# Who Are They?



## Vin (Apr 4, 2013)

I know when I buy paracord at the local military surplus, it's got BIG Mil-Spec III text with a made in the USA stamp of approval. What I don't know, is who actually makes this stuff?

You see most sites selling it as "generic" but I am wondering who the big manufacturers are? 

Anyone know?


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## Knotwerkz (Apr 10, 2013)

E.L. Woods
Atwood Cord
Gladdings

Three that I'm aware of prefer the E.L. Woods at the moment.


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## Vin (Apr 4, 2013)

Knotwerkz said:


> E.L. Woods
> Atwood Cord
> Gladdings
> 
> Three that I'm aware of prefer the E.L. Woods at the moment.


Nice! E.L. Woods has a nice color selection, and some nice standard lengths. Plus, made in the USA. Gives me an idea for a giveaway. 

What do you suppose the difference between the 3 are?


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## Southern_cordist (May 8, 2013)

Vin said:


> Nice! E.L. Woods has a nice color selection, and some nice standard lengths. Plus, made in the USA. Gives me an idea for a giveaway.
> 
> What do you suppose the difference between the 3 are?


I'd like to know that as well. I order mine through supply captain. He has a pretty vast selection of colors/camo plus all the little things like clips and bearings.. His inventory is real time too which is great for an internet site. I may ask who makes his... Is there a difference in quality with these manufacturers?


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

We buy from the big 3:

EL Wood
Atwood
and Gladding

Atwood cord tends to be thicker, which some people really like for bracelet making.
EL Wood and Gladding cord tends to be thinner and flatter, which works best for certain applications. EL Wood has the largest selection of colors currently.

We buy from all 3 to get the fullest selection of colors, currently have almost 250 colors!


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

I need to order more paracord and soon. It doesn't take long to run out when your making a bunch of items.


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

I feel the same way, except my living room has hundreds of spools of it, lol!


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## Vin (Apr 4, 2013)

MrParacord said:


> I need to order more paracord and soon. It doesn't take long to run out when your making a bunch of items.


For the love of God, pics man! 



MidwestCord said:


> I feel the same way, except my living room has hundreds of spools of it, lol!


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## J-Will (Jul 19, 2013)

MidwestCord said:


> I feel the same way, except my living room has hundreds of spools of it, lol!


 Heard EL Woods has the best. I wish my living room was full of it haha


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

More people ask for Atwood Specifically than any other manufacturer, for a lot of crafting purposes they like the thickness of the atwood cord. Previously Atwood only had a limited selection of colors, but in the last few months they have come out with almost 30 new colors.

EL Wood colors tend to be darker, which is especially nice on colors like black. Atwood colors tend to be more vivid and shiny, which makes a lot of their colors like gobstopper really neat. Some people do not like the Atwood Black because it is kind of shiny, so it tends to look a little bit like a gunmetal grey instead of black.

EL Wood Does have the largest selection of colors!


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## Jerry-D-Young (Aug 8, 2013)

Do any of those three makers offer 750 cord, and does MidwestCord carry 750?

This is the only place I've found any: http://www.amazon.com/ParaCord-Mili...=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1375987972&sr=1-1

Just curious.


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## Paracord_Monkey4 (Aug 8, 2013)

I prefer Truprep.com for my paracord. They have really nice prices and it is actually real paracord (not the knock-offs that look like shoe laces at walmart).


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

I've seen the 750 on ebay too. I know RW Rope makes 750 cord, not sure what their minimum order is though, sorry!


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## JohnsonwiVP (Sep 16, 2013)

Atwood. I love their paracord. It's just what I look for because of their quality. Colors, If there's a particular color I'm looking for, a place I've grown to trust is Gladding. Talk about colors colors colors.

http://www.gladdingbraid.com/550.php


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## jimkuhr (Nov 10, 2013)

*EL Wood ordering?*

I'm a newbie at paracord work and am really happy to have found this forum. I took a look at the EL Wood website and don't see any option for online ordering, do you folks call to order direct from them or any other online sites where you order their products? 

Thanks for your time and help!
Jim


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

This thread is about Manufacturers, most manufacturers do not do direct to retail sales. Or if they do they tend to charge more than other retailers who sell their products.

Most Paracord sellers do not disclose the manufacturer when they sell you cord, this is often times because they sell the same colors from multiple manufacturers so they cannot assure which type you will get at any given time.

If you only want EL Wood cord you would want to ask before purchasing. I have a few customers who only want EL Wood or only Want Atwood, they have various reasons for making these distinctions. So they might say hey I want these colors which of them do you have from EL Wood right now. For the most part I would assume any really big paracord sites won't be able to do that for you either because their customer service email goes to someone who cannot possibly help you with that problem, or they just don't care about doing that.

Sorry I am sure that is not the answer you were hoping for!


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

Hey Midwest how is business?


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## jimkuhr (Nov 10, 2013)

*Thanks Midwest*

Thanks for the response, that makes sense and I appreciate your time.


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

Oh no I wrote out a long reply and it didn't seem to post.

MrParacord competition is increasing significantly for paracord sellers, one manufacturer told me they are backordered on everything for 2 months! They are flooding the market, and some of the big names in paracord are driving the prices to all time lows! The market is tough right now, for sure.

How are you doing? I have seen the prices on pre made stuff getting unreasonably low online lately. Everyone is talking about how great of deals they get on low quality imports, so I am sure the competition is tough for everyone right now!

Hopefully all the bracelet and accessory makers will do well in their local markets this holiday season!


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

MidwestCord said:


> Oh no I wrote out a long reply and it didn't seem to post.
> 
> MrParacord competition is increasing significantly for paracord sellers, one manufacturer told me they are backordered on everything for 2 months! They are flooding the market, and some of the big names in paracord are driving the prices to all time lows! The market is tough right now, for sure.
> 
> ...


I just filled a pretty big order. But it's getting hard for me to keep my stock up. A lot of stuff stays sold out.


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

JohnsonwiVP said:


> Atwood. I love their paracord. It's just what I look for because of their quality. Colors, If there's a particular color I'm looking for, a place I've grown to trust is Gladding. Talk about colors colors colors.
> 
> http://www.gladdingbraid.com/550.php


How is Gladdings prices?


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

That is great! People always say don't work too hard, but I think hard work makes life more interesting! If I wasn't dealing with paracord all day every day what would I do? I would have to get a TV!


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## Vin (Apr 4, 2013)

MidwestCord said:


> How are you doing? I have seen the prices on pre made stuff getting unreasonably low online lately. Everyone is talking about how great of deals they get on *low quality imports*, so I am sure the competition is tough for everyone right now!


You got it there. But for people like me, however, I will only buy US made cord. :cheers1:


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## MrParacord (Jun 27, 2013)

Vin said:


> You got it there. But for people like me, however, I will only buy US made cord. :cheers1:


I think if consumers were aware of the true potential of Military/Commercial paracord and its many uses they wouldn't bother with the less quality alternatives seeing as I doubt that it could be used for as many purposes as the better quality cord.

So in conclusion you get what you pay for but to bad people do not apply this to buying paracord products. I laugh every time I see that paracord junk at a home improvement store.


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## MidwestCord (Jul 15, 2013)

I am always shocked at the quality of the paracord and paracord accessories being sold at the craft stores. Compared to the real thing it looks like a toy, and I suppose it is at best a toy.


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