Parachute pull up cords: what they are and where to buy them

Parachute Pull-Up Cord Online Shopping Guide

A pull up cord is a thin, durable strip of fabric that parachute packers use to close a main container. At first only a few companies offered them, but as more and more packers lost their packing tool and needed to “borrow” a pull up cord, they’ve become a staple in skydiving.

This saturation of the skydiving market led many dropzones and suppliers to the obvious conclusion: that they should brand and sell their own pullup cords. It’s a niche market, but parachute packing tools are specific enough that you can’t find them at a sporting goods store. Genius. Now, slowly but surely, customized branded parachute pullup cords are appearing left and right. Let’s take a look.

Classic Online Pull-Up Cords

ParaGear is the #1 supplier of skydiving gear in the USA, so it makes sense that their pull up cord is first on the list. That’s not my reason, though.

The real reasons are its design and availability.

Most pull up cords I’ve come across are a uniform size, 15mm wide by about 900mm (about 0.6″ by 35.4″). Sometimes they’re offered in larger or smaller sizes. ParaGear’s pull up cords are always bigger than anyone else’s, and you see them everywhere, which is the second reason they’re at the top. they measure 1″ by 35.”

Para Gear sends skydiving and related gear around the world every day, and with every package they always include a fistful of colorful, useful pull up cords. Now that’s good brand marketing!

Paragear pull up cords cost $0.55, but the minimum order is $25. Just go to any dropzone and ask for a spare pull-up cord though and you’ll get one of these, I guarantee it.

Although not quite as thick as the product from ParaGear, Blue Skies Mag sells a custom pullup cord favored by many packers that, like ParaGear’s, comes in a larger than average width. Unlike ParaGear, Blue Skies Mag’s pull up cord is thin and smooth. Plus it’s much prettier.

Blue Mag Pull-up cords cost $1 each. Shipping is only $0.35.

CYPRES Main Container Pull Up Cord

This is another cord I see pretty often, but not as frequently as paragear’s. It’s the standard size I mentioned before, but silky smooth. Fun design, but a little slippery. CYPRES sends these cords as free schwag.

Cypres is one of the top two manufacturers of Automatic Activation Devices, or AADs. An AAD is what deploys your reserve parachute at a certain altitude if you can’t, or don’t, for some reason. This promotional goodie features a drawing of their AAD, which is neat.

“This high-quality pullup cord is made of a smooth, finished polyester. The CYPRES Pullup Cord is 900x15mm and features all the latest CYPRES logos. Get a bunch for you and your friends at the drop zone today!”

CYPRES main container pull up cords cost $2 each at Chutingstar. Cheapest shipping is UPS Ground, starting at $14, so these are better if added to large purchases.

ChutingStar Pullup Cords

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ChutingStar, like most e-commerce sites, suggests similar products somewhere near the item description. That’s pretty smart, because their own products are offered at $6 for a ten pack or $50 for a 100-pack.

The same quantities of the CYPRES cord would cost $20 or $200, respectively. Since many packers prefer to use lighter material than ParaGear’s freebie, DZs will often add these onto larger gear orders to appease forgetful skydivers. Ordering these instead of the Cypres saves up to 75%, so it’s doubtful any DZ will charge for them. Shipping is, again, at least $14.

As for its design and performance, I think ChutingStar’s design looks cooler but functionally they are about the same.

Next up, pull-up cords that are a little harder to find, but well worth the effort. Stay tuned!