Making Paracord Falls

Paracord can be used to make falls in several different styles. The following variations all end with a single gutted strand, but vary in how thick the loop end is. Aside from ease of construction, these variations also give the whip maker the ability to control the taper by having multiple steps from loop to end.

Basic Fall

The basic fall is simply a piece of gutted paracord fed inside of itself to create a loop. The portion of the cord fed inside should be approximately 1/2 the length of the fall. This gives a slightly tapered profile to the fall by having 1/2 the fall doubled.

The final fall will have two different thickness.

Use a piece of paracord approximately 1/2 again as long as your desired final length. For example, if you want a 2' fall, use a piece of paracord 3' long. Attach a permalock needle to one end, thread the paracord back into itself 1 foot back from the needle. If possible pull the needle out through the bottom of the 2' section and snip off the melted hard end. If the cord is too tight and you can not get the needle out the other end, you can take the needle back out through the side of the paracord, snip it, and then pull it back inside.

Weighted Fall

Similar to the basic fall, the weighted fall adds a length of beaded chain inside the fall to increase its weight.

The final fall will have three different thickness.

For a 2' fall you will need an 8' length of ball chain and about 40" of paracord. Ball chain can be fed into one end of the paracord easily. Tie a piece of thread around to the end of a large needle. Tie the other end to the last ball of the chain. Feed the needle about 18" up into, and then out the side of the paracord. Snip the thread off tight to the paracord and allow it to slide back inside. The point where you brought the needle out of the paracord will be where the loop (center) is formed for your fall. Thread a permalock needle on the the shorter end of your paracord, then proceed like you're making a basic fall, by threading the paracord inside itself just above where the beads end. You don't want the beaded part of the paracord to be part of the loop for your fall, so give yourself about 1/2".

Twisted Taper Fall

Twisted taper falls use a partially gutted piece of paracord, twisted, and then fed inside itself.

The final fall will have 4 different thickness.

For a 24" fall you will need about 40" of paracord with the guts still in it. Find the point that will be the loop of your fall (about 18" from one end) and make note of that spot (safety pins inserted to carefully avoid the inner core works well). Measure another 6" past that point and again make careful note of the spot. From the short end of the fall, carefully start pulling the strands out of the paracord until they reach the the 6" point past center that you marked. Snip off the excess guts. Place the center of your fall tightly in a vice. Place a hemostat at the base of the parcord guts on the long side, and at the same point on the short end. Create a twist by winding the hemostats one direction until the cord wants to start bunching up, then wrap the two strands around each other in the opposite direction that they were wound. When you've wrapped the two strands all the way to the hemostats remove them, being careful not to let the strands unwind (you can clamp them together using one of the hemostats). You should have about 12" of un-gutted strand on the short end. Slide back the sleeve on the short end and snip the guts. You should now have about 6" with guts and 6" without. Finish like a basic fall, buy treading on a permalock needle and threading the short strand inside the longer strand.

If you're working with 650 paracord, you can still get a twisted tapered fall by using a permalock to run a 12" scrap of gutted paracord inside.