Paracord belt unravels into 80' of survival cord

Etsy seller SurvivorGeek makes paracord belts and straps like this one. One minute, it's a stylish way to hold up your pants, but if you pull the tab and unravel it, it turns into ~~550~~ 80 feet of paracord for "survival situations" (so long as those situations don't demand that you be wearing pants, I suppose). Available in Black, Coyote Tan and Olive Drab.

550 Paracord Survival Belt - Black with Buckle (via Craft)

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jandrese

I wonder if it comes with instructions on how to turn it back into a belt after your emergency is over?
- http://imcravingpresidency.tumblr.com/ SedanChair
  
  You need instructions to leave yourself a few feet of cord to hold your pants up?
  - penguinchris
    
    That’s not what he’s asking, he wants to know how to take the entire 80 feet and put it back into belt form – ready for the next emergency.
    
    I’m sure there are instructions out there on how to construct these belts, of course. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen one before somewhere on the internet. It sure seems like a pretty DIY-friendly item.
    
    edit: should have scrolled down before replying 12 hours late; links and info have been posted regarding construction of these :)
tallin

It’s 80+ feet. 550 is the strength of the paracord.
jimh

If you want to see my underwear, just pull this cord and slowly walk awaaaaay…
John Holland

They’re really easy to make yourself, and paracord is really cheap on amazon. There are lots of cool colors. You can google instructions for how to make belts and bracelets. You can even make multi-colored bracelets and straps that look pretty cool.

My nephew is a boy scout, and I bought him a bunch of paracord and instructions on how to make bracelets and belts. They’re all the rage, apparently. And super cheap if you make them yourself.
Chuck

You mean you keep your pants on in life-or-death situations?
SomeGuy

As noted above, it’s 550 paracord — not 550 FEET of paracord. The actual length of the cord when unraveled depends on the waist size of the completed belt, the tightness of the knotting and the number of loops in the weave. I make my own paracord belts, usually employing a 5 loop chain stitch similar to crocheting. I takes about 85 to 90 feet of cord for one belt. I recently made one for my son, who is considerably thinner than I, and it took only 55 feet.
Mike Wood

Any bets on how long before someone isn’t allowed on a plane wearing one of these?
- http://twitter.com/rook751 Rook751
  
  Just imagine: instead of garroting one person, the deviant could potentially strangle like…30 people or so!!!
http://evilbobdayjob.blogspot.com/ Deidzoeb

Although they would undermine the etsy seller, instructions on how to do this with our own cords would be nice, especially if it’s a simple crochet pattern. Just don’t tell the electricians or you’ll never hear the end of it. http://boingboing.net/2011/10/22/how-to-no-tangle-extension-cord-storage.html
Childe Roland

If it is 7 strand paracord, the 80 feet turns into 560 feet of cord that has a breaking strength of 50 pounds or so, plenty strong enough to build a shelter or make a snare.
- http://stephenrice.eu Stephen Rice
  
  I’m just imagining a snare made with 560 feet of rope and my mind has been blown.
dragonfrog

So, useful for situations in which you might want lots of rope and no pants on. I can think of a few of those.
waetherman

That would be a lot more useful if the belt buckle was a descender of some sort – like a classic Rescue Eight or something.
skabob

This is a great idea, but I think a rescue eight is a bit big for a belt buckle. A simple eight would be better, plus the ears on a rescue eight would hurt. Now to design the removable prong…
http://twitter.com/DonCarlitos Charlie McHenry

And bondage fans everywhere are cheering…
Franz

Pants, while stylish, are luckily not a survival necessity.
http://twitter.com/Sooper8 Sooper8

When I wore bailing twine for a belt, I was called a tramp…how times change!
MarnieMacLean

The smallest size is about 10″ too big for my natural waist. Luckily, since I know how to crochet, I could make my own :)
Bubba73

80 feet is nothing, 90 is where it’s at baby. However I feel the designers have not given enough thought as to what happens to my trousers after I rappel down the side of the nunnery. Proper prior preparation prevents piss poor performance.
http://www.iandicomputing.com Clifton

Strike down my pants and I will become more powerful than you can imagine.
trip encrypt

If you are interested in paracord projects checkout Stormdrane’s blog (stormdrane.blogspot.com)