Tuesday, January 07, 2014

Glow-in-the-dark paracord

Glow-in-the-dark paracord has been available for a few years now, but I hadn't bought any to try out until recently.  I purchased a 50 foot hank of the white glow paracord, that's also available in light shades of blue, pink, green, and yellow.

I tied a round crown sinnet neck/ID/badge type lanyard using about three feet of the glow paracord and six feet of camo or ranger green(so many colors now it's hard to keep track when working with unlabeled remnants), leaving inner strands intact, adding a swivel snap hook, safety break-away clasp, a three pass Gaucho knot sliding bead done with 1.4mm cord, another Gaucho on the snap hook with 0.9mm cord, and a couple of tiny Spanish ring knots over the sewn sections on each side of the safety clasp, using a bit of strategic super/krazy glue application on the Gauchos and ring knots.

Most of the glow paracord sellers appear to be using the same stock photos, so they all probably source the cord from the same manufacturer overseas.  The only U.S. made paracord that offers any 'glow', is the stuff with a glow tracer thread run in with the outer sheath, and the few examples I've bought of those have been very weak in the glow department.

I compared the glow paracord with the CoolGlowStuff glow rope that I've used in the past, and the glow was similar in initial brightness, quickly dimming, but still visible with dark adjusted eyes several hours later.  So for a key fob or lanyard attached to some EDC gadget/gear you might want to easily find on a nightstand in the middle of the night, it performs adequately.

The cord I bought has 9 twister nylon core strands, and I've seen some of the sellers mention the outer sheath is polyester.  I do not know if it shrinks up or not, but that's something you may want to check if you make size oriented items like paracord bracelets or pet collars with it.

The hank I received looks to be a bit lumpy in some sections, even visible in some sellers stock pics, which is okay if you're going to gut the cord, but annoying if you leave it intact.  From experience, I've seen that with several different manufacturers of commercial paracord, made in the U.S.A., so it is not isolated to any one maker/distributor.  Distributors with good customer service should take it back without a problem.  I'd think they'd try to avoid sending cord out like that, but it still happens...

And a paracord key fob/zipper pull square crown sinnet with wall knot, tied with glow paracord and maroon paracord, shown attached with split ring to a Maxpedition Cocoon pouch.

The CoolGlowStuff website has been down a while now, so the source for their decent glow cord/rope is probably no longer producing it.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Stormdrane, do you know where i can find some decent GITD rope/cord like coolglowstuff.com? i noticed the site wasn't up and its been frustrating trying to find some cord. great work as always.

-Mark

RedSetter said...

Thanks for this review of the glow in the dark paracord. I'd really fancied getting some of this and the reflective types but was quite put off by very mixed reviews and as I only make the odd keychain/cat toy I didn't fancy buying the dearer stuff only to find it was not worth the extra cost. I'll probably have another look at this and have a go with it. Thanks

Stormdrane said...

@Mark, Lighthound used to sell the same cord as CoolGlowStuff, so you might contact them to see if they have any remaining stock.

Unknown said...

Wow! That looks great! Thanks for sharing.

MAD 69 said...

I have been looking for decent glow cord, I need to make a leash for my Bucktail Pouch(for fishing) I swim out to rocks off the beach in the dark, so visability is needed. I'm using regular 550 cord for now.

Relouder said...

i have purchased GITD cord from http://usaknifemaker.com
Their product is pretty much the same as CoolGlow Stuff.
I do miss Coolglowstuff.

Stormdrane said...

@Relouder, It appears they do have the glow rope, or similar from the description, in a few different diameters, and using one of my photos to sell it.

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Jon McCLure said...

Glow in the dark?? is it just as strong?

Stormdrane said...

@Jon, It has a polyester sheath with twisted nylon inner strands, and is imported, so I would just guess that it's not as strong as mil spec 550 paracord.

I've seen a 'new' version that says it has 9 inner strands and is tested to 650 lbs(aliexpress)

I've seen US made polyester paracord state that it's 550 lbs tested tensile strength, which should be fine for utility uses and decorative knot work.

I do not know if there's any shrinkage issue, at least one US made version say it won't shrink. Although with different manufacturers/sources, each brand/version/color/reflective add in strips/etc. may differ, so there could be a range of variance... ;)

KeiraMartins said...

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