Marlow Excel Pro marine cord
Getting the cord game right:
We use cords in a number of products such as guylines, draw strings for stuff sacks, and the multi-purpose sectional cords. In general, a solid cord is a key piece of equipment in the outdoors, so we figured we better get our cord game right. And deliver you the best bang for your buck too. Therefore, our go-to solution for cords is the Marlow Excel Pro marine cord line. Here are the technical specs:
Diameter: 2 mm | Breaking load: 110kg or 242 lb | Weight: 270 g per 100m or 82 g per 100 ft | Construction: Twisted polyester core with 16 plait polyester jacket
Choice of five colors:
Why did we choose this cord?
When a cord is designed for marine applications by a company outfitting gold-winning Olympic sailing teams, you can be sure it will hold up to any task you may have in store for it.
Weather Resistance: This is probably the most important attribute for outdoor applications. Marine cord is exceptionally weather resistant. Even when wet, it will retain its strength and offer virtually no stretch. So it won’t lose tension in the rain, and your shelter won’t sag.
Longevity and Durability: This cord will serve you for a very long time. It is designed to be worked hard in harsh conditions, so you can be certain it will retain superb integrity for many seasons to come.
Light-Weight: The 2 mm diameter cord is the lightest option ensuring no-slip at the line tensioners used for tarp or shelter setup. A jacket is also a must to prevent slippage through line tensioners.
Strength: A breaking load of 110 kg / 242 lb is kind of an overkill, but why not? At least you can be sure that even the heaviest of bear-bags you can muster won’t come crushing down. Apply reasonable force though, you will definitely snap an anchor, tear a tarp, or pull a muscle before reaching anywhere near the breaking load of this cord.
Grip: The jacket (outer layer) of this cord has a nice feel to it and provides a good grip against bare skin or gloves.
Perks: Hate when the cord end goes fluffy? Not on this cord. When the end is sealed, it holds for good. Both the core and jacket are made from the same material (polyester), so they fuse together with heat and never come apart. And we find the choice of colors is always a nice touch.
How about a Dyneema® cord instead?
A jacketed Dyneema® core 2 mm cord weighs essentially the same (give-or-take a few percent, depending on manufacturer). So no real weight savings; but you do get a much stronger cord, with an impressive 224 kg / 494 lb breaking load. This, however, seems highly unnecessary given that the 110 kg breaking load of the polyester core is already a massive overkill. Also, because the core and jacket are two different polymers, they don’t fuse together as well, so the end of the cord will start to fluff with use, which can be annoying. Finally, plain and simple, a Dyneema® cord comes with a bigger price tag. All things considered, the Marlow Excel Pro marine cord checks all the boxes with a smaller dent to your wallet.
For further questions, please get in touch with us, we will be happy to assist!