Do you have a paracord bracelet? Do you wear it for survival purposes, or just because it looks cool? Do you know how to untie and use it in case of emergency? In this post I’ll show you how to use a paracord bracelet to tie splint.
A splint is usually a long, straight object that’s tied parallel to a broken limb to keep it from moving. When you have a broken limb the main thing you want to do (aside from getting help) is to keep it from moving, and keep it in one position to prevent any further damage. The idea of a cast is the same as a splint except a cast is a shell around the entire limb. Two of the the most common objects you can use for a splint are a wooden stick or board, although you can use anything as long as it’s straight and about the same length as the limb. In this example I’ll use a stick I found on a camping trip.
First you have to untie the bracelet. Find the end of the bracelet with the melted ends of the paracord. They look like two white (or sometimes black) dots at one end of the bracelet near the buckle. Sometimes there might be one on the front and back of the bracelet, or there might be just one on one side of the bracelet.
Now comes the tricky part. You’ll have to get those ends out. Sometimes you can just pull and the ends will pop out. You might have to use a pair of scissors or a knife to cut them out; if you do then cut the horizontal cord closest to the buckle. I was able to just pull these to ends out.
Now that you have the ends free you can just start untying it.
Continue to untie it…
Until you reach the second buckle. After you untie the last knot just slide the second buckle off.
Then pull the other two ends off and slide the first buckle off.
If the bracelet is just one color then you should just have one strand of paracord. If the bracelet is two colors then you’ll have two strands. Sometimes with a two color bracelet the two strands will be melted together to make one strand. The melted point is weaker than the rest of the cord and might break if you apply any strain to it so you may want to cut it into two smaller and stronger pieces. This bracelet has two different color strands.
Now to tie the splint. As I said above you’ll need a straight object. Here I’m using a wooden stick.
You can wrap the limb in a T-shirt or cloth to prevent the paracord from rubbing and causing rope burns.
Then lay the stick on top of or next to the limb so that it’s parallel with the limb.
Then using the paracord tie a knot to secure the stick to the limb.
Tie a few more knots to make sure that it won’t come off (but not so tight that you cut off the circulation).
That’s it! Now you know how to untie your bracelet and provide first aid in an emergency.
