Rope vs Paracord: Which is Better?

We're wading into an ongoing debate when we talk about rope versus paracord so we thought it best to explain why we chose rope for the Vles Designs GO-bag.

Our internal discussion of rope versus paracord included that, first and foremost, there's a greater familiarity with rope. For those who are not familiar with paracord, it is the cord originally used in parachutes and was known as 550 parachute cord. The 550 comes from its test strength of 550 pounds. It is light and thin. 

Most people have used rope at one time or another; which is not the case with paracord. Therefore, people have a better understanding of how to tie rope, what it can be used for and what its strength may be. The rope included in the VLES designs GO-bag is 25 feet long and has a minimum breaking strength of 2,500 pounds. 

We envision the rope being used for everything from a water rescue, towing items, lashing items together, leading animals to safety or even lowering someone or something to the ground.  Because it's easier to grip than the thin paracord, in our estimation we felt these tasks would be easier with rope. Of course, Paracord could be used for the above purposes, but knowledge of its strength and how to use multiple strands to get the necessary total strength seemed a daunting research project in an emergency situation. 

So, despite its bulkier size and greater weight, we felt rope was the right tool to put in our GO-bag. 

Learn more about the VLES GO-bag