Survival Skills: Understanding Cordage

Why are there so many names for the products that look like rope? Even for a seasoned outdoor adventurer, it can be a confusing ordeal when we shop in the rope aisle at the hardware store or sporting goods retailer. For a beginner, this must be a complete mystery. What is cordage? Are string and twine the same thing? Is rope just a thick string? Very often, we will give fiber material a specific name based on the job it is doing, but this is still confusing. Let me help.

Types of Cordage

Cordage  This word is used interchangeably for rope, string, yarn, and similar fiber materials made from many different natural and synthetic fibers. Cordage is a catchall term, though the more specific term “cord” typically refers to thin braided rope.

Rope  This cordage material is a “plied” fiber product, which means that it is made from separate bundles of strings that are either twisted or braided to join them together. Rope can be found in many different diameters, textures and materials, though it tends to be firm material which makes thick knots.

String  This tying material is a twisted bundle of natural or synthetic fibers that is unplied and is capable of creating low profile knots.

Twine  This is essentially string, but twine is typically thicker than string and more often made from natural plant fibers. Many commercial twine products are plied, which would technically make them rope, but they are marketed as twine because of their appearance and uses (garden twine, for example).

Yarn  This is a continuous strand of fiber that may be plied or unplied. We often think of yarn being strictly made from wool, but it can be made from many plant, animal and synthetic fibers.

BTW - I’m planning to start a class in 2025 on ropes and knots - keep an eye out for this if you’re interested.

Written by Tim MacWelch