By JM
Our every day carry (EDC) equipment is a balancing act. We want more, but have to keep it manageable. So why not make some of the needed equipment stylish but still functional. You can find people of all ages wearing paracord bracelets, but are they wearing them for fashion reasons or is it part of a bigger plan? More than likely many people you see wearing paracord bracelets are making a fashion statement. But for the prepared community, paracord bracelets are not only a fashion statement but rather a very functional part of our EDC equipment.
Our friends at Paravival.com sent two of their Cobra Bracelets for us to take a closer look at. After three weeks I have put the bracelets though the paces and think I am able to give an informed report on the quality and usefulness of the Paravival.com product.
What’s behind the site?
From my first hand experience I think Paravival.com provides great costumer service. Sure I was reviewing their product so they were probably going to be nice to me. But from cruising their website I could see that they are a company that wants their costumers to be happy with their products. Do you know how to measure your wrist before ordering a bracelet? No worries, Paravival.com provides a step-by-step procedure with pictures to make sure you get the size bracelet you want and need. Are you worried about what color you want? Worry no more, Paravival.com provides a color chart that is quite extensive. You will find a color, or color combination, that suits you. Not a bracelet wearer? That’s fine as they have other options: key chains, lanyards, belts, and watchbands. You don’t like wearing any of those either? They make dog collars and leashes, so let the family pet carry your paracord for you. Customer service? I don’t think you will be disappointed with what Paravival.com brings to the table.
The Material.
Is all paracord created equal? Nope. You don’t want to buy what you think is high quality paracord which should help you when you need it the most, only to find out that you bought a low quality product that it is not capable of doing what you need it to do. Paravival.com uses both commercial 550 paracord and Mil Spec MilC 5040 Type III 550 paracord. What is the difference? Commercial 550 paracord is a good quality and will perform many of the tasks that you want it to perform. Commercial 550 paracord is made up of 7 or 8 strands with each strand being made up of two smaller inner strands. MilC 5040 Type III 550 paracord is made up of seven strands and each strand is made up of three smaller inner strands. The difference may not sound like a lot but when you remove the jacket from the two types of paracord, you can feel the difference in rigidity and thickness.
The cobra model by Paravival.com that I have been testing has a plastic buckle, and I was a little concerned about the durability of the buckle. I have worn the cobra model for three weeks and purposely been very rough with it. I even wore it with the plastic buckle on the outside of my wrist for several days and purposely struck it on objects and tried to pull it apart. It withstood the torture. I placed a great deal of weight on it, and even stomped it to try to break it, but it’s still in tact. Will it break? I’m sure it can be broken but I don’t think it will break during normal usage. Don’t like plastic? Paravival.com does have a Gator Model bracelet that has a metal buckle. I think if I were to purchase a bracelet from Paravival.com, I would go with the Gator for that particular reason. The plastic buckle is of good quality but metal is just on a different level, plus the metal closure can be re-purposed in a survival situation.
The Product.
Not being a person that wears much jewelry, I still found the cobra bracelet comfortable and something that I would wear. I understand comfort and style are not the reason that we have EDC but in the real world if it’s not comfortable, we probably won’t wear it. So I think comfort is an important aspect, while still realizing in a SHTF scenario we also want functionality and this is another area where Paravival.com products excel. I didn’t just wear their product, I took it apart and duplicated what the product is for. When unraveled the bracelet yielded approximately ten feet of usable paracord. The outer jacket of the paracord is rugged and durable. I tied it to 25 pound weights and dropped the weight from standing height repeatedly without breakage or fraying of the jacket. I tied various knots to replicate making of shelter and snares. Their was no slippage of knots which could occur with lesser quality cord jackets. After removing the jacket the cord yielded 70 feet of strands. I tied knots and used ten pounds weights to test for strength. The strands passed all tests. I didn’t stop there. After unravelling the strands to reveal the inner strands, I tested those for strength. I was pleasantly surprised by the strength of the inner strands. They are strong enough to be utilized as fishing line or trip wires and were of the proper thickness to be used as both.
Conclusion
If you haven’t already added paracord to your EDC equipment is a must. You need high quality, multi-use cordage for every situation. The Paravival.com product will supply the product to meet all your needs and it looks pretty good as well. For more information on Paravival Products check out their website, Bracelet Measuring guide, color chart and pet products.
This post was contributed by JM, a certified Paramedic who is also a local EMS Coordinator. Look for more posts from him in the future.
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