multiuse lanyward (wrist and neck)

[goathens]

I've gotten myself a smaller light for EDC, I think i could carry it on my neck. I have some paracord at my disposal, but making a simple loop for my neck doesn't seem... cool enough. I also have some issues:

1) a neck lanyard is a bit long for slipping my wrist through when holding it in my hand... any ideas?
I was thinking some sort of ring be placed on the lanyard- both sies of the necklace would go through it. I could slide the ring closer to the flashlight for neck carry, then when I put it in my hand, slide the ring until the wrist loop is tight.

2) paracord is quite strong, and tying a knot in it sounds like a shortcut to strangulation. Is there a good solution to this? I prefer a DIY solution, but purchased parts are fine too.
I was thinking some sort of loop with a knot acting as a toggle as the closure- the knot would pull through given enough force, but I don't know the right knot for this use. I also don't know the right way to make the loop so that it doesn't tighten on the knot when yanked (thus being an unsafe non-breakaway).

Of course, there's always the usual stainless steel ball-chain solution- and any good sources for such things would be welcome.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

Check out my lanyard sales thread, it might give you some ideas

Edit: Oops! I forgot it's not in my sigline at the moment. Here's a link.

 

[baterija]

They make many varieties of things usually called "cord locks" that can be used to tighten down around your wrist. Here's some options at lighthound (picked only because I had the site open in another tab ). They can be found easily at many vendors online and you can frequently find packs of 2 or 3 in the camping section of some sporting goods stores.

As to making it a breakaway lanyard I can't suggest a knot but two simple ideas:
- use 2 cord locks - one is to cinch the lanyard around your wrist and the other secures the untied ends of the cord. The cord will slip through the lock under less pressure than it would take to break the cord.
- use the old ball chain inside the outer layer of the paracord. You get the comfort benefits of the cord around your neck but the chain inside can still break away and slip through the cover. It's how I wear my dog tags.

 

[Tekno_Cowboy]

You might just want to use an actual break-away, or maybe even two, so you can remove a middle section to shorten the lanyard. The break-away connectors I use are pretty cheap.

 

[chmsam]

I like a thicker material for a lanyard than just paracord. Flat ribbon feels better at the end of the day. Should be available in sizes to use with cord locks and breakaways or for the wider stuff just use a plastic squeeze buckle.

 

[exodus125]

I've gotten myself a smaller light for EDC, I think i could carry it on my neck. I have some paracord at my disposal, but making a simple loop for my neck doesn't seem... cool enough. I also have some issues:

1) a neck lanyard is a bit long for slipping my wrist through when holding it in my hand... any ideas?
I was thinking some sort of ring be placed on the lanyard- both sies of the necklace would go through it. I could slide the ring closer to the flashlight for neck carry, then when I put it in my hand, slide the ring until the wrist loop is tight.

2) paracord is quite strong, and tying a knot in it sounds like a shortcut to strangulation. Is there a good solution to this? I prefer a DIY solution, but purchased parts are fine too.
I was thinking some sort of loop with a knot acting as a toggle as the closure- the knot would pull through given enough force, but I don't know the right knot for this use. I also don't know the right way to make the loop so that it doesn't tighten on the knot when yanked (thus being an unsafe non-breakaway).

Of course, there's always the usual stainless steel ball-chain solution- and any good sources for such things would be welcome.

from a fellow " no knot knowing" CPF member. if you learn to tie a solomon bar, you can use it to tie a slip knot around a lanyard so you can adjust the length. The knot sits very snug on the lanyard so it doesn't slip easily, which I like.

I have been tying this on all my flashlight lanyards now. I use digital grey paracord for the lanyard tied with a regular overhand knot. Then I tie the solomon bar around the 2 strands of lanyard with some blaze orange paracord I got from sigman.

The end result is a clean look, easy to tie lanyard that is adjustable. As far as the strangulation. If you use a split ring to attach the lanyard to the light, the split ring will give way under a small load. I would avoid using a super heavy duty split ring though.

The other option would be to not tie the overhand knot. The solomom bar fits tight enough where the knot is not really needed, and if you were to hang from it the line will just slip through.

I will try to take some pictures of one of the lanyards when I get home. The knot can be easily learned on youtube.

 

[exodus125]

here are some pictures: