Out of Rope? Make Your Own Cordage

Rope is one of those survival items that is truly indispensable. It can make traps, shelters, packs, hammocks, gill nets, and so much more. There’s probably nothing else more essential to have in your bugout bag. There are times though when you may want to opt to make your own cordage, either out of manmade or natural materials.

Why would you do this you ask? Well, using cordage that you make can help you preserve the really good stuff you have in your pack. If you don’t absolutely need the strength of 550 paracord, then maybe a rope made from duct tape or soda bottles would be good enough.

Materials You Can Use to Make Your Own Cordage

1. Soda Bottle String

In recent years it has become popular to recycle soda bottles, particularly the 2 liter ones, by using a cutter to cut strands of various thicknesses out of them. These strands can be very thin or thick depending on your needs. The strands are pretty strong by themselves, but you can weave them together to make thicker and stronger cordage.

In the video below, the King Of Random experimented with adding multiple strands of wound string together to make a very thick rope from a pop bottle string. The best part? It’s all made from trash!

2. Duct Tape Rope

One of the items we always encourage people to keep in their bugout bags and in their stockpiles is duct tape. There’s a lot of different kinds out there, 100 mph tape, Duck Tape, Gorilla Brand Duct Tape, etc.

Duct Tape can be used by itself to bond things together, but it can also be used to make a bunch of different things. People use it to make everything from wallets to shelters, clothes and containers. Rope is also included on that list. If you cut the duct tape into strips, you can braid it together for additional strength.

Watch the video below from Keepin’ Home Up to learn how to make a rope with duct tape:

3. Natural Cordage

Natural cordage can be made from a variety of materials. At its most basic, vines can be used to wrap and bind things together. Natural cordage can be made from grasses, bark, tree roots and more.

When making cordage you typically want to use a counter twist method, which means you twist individual pieces of cordage together in one direction, then twist two of those strands in the opposite direction. These two twists pull against each other and combine together to create cordage that won’t unravel on you.

Coalcracker Bushcraft shows how to easily make natural cordage in minutes:

There is no doubt how important rope is for preppers and survivalists. But sometimes, bad luck happens and you run out of rope when you need it the most. Don’t panic, as long as you know how to make your own cordage with other materials, you’ll be fine.

Do you know of other materials you can use to make your own cordage? Share them with us in the comments section!

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