You can wrap up to 100 feet of Mil-Spec Paracord on the Spool Tool. Keep in mind however, that commercially manufactured Paracord made to Mil-Specs or otherwise can have varying diameters.
Typically, the U.S. military does not set a standard overall diameter requirement in its stated specifications, 550 cord (nylon kernmantle rope) usually measures 5⁄32 inch (4 mm) in diameter.
- The Spool Tool© is the only Multifunctional Tool designed for storing, cutting, and finishing Paracord
- Manufactured with a Lenox® Shatterproof Stainless Steel Bi-Metal Titanium Coated Utility Blade (Replaceable)
- Manufactured with all stainless steel hardware and includes two hatch nuts and screws with an additional spare set included
- Equipped with eight multi sized proprietary burn slots, for finishing the ends of the heated Paracord
The clump of blackened cord after burning the end to prevent unraveling has always been a problem and if anyone has tried to smooth it out while hot especially with his or her fingers has learned not to do that again. This can be problematic if using for laces or trying to thread the cord through lanyard holes and so forth. However, with the integrated proprietary burn slots on the Spool Tool you can now finish the ends to make threading and other tasks possible without burning your fingers.
Lighter retention system built in that stores a Mini Bic® Lighter so you do not have to hunt through your gear to only find you do not have a lighter
Cordage is important in any survival/tactical situation or wherever reliable cordage is needed and there is no better cordage than 550 Paracord with its seven inner strands and a tensile (breaking) strength of 550 pounds.
There is any number of ways to carry Paracord such as survival bracelets or wrapping it on a knife or axe handle or simply carrying it loose in your pack. However, along with the Paracord you need a knife (a sharp knife to prevent as much fraying as possible) and a lighter to burn the ends to keep the cord from unraveling as you use it.
No matter how well you store your loose cordage it always ends up tangled. You end up with tangled cordage in one place and your lighter is maybe where you left it or maybe not and then your knife is somewhere else as well. Your knife of course should be on your belt or clipped to a pocket but it never seems to be there when you need it.
When working in poor light or in the cold your hands always seem to have a mind of their own when it comes to smaller tasks. Therefore you end up with too many steps for a relatively simply job of cutting and fusing the ends of the Paracord and in a survival situation seconds count and when your mind is racing it makes it even more complicated.
The Spool Tool™ solves all your problems because the knife, Paracord and lighter are all in one place. No fumbling in your pack or spending time unraveling the bunched up cord and has anyone really had a fun time of unraveling a survival bracelet or knife handle to get at the valuable cordage. The integrated razor blade makes a clean cut so the inner strands are not frayed as much as when using a dull or heavy bladed knife.
Clean cuts mean that when burning to seal you do not get as big of a clump of melted nylon and with the burn slots on the Spool Tool the ends are fused simply and smoothly. You can use any of the eight finishing holes to suit whatever task you are performing.
The Spool Tool will hold up to 100 feet of 550 Paracord, which is recommended for most survival packs or bug-out-bags. Having more than one Spool Tool means you can carry as much Paracord as you want and you can always be assured it is there ready to use without having to untangle it or hunt for a knife or lighter.
To use the tool simply unwind the needed amount and slide the cord into the razor slot to cut. Once the cord is cut slide the frayed end into a burn slot then heat with the lighter clipped to the tool and pull through the slot to finish the end so the burned end maintains the same diameter as the rest of the cord. Do not try to finish the ends with your fingers. The Paracord material because of its properties will stick to your fingers while hot and this is not a good thing.
Use the Spool Tool every time you need to use Paracord and make sure you have a Spool Tool in your bug-out-bag, survival pack, hiking bag, vehicle and one in the home and make sure each one has at least 100 feet of Paracord wrapped on it for any emergency.
Imagine trying to work with the ends of this Paracord it will just continue to unravel causing you to lose valuable cordage in additional to not being able to use it adequately for most tasks. Clean cuts and smooth finishing is important.
While the ends of the cord shown above have been properly fused you can see the finished ends exceed the diameter of the cord itself making it harder to thread through lanyard holes in tools such as knives or axes and it even means the cord as depicted could not fit through the eyelets on your shoes or boots.
Once heated and pulled through the burn slots on the Spool Tool the ends will conform better and will better match the cordage’s diameter making it easier to thread through holes.
Final Thoughts
If you have done any work with paracord then you know how easily it tangles, and I’m sure you have burned your fingertips at one time or another sealing it. This is a great multi-purpose tool that ends both of those problems and at the same time keeps it compact and stored with everything you need. The Spool Tool can be purchased for around $16.49 on Amazon.