I take my kids camping and outdoors as much as we can. Usually with my SLR and tripod in tow.

I finally made "survival bracelets" for my youngest and one of his friends. Now I've made over 20 for the other kids in their school. Material is 550 paracord and the ends are tied in a Celtic button knot so the whole thing can be easily pulled apart and re-tied. There is an emergency whistle on the buckle.

For those that don't know, paracord has a 550 pound test (over 200 Kg) and there are 7 internal strands that can be pulled out easily. So this bracelet has two 3 meter (9 foot) cords with over 200 Kg strength, plus each cord can be pulled apart for a total of 126 meters (almost 400 feet) of very strong filament that can be used to build lean-to's, bind a splint, use as fishing line, make a stretcher, etc. The whistle on the buckle is used to signal for help. The buckle itself can be used as a cinch or a pulley.

Guess what is the biggest draw for the kids? The whistle!

We were once hiking on the Bruce Trail in Ontario Canada and we ran into someone just sitting there alone, in the middle of nowhere. He had blown out both his knees and couldn't walk and his hiking partner had gone to get help. So you never know when you need filament to make splints and a stretcher. We could have used a whistle to signal our location as the emergency rescue workers didn't know our exact position.

JPEG is straight out of the camera, no adjustments. The photo's not my greatest but I like the color combination.

[eaglem]

Great shot Great Idea.

[tessfully]

Super idea! You could sell buckets of these up here at the outfitters. Love the colours.

[millsware]

Could you post the plans for this. My son is only 2, but I think this is a great idea.

[tranq78]

Could you post the plans for this. My son is only 2, but I think this is a great idea.

Thanks all.

I already know how to tie a square knot, which is the basic pattern, so it was pretty straightforward to figure out how to make one.

But youtube.com is your friend and there are lots of very good instruction (and free) videos. Type in "make survival bracelet" or "make paracord bracelet" as your search words.

[Ex Finn.]

I take my kids camping and outdoors as much as we can. Usually with my SLR and tripod in tow.

I finally made "survival bracelets" for my youngest and one of his friends. Now I've made over 20 for the other kids in their school. Material is 550 paracord and the ends are tied in a Celtic button knot so the whole thing can be easily pulled apart and re-tied. There is an emergency whistle on the buckle.

For those that don't know, paracord has a 550 pound test (over 200 Kg) and there are 7 internal strands that can be pulled out easily. So this bracelet has two 3 meter (9 foot) cords with over 200 Kg strength, plus each cord can be pulled apart for a total of 126 meters (almost 400 feet) of very strong filament that can be used to build lean-to's, bind a splint, use as fishing line, make a stretcher, etc. The whistle on the buckle is used to signal for help. The buckle itself can be used as a cinch or a pulley.

Guess what is the biggest draw for the kids? The whistle!

We were once hiking on the Bruce Trail in Ontario Canada and we ran into someone just sitting there alone, in the middle of nowhere. He had blown out both his knees and couldn't walk and his hiking partner had gone to get help. So you never know when you need filament to make splints and a stretcher. We could have used a whistle to signal our location as the emergency rescue workers didn't know our exact position.

JPEG is straight out of the camera, no adjustments. The photo's not my greatest but I like the color combination.

That is fantastic. So is the image. Now step it up a notch and make a survival belt like that.