Make Your Own Paracord Survival Bands with Interplay (age 8+)

Our latest review for Interplay is one I have had my eye on since I heard about it. Paracord Survival Bands are survival wristbands made from carefully woven cord which can be quickly unwoven and is strong enough to be used in an emergency situation. We might not be about to face a zombie apocalypse, but how many times do you find yourself thinking that a piece of string or rope would have been handy?

The Interplay Paracord Survival Bands are made from "military grade parachute lanyard rope" or 'Paracord'. They are strong, they actually can save you in an emergency and as this is 7 strand Paracord it should bear around 400lbs+ of weight - more than enough to lift, pull or rescue any person.

Not only do we have the cord in the kit, but obviously you can use your wristband to attach other emergency equipment to yourself, so a selection of useful items are included:

• 14.4 Metres of Paracord in 6 Colours
• 2 Whistle Clasps
• 1 Metal Shackle Clasp
• 1 Carabiner Clasp
• 1 Plastic Clasp
• 1 Slide Compass
• 1 Stick of Chalk In Bag
• 8m Roll of Tape
• 12 Page Instruction Booklet

My 7 year old struggles to tie his shoe laces, so we thought teaching him to weave the Paracord would be tricky, but he picked it up very quickly.

This Interplay kit has really attracted the attention of my partner, who is getting so good at the weaving after 4 attempts, he can now make a Paracord Survival Band in under 10 minutes. Other styles of weaving are possible, but Interplay have chosen one which is easy for a beginner, and still looks really nice.

Well under half an hour and this young man had made his own survival wristband. Look at the pride on that face. Shame his eyes are shut and he's wearing his pyjamas, but still.

This not so young man is also very proud of his Paracord Survival Band and even wore it to work...

Starting your Paracord Band and the weaving are really very simple and the instructions are clear, finishing off is harder and the instructions not as clear. The best way to 'tidy up' the end of the Paracord is to weave it back into the band you've made, so the inclusion of a big eyed needle would have been awesome and made it much easier to get the very end woven in tightly.

Altering the tension as you weave makes the end result look very different, but we found however 'tight' it was woven, it was still flexible enough to be comfortable, and the clasps work exactly as they should.

Paracords Survival Bands can be woven in two colours with two cords, and they don't even have to be wristbands, they can also be used for other things. With the addition of the accessories they can be a really useful item even without taking them apart! (Clearly this Paracord Keyring is also my partner's).

The Interplay Paracord Survival Bands set has the incredibly reasonable price of £9.99. For a set which offers so much to adults as well as children, and might well be genuinely useful whatever your age, this is excellent value, and it makes a brilliant Christmas gift for the Scout in your life, whatever their age....

A couple of my friends have reviewed the Interplay Paracord Survival Bands too - you can check out what they thought at My Mummy's Pennies and That Lancashire Lass

We were sent our Paracord Survival Band set for review.