stitch the shut the tear.

Make A Strong Rope:

Any time you’re out enjoying the great outdoors you should always try to pack light. No one wants to pack lots of heavy rope. Paracord is both lightweight and strong; plus it takes up much less space than traditional rope.

It can acts as the heavy rope when combined with braiding techniques.

Use the cobra stitch or other series of knots with a paracord to create one extremely strong rope out of several strands of paracord.

Shoelaces /Replace Broken Drawstrings:

We’ve all experienced a broken shoe lace. But let’s say you’re four days into a two-week hunting trip. Paracord to the rescue!

Simply remove your broken lace and measure the length of your paracord. Next, use a lighter to melt the ends to prevent fraying. Replace paracord as shoe laces.

 

While each of these purposes for paracord can make a huge difference in a survival scenario, they also have practical application in everyday scenarios.

In some cases (like running a trot line,) you may even want to make paracord your go-to material, whether you are in a survival scenario or not.

For more information on paracord and its many survival and everyday uses, please visit Skilled Survival.

Featured Image via Skilled Survival