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Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord (Read 2710 times)
Drakolith
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Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
May 15th, 2017 at 4:19pm
 
I've found braided cord is easier to use to braid, but twisted, from my experience seems to have less stretch. What do you guys think?
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Morphy
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #1 - May 15th, 2017 at 5:35pm
 
Ive always used braided. My thought was that a twisted cord might have a little twist under tension. Since Ive mostly focused on accuracy that kind of stuff matters to me. Even if the twist is very minor.  Ive used a few twisted cord slings but never really noticed an issue so no idea if theres any truth to it. Braided is also alot prettier as well imo.
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walter
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #2 - May 15th, 2017 at 8:14pm
 
braided cord stretches more than twisted, which is one of the reasons bow strings are twisted not braided.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #3 - May 15th, 2017 at 9:45pm
 
If I'm braiding raw cord into a sling, then I prefer twisted. I like to untwist the strands and then retwist the entire group into one giant strand for aesthetic reasons.
If I'm using a single length of cordage as the release/retention cord like with a paracord sling, then I prefer braided. The only reason being that I run my sling through my fingers after every shot to remove any curls or twists, and since I'm not used to twisted cordage, well--it tends to throw me off. Ditto round-braided cords.  Tongue

Either will work well, IMO.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #4 - May 16th, 2017 at 5:58am
 
I've always done braided. Only used twisting for if I want to do something with 2 cords. I made a braided non-gutted paracord sling once by doing a twisted 2 cord for the finger loop and a 4 strand braid main cord. It worked out really nicely. Quite pretty and just the right thickness.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #5 - May 16th, 2017 at 6:29am
 
braided.

If you're using it to braid into larger cord than probably twisted as you end up with braided anyway Smiley
And as has been mentioned, it splices easier.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #6 - May 16th, 2017 at 4:19pm
 
It really depends on your cord and what you want to make with it. For braiding I have no preference if twisted or braided. I have had braided and twisted cords that were really hard to braid with and the opposite as well. In general my experience is also that braided is a bit stretchier.
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Timothy Potter
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #7 - May 16th, 2017 at 10:29pm
 
Most of the slings I've made are braided slings, not for performance reasons, but simply because I enjoy braiding.
I think both will make great slings. I've used both and haven't noticed much difference except that , like others have said, some braided cords can be stretchier. In what research I've done about slings from different parts of the world, I've seen many examples of both twisted and braided cords. If you are making the cords yourself, twisting does have the advantage of being faster than braiding if you have a few simple rope making tools.

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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #8 - Jun 15th, 2021 at 1:40pm
 
I am starting to gain more and more respect for plied cords. Especially 3 ply, it seems to give a really nice smooth round and efficient cord that rotates well. Probably a decent choice for natural slings, since it has very little stretch.  The biggest downside would be that with quick reloading under stress, you might accidentally reload the sling but now with an extra unwanted twist into it. But it should easily be noticed as the cords want to coil up if there is an extra twist. The same thing can happen with any braid but it's less easily noticed with round cords I guess. But the remedy would be to simply after every shot let the sling hang and let any unwanted twists turn out so it becomes the cords become neutral again and then reload. Thicker cords naturally remedy it a little bit.

And its true, plied cords want to twist under load, but I don't think this can be noticed with slings if the ply is tight enough, I think thise effect is too small to cause any problems with pouch orientation.

I have a few plied jute shepherd slings and they are very supple, it does feel more efficient than a tight square braid, although pound for pound probably offers less oscillation resistance.

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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #9 - Jun 18th, 2021 at 10:25pm
 
I have two slings that are almost identical and one has twisted cords the other has braided and they perform the same, at least I can’t tell the difference. They both are sisal with leather pouch
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #10 - Jun 24th, 2021 at 11:58am
 
Braided.

Twisted cord stretches a little when stressed. The first time I used a braided sling after a year of using a twisted one the first thing I noticed was what seemed like a good deal of extra power in each of my throws.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #11 - Jun 25th, 2021 at 4:02pm
 
   I don't think it makes much of a difference.  As long as they're properly made either will do the same job.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #12 - Jun 25th, 2021 at 4:14pm
 
I wouldn't necessarily say no difference, but I would say the differences are mostly too small to even notice, at least for me.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #13 - Jun 27th, 2021 at 3:24pm
 
walter wrote on May 15th, 2017 at 8:14pm:
braided cord stretches more than twisted, which is one of the reasons bow strings are twisted not braided.

ok so why not use bow strings to make a sling?  it would reduce wind resistance.  You would have to attach it to something to hold as it would cut into your hand.  Also, the pocket would probably be a different material.
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Re: Which is better for slings?: Twisted or braided cord
Reply #14 - Jun 27th, 2021 at 10:05pm
 
You could make a sling from bowstring material.  I would probably still braid it though.  Bow strings are usually twisted so you can adjust the length.  When you use a bowstring it can stretch a bit (especially a brand new one).  This can make it so the string is no longer the correct length for the brace height to be correct.  To fix it you can twist the string a little more to shorten it, or untwist it a bit to lengthen it.
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