DIY: Paracord Belt - Slatte's Rescue Knot

     The Paracord Project has been up and running for a year and a half now, without any actual posts on paracord.  It is time to change that.  A while back I got a hold of a thousand feet of paracord with the intention of attaching it to anything I could as way to add a significant amount of cordage to my camping and survival gear.  The first project I have decided on is a belt.

     Now a belt is a fairly large task to accomplish, and I did think about starting with a bracelet.  I quickly realized, however, that a when making a bracelet from paracord, you really only use about twenty feet of cordage.  Twenty feet is better than nothing, but many sources recommend at least fifty feet of rope in your gear, if not more than that.

     Also, a belt has its own functional purpose, where a bracelet is generally just for decoration.  Even worse, many people know what a paracord bracelet is, what it looks like, and they also know that many preppers and survivalists will wear them.  For this reason alone, I don't want a paracord bracelet.  It will work fine for camping or backpacking, but if shtf, it is just one more thing that can point you out to people as someone who knows what they are doing, and that can make you a target for attack if people are trying to take supplies from others.

     Now, there are many many different weaves out there for paracord bracelets and belts, and I could have used any number of them to create my belt.  However, what I specifically wanted was some kind of weave where I can undo the knot at the top that is holding it all together, and then just pull and unravel the whole weave in an instant or two.

     The reason for this is, if you are in a survival situation and you need rope now, just being able unravel a weave will give you cordage to work with right away.  With many other weaves you would have to stop and take the time to take apart the knots and weaves.  So while it might take me a long time to make my belt, I want to be able to pull it apart as soon as possible.

     What I have ended up going with is the Slatt's Rescue Knot.  The weave can be unraveled in just a few moments, giving you a very long piece of cordage to work with, without having to untie or cut your belt apart.

     There are two resources I have been using to make this belt.  The first is the diagram below, which I found to be invaluable to figuring out exactly what I was doing.

The second was this video on youtube, by TIAT.  It is great for following along to start getting the hang of how this weave works.

Here is the beginnings of my belt:

 

     Yes that is a Batman belt buckle.  You can always go with a regular belt buckle, which will be less obvious, however I chose this one for a couple of reasons.  The first reason is that Batman is awesome.  The second reason is that it doesn't scream survivalist.  People will not automatically assume that the belt is made from paracord.  The third reason was purely for aesthetics.  The paracord I have is black, and it matches well with the belt buckle.

     This belt was not my first attempt at the weave.  It did take a few tries to get a hang of the weave, because it is not the easiest one to learn and start with.  However after some practice the weave does get easier and you start being able to get a tighter weave as well.

     Once you get a hang of the Slatt's Knot, all you need is paracord and a belt buckle.  The belt buckle I used has the bar and hook back, however you can use this weave on just about any type of belt buckle you can find.  As for the paracord, you will need approximately fifty feet of paracord to make a belt.  It can be a little more or a little less depending on how long you want to make your belt.

     So if you looking for a good DIY paracord project, you may want to give this belt a go.  It is a great way to fit a lot of easily accessible paracord into a functional item.  Also if you have any other paracord projects, please feel free to share them here, as well as any ideas for a DIY paracord project that you would like to see here.

     Also stay tuned for pictures of the finished belt, as well as more DIY paracord projects.  Some kind of wrap or harness for a water bottle will be coming up next!

~Sara