How long bungee cord

Bungee cords and tie-down straps are not the same. Bungee cords, also known as shock cords, are designed to absorb shock and are great for holding down a tarp or securing the cover on a cooler; but not for containing heavy, bulky, or airborne-prone items.

Tie-down straps , however, are specifically designed to secure cargo for transportation. They are available in a variety of lengths, widths, strength ratings, hook ends, and securing methods. To learn more about tie-down straps, see our article on the basics of tie-down straps. Below is a list of reasons to seriously reconsider using a bungee cord for securing heavy, bulky cargo. Most bungee cords do not come with a rating to let you know how much weight they can hold. Tie-down straps, however, will have both the minimum weight at which failure can occur break strength and the maximum weight they can support with regular use working load printed on them.

An elastic cord may allow a load to shift; risking the safety of surrounding motorists, yourself, and your belongings.

Some bungee jumping companies design and manufacture their own cord. In general, this is a proprietary process which they keep secret. The following describes a typical process by which commercial or milspec bungee cords are manufactured.

Bungee cord is subjected to different levels of quality control depending on the final application. These usually consist of visual inspection, testing, and labeling or color coding. All bungee cords are given a visual inspection for defects in the rubber strands and covering during manufacture. Defects include broken strands, improperly woven covering and noticeable stains on the covering. Commercial bungee cord rarely requires any testing. Mil-spec cord, on the other hand, must undergo a rigorous series of tests, including size and weight measurements, tensile strength, percent elongation under various loads, and a number of extension-contraction flex cycles.

For example, a 0. Manufacturers of bungee cord for bungee jumping have their own standards which may include subjecting the cord to a number of full flex cycles and measuring the change in force versus extension to ensure the cord does not overextend. Bungee cord performance can be affected by age. Cord built to military specifications must be shipped to the end user within six months of the date it was manufactured.

To ensure compliance with this requirement, mil-spec cord uses a color-coded outer covering to indicate the date of manufacture. The main color indicates the year as follows: red , blue , yellow , black , and green For succeeding years, the cycle of colors is repeated starting with red again for To further define the date of manufacture, a second, minor color is incorporated into the outer covering as follows: red January-March , blue April-June , green July-September , and yellow October-December.

Some bungee jumping companies which make their own cord use a different colorcoding system to identify the load capacity of the cord rather than the age. This color is often sewn into the webbing attached to the harness end of the cord to ensure that the proper capacity cord is matched to the weight of the jumper. The age of the cord is controlled by periodic testing and regular replacement cycles. The colors on the outer covering of commercial bungee cords have no significance and are for decorative purposes only.

Commercial bungee cord is a simple, lowcost product with numerous uses. It will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. Likewise, the military is expected to continue to use the current bungee cord design in numerous applications. Bungee cord used for bungee jumping has evolved into a specialty product. Because of concerns with liability, many commercial manufacturers no longer manufacture or sell cord for bungee jumping.

Companies that promote bungee jumping as a sport now manufacture their own cord to their own specifications. The specifications and manufacturing processes vary from one company to another and are considered highly proprietary. The primary concern, of course, is safety for the jumper. To that end, these companies will continue to have very tight controls over the manufacturing, handling, testing, and replacement process for their cords. Frase, Nancy. Bungee Jumping for Fun and Profit. ICS Books, Gromer, Cliff.

Sterba, James P. Toggle navigation. Periodicals Gromer, Cliff. Other articles you might like:. Also read article about Bungee Cord from Wikipedia.

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