Did some backyard testing with a new type of cordage yesterday. The horizontal cord at the bottom is standard 550 paracord, while the top horizontal cord is its skinnier cousin, tether cord a.k.a. dummy cord. At only 3/32” thick (2.38mm), it weighs roughly half what paracord weighs, while still testing at 275 lbs.
When pitching a tarp shelter, I will sometimes create a ridge line, and then hang loops off the ridge line with Prusik knots, which are then used to tension 2 corners of the tarp.
Here in the photo, from left to right are Prusik knots of 550 paracord, bank line (#36, rated to 320 lbs), and tether cord. Paracord was the only material with problems – it would slip down the ridge line when pulled hard enough. (This was true also when these 3 materials were tested on the lower ridge line of 550 paracord.) The bank line and tether cord loops both held fast, even when I leaned back full body weight on them.
While the advantage of tether cord (or bank line) seems clear for the Prusik knot application, the choice of ridge line material is a little more complicated. Both 550 cord and tether cord ridge lines had a similar amount of stretch, easily felt on the 30′ length I was testing with. (I consider that a good thing, since if you are anchoring to trees, and they start to move around in the wind, you don’t want a non-stretchy static line to snap!) I would tend to favor the tether cord for a ridgeline, since it’s half the weight to start with, and will also absorb less water than the 550 cord, making it a LOT lighter after a rain storm.
However, the 550 cord is a bit easier to work with when tying and untying knots under tension, like the trucker’s hitch that I usually use to tighten a ridge line. In fact, I was not able to tie a straight trucker’s hitch on the tether cord, because the skinny cord would just slip through my fingers when I tried to pinch it in place before tying it off. (I had to make an extra wrap around the anchor tree first, to keep it from slipping, before tying it off.) And, in addition to the skinny cord biting into your fingers more, it also bites into tree bark more, creating more impact on the tree... depending on the species of tree you are anchoring too, the tree’s bark may be significantly damaged by the skinnier line.
Conclusion: it’s good to think outside the paracord box, and discover new materials that are lighter and can function better! I’m definitely switching out 550 cord for my pre-made loops for Prusik knots, in favor of the tether cord. And I will continue to try different cords for ridgelines, and see what works out best in the field.
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