On today’s latest Knot of the Week, I’ll be explaining a method I’ve found for not only storing paracord on a boonie hat, but to weave it using a Chain Sinnet. This will allow you to quickly remove it if and when you need it.

If you remember previous knots we’ve taught here on ITS, we’ve gone over a Paracord Storage Sinnet and a Chain Sinnet in the past. With the storage sinnet we created you wind up with a donut looking paracord spool that can quickly unravel as you need the cordage. While this is a great method for storage, the downside is the time it takes you to create it.

You’re certainly not saving yourself any time with the method below, but you’re also not spooling 50 or 100 feet into a storage sinnet either, which can take up to an hour and a half. With the Boonie Hat Paracord Storage Sinnet, you can take a 20-30 ft. section of paracord and weave it on in about 30-45 minutes.

This may seem like a long time, but think of it as an investment. If you wear a boonie hat and have seen other methods for storing paracord on one, you’ve probably seen it all like I have. My issue with other methods is that they may look great, or have an awesome pattern, but how long is it going to take you to untie that when you need it?

I feel that this method I’ll show you today will solve that issue. Again, investing the time now to weave in this sinnet fashion will save you time in the long run when you most need it.

Boonie Hat Paracord Storage Sinnet » Coils

(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 4/Difficulty: 3)

For this project, you’ll need around 20-30 feet of paracord. It’s always better to start on the longer side so that you don’t run out along the way.

Tying Instructions

Please refer to the embedded video and detailed photos below for instructions.

Today we’re releasing the final details for our Inagural ITS Tactical Muster and Skill-Set Development Excursion taking place in Weatherford, TX on Thursday, October 25th thru Sunday, October 28th 2012. We still have seats available, but space is filling up!

The Muster integrates all the common skill-sets we advocate here on ITS into one long weekend packed full of instruction, while spending the evenings enjoying great camradarie and sleeping under the stars.

Bringing our community together, the Muster will be your chance to spend a few days with the crew from ITS Tactical, get hands-on and learn together. The Muster attendance will be limited to 50 people and available to our Life Members, Plank Owners and Crew Leaders only.

While the Muster won’t be a physically demanding event, you’ll be hiking and climbing so your level of fitness should allow for this. You’re going to get dirty, you’re going to be tired, but you’ll leave with more knowledge than you came with, great memories and friendships forged.

Physical Security

Evaluating physical security is an essential skill-set to not only understand how secure (or insecure) locks and related hardware are in our everyday lives, but also to enable participants to leverage commercial, custom and improvised tools to support personal security and lawful entry.

Matt Fiddler from SerePick.com will be heading up this block of instruction. He’s a certified and registered locksmith and security professional with over 20 years of experience.

Training Outline

• Introductory lecture on lock picking
• Hands on, fundamental single pin picking
• Exercises on advanced lock entry (commercial and improvised tools)
• Hands on exercises with alternate locking systems (tubular, disc, wafer, dimple, combination)
• Introductory lecture on advanced forms of bypass
• Field expedient tool design and extensive hands-on with advanced bypass methods
• Advanced forms of bypass to included bumping, shimming, loiding, etc.

Participants will be provided with all tools and hardware for the duration of the exercises and will leave with a basic entry kit.

Medical Training (TCCC)

Knowledge of medical equipment and skills to save a life are heavily advocated at ITS. We’ll have Caleb Causey, a former Army medic and owner of Lone Star Medics on hand to teach life saving skills and ensure you leave with the following knowledge.

Training Outline

• TCCC (Tactical Combat Casualty Care) – Care Under Fire overview
• Identifying and controlling bleeding
• Tourniquet, hemostatic and pressure dressing usage
• Introduction to wound management (suturing, debridement and surgical airways)
• Drags, carries and hasty rigging

Participants will be provided with all training aids during the medical practicals and leave with medical kit assembled during the course.

Knot Tying

Knot tying is an extremely underrated skill-set, especially today with the overabundance of buckles, snaps and tie downs. We’ll get hands-on and ensure you acquire the skills to always have knots in your toolbox.

Training Outline

• Introduction to knot tying terminology and history
• Rope/cordage overview (natural fiber, synthetic, static vs. dynamic, construction)
• Common knots and lashings
• Paracord and applications
• Climbing knots (Tape Knot, Threaded Figure 8, Tape Knot, Double Fisherman’s Knot, Prusik)
• Rope management (checking for damage, storage, methods of carry)
• Field expedient ladders

Participants will be provided with paracord and rope for all exercises and leave with a paracord bracelet and deployment lanyard.

Rappelling / Climbing

Not only are climbing and rappelling great outdoor activities, but you could need these skills one day to negotiate a cliff or rock face. We’ll get into various methods to ensure your safety and some field expedient ways to always be prepared.

Training Outline

• Introduction to rappelling and equipment
• Belaying and top roping fundamentals
• Swiss Seat and emergency rappelling harnesses
• Rappelling station and top rope rigging
• Ascending equipment, setup and field expedient ascending

Participants will leave with a field expedient webbing harness to utilize in an emergency situation.

Land Navigation / Geocaching

You are as good as what you’ve mastered, not what you’ve been taught. Using a map and compass is a perishable skill and we’ll be going through the fundamentals of Land Navigation and Geocaching.

Training Outline

• Map terminology, map reading and declination
• Terrain association
• Compass selection, azimuth, back azimuth, calculating pace count
• Introduction to Geocaching and caches
• Applying Geocaching to everyday life and navigation in general

Participants need to provide a compass and will leave with pace count beads that will be made during the land navigation practical.

Fire, Shelter, Camp Gadgets and Stoves

Essential to preparedness is knowing how to construct shelters and get a fire going. We’ll be showing you some methods for shelter construction and how to build fires that you can use for heat and cooking. We’ll also show you some more discrete methods for each.

 Training Outline

• Applying knots and lashings into practical applications for construction
• Building a shelter to sleep in overnight
• Fire construction using various methods
• Camp stove familiarization and introduction to alcohol stove construction

Participants will be provided with shelter material and leave with a self-made alcohol stove.

Food and Drinks

We’ll be providing food and drinks for everyone during the Muster. This won’t be pre-made store bought food or even fast food, they’ll be home cooked meals prepared by Matt Gambrell in the ITS Galley each day.

We know you’re going to work up an appetite and with menu selections like smoked brisket, fish tacos, burgers and breakfast burritos, you’ll be sure to get plenty to eat!

There will be snacks and plenty of leftovers during the day if you get hungry, but we did include geedunk in the packing list just incase.

Travel Details and Packing List

The Muster will be taking place from Thursday, October 25th to Sunday, October 28th. We’re requiring everyone to arrive no earlier than 3 p.m. on October 25th and no later than 6 p.m. that evening. For departure on Sunday, please plan on being at the Muster until 1 p.m. If you’ll be flying, please keep this in mind when booking flights.

Base Camp will be located near Weatherford, Texas, which is about an hour drive west from either the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport or Love Field Airport. The exact coordinates will be emailed to everyone attending closer to the Muster.

The majority of our activity will take place outdoors and we’ll have a pre-arranged area to set up tents. Any changes to the packing list we’ve provided here will be emailed out, but it shouldn’t change much from this.

You’ll also get an awesome T-Shirt and Morale Patch commemorating our first ever ITS Tactical Muster. While we’re planning on a Muster each year, there will only ever be one first Muster! There’s a ton more planned for you to take home, but you’ll just have to be there to find out what.

Registration

Here’s the registration form you’ll need to fill out and mail in with your payment. We still have a few seats left, but space is filling up!

The pricing schedule below benefits those that get their payments in early. Don’t forget that if you’re a Life Member you’ll get 25% off your registration. Our Life Membership is also closed for now and won’t reopen before the Muster takes place.

• $800 – Payment postmarked by June 1, 2012
• $900 - Payment postmarked by August 1, 2012
• $1000 – Payment postmarked by October 1, 2012

Send completed registration form AND personal check, bank money order or cashier’s check payable to ITS Tactical:

ITS Tactical
6100 W. Pioneer Pkwy, Suite 100
Arlington, TX 76013

Price based on date of payment receipt; your payment must be postmarked by the date you are submitting payment for. Payments postmarked after October 12, 2012 will be returned. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferable.

We’re doing something different today with our Knot of the Week series and taking a look at five knots that you should know how to tie at all times. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out with friends and had to tie something or someone down and everyone just looks at me.

No matter how often I remind them they need to read our KOTW articles and watch the videos here on ITS, I thought I’d put together an article on what I consider to be the knots I use the most on a regular basis and why you should have them at your disposal. Below you’ll find links to our original articles on ITS with tying instructions, as well as embedded videos that take you step-by-step through each of them.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to remember all the knots we teach here on ITS and knot tying is a depreciable skill that needs to be practiced. So let’s look at five, in no particular order, that you should know how to tie with your eyes closed or even underwater.

Bowline / One-Handed Bowline

A Bowline is one of those knots that useful for many applications, putting a loop into a knot that won’t seize up on you, or more importantly a One-Handed Bowline that could save your life one of these days.

It seems like I’m always tying a bowline to secure a line to a fixed point. It’s a great all-around knot and one you should definitely know both on its own and one-handed.

Taut-Line Hitch

I feel like the Taut-Line Hitch is one of the most underrated knots out there, it’s extremely versatile and great for applications where you can have varying tension, such as securing a load. It’s most common application is providing adjustable tension for guy lines on a tent or tarp.

Some interesting sliders and devices now appear on tents’ guy lines to adjust tension. Call me old fashioned, but I still prefer a Taut-Line Hitch.

Threaded Figure-Eight

Another knot that’s underrated in it’s ability to get you out of a jam is the Threaded Figure 8.

While the application I’m mentioning almost needs to be paired with a Swiss Seat at the least, nothing beats the Threaded Figure 8 to safely get you down from heights, whether on purpose or in an emergency situation.

Double Fisherman’s Knot

For joining rope together or making an adjustable loop out of two of these knots, the Double Fisherman’s Knot can’t be beat. Preferably the rope you’re joining together should be around the same diameter, as there’s better knots to join sections of different diameter rope such as a Beckett’s Bend or as it’s commonly known, a Sheet Bend.

Power Cinch Knot

Another little known and underrated knot is the Power Cinch. Another great way to add tension to a line without the possibility of it slipping loose like I’ve seen Taut-Line Hitches do, yet very easy to pull down in a hurry. This is what I use for any kind of trunk line while I’m camping or putting up a shelter. Tensioning knots are something you should know and the reason I’ve included two of them in these five. I always see people over-tying objects in the back of a truck or in many situations where all they’re doing is trying to secure a load. Regular half hitches work fine, but that extra effort both in tying and removing all those knots simply isn’t necessary if you know the right knots to use in the first place.

Honorable Mention – Chain Sinnet

One last knot I’d like to mention is the Chain Sinnet, I literally tie this multiple times a week into all my extension cords and I can’t tell you how much time and aggravation it’s saved me over the years. I was first taught this by an old employer who wanted their extension cords tied this way and I’ve always remembered it because of it’s efficiency. Mark this down as one to take a look at too if you’ve got the time for a bonus knot.

After months of planning, we’re excited to finally release details on our inaugural ITS Tactical Muster and skill-set development excursion.

The Muster integrates all the common skill-sets we advocate here on ITS into one long weekend packed full of instruction on Lock Picking, Knot Tying, Rappelling, Fire & Shelter Building, Camp Gadgets & Stoves, Medical (including TCCC principles), Navigation and Geocaching. All this while spending the evenings enjoying great camradarie and sleeping under the stars.

Bringing our community together, the Muster will be your chance to spend a few days with the crew from ITS Tactical, get hands-on and learn together. The Muster attendance will be limited to 50 people and available to our Life Members, Plank Owners and Crew Leaders only.

While the Muster won’t be a physically demanding event, you’ll be hiking and climbing so your level of fitness should allow for this. You’re going to get dirty, you’re going to be tired, but you’ll leave with more knowledge than you came with, great memories and friendships forged.

Inaugural ITS Tactical Muster

The Muster will be taking place from Thursday, October 25th to Sunday, October 28th. We’re requiring everyone to arrive no earlier than 3 p.m. on October 25th and leave no later than 7 p.m. that evening. For departure on Sunday, please plan on being at the Muster until 1 p.m. If you’ll be flying, please keep this in mind when booking flights.

Base Camp will be located near Weatherford, Texas, which is about an hour drive west from either the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport or Love Field Airport. The exact coordinates will be emailed to everyone attending closer to the Muster. Do yourself a favor too if you’re flying and NEVER fly Spirit Airlines. Trust us…

The majority of our activity will take place outdoors and we’ll have a pre-arranged area to set up tents. While a final gear list will be emailed out to those attending, a small tent, bivy or some kind of shelter is required. What you want to sleep in to stay out of the elements is up to you, but please limit it to a 2 person tent at the largest.

Quality meals are included in the registration price and you definitely won’t leave hungry! No box lunches here! You’ll also get an awesome T-Shirt and Morale Patch commemorating our first ever ITS Tactical Muster. While we’re planning on running a Muster each year, there will only ever be one first Muster!

There’s a ton more planned for you to take home, but you’ll just have to be there to find out what.

Registration

If you already know you don’t want to miss the inaugural ITS Tactical Muster, here’s the registration form you’ll need to fill out and mail in with your payment.

The pricing schedule below benefits those that get their payments in early. Don’t forget that if you’re a Life Member you’ll get 25% off your registration (does not apply to spouses, friends, etc. unless they’re also a Life Member) Our Life Membership is also closed for now and won’t reopen before the Muster takes place.

• $800 – Payment postmarked by June 1, 2012
• $900 - Payment postmarked by August 1, 2012
• $1000 – Payment postmarked by October 1, 2012

Send completed registration form AND personal check, bank money order or cashier’s check payable to ITS Tactical:

ITS Tactical
6100 W. Pioneer Pkwy, Suite 100
Arlington, TX 76013

Price based on date of payment receipt; your payment must be postmarked by the date you are submitting payment for. Payments postmarked after October 12, 2012 will be returned. Registration is non-refundable and non-transferable.

I’d like to start something new here on ITS today and start sharing all the EDC (Every Day Carry) photos we receive in our Forum here on ITS. We’re also going to turn it into a contest every few weeks and give away a $25 gift certificate to the ITS Store!

We’ll select an EDC based on only one criteria… Rule number one, always look good! Just kidding, we’ll pick it based on being a functional and realistic EDC. This means it actually has to be what you carry in your pockets, not in a bag (as much as we want to see photos of your Discreet Messenger Bag.) Of course this is totally left open to our interpretation and why we’d like a brief description of what you’re carrying too.

To enter, simply join our Forum (if you’re not a member already) and post up your photo in this topic with a brief description of your EDC. We’ll look in on the submissions and pick someone every few weeks to win. The winner’s photo will be posted on the homepage of ITS Tactical along with the announcement. I’ll start things off this week and show everyone what’s in my pockets today. And yes, all this is really all in my pockets.

My EDC Breakdown

• ITS EDC Trauma Kit w/ Coyote Pouch
• Sig Sauer P6/P225 and Spare Mag (Loaded with 9mm Hydra Shok)
• Sig currently carried IWB (In the Waist Band) RCS  Phantom Holster (Not Shown)
• KIA Bracelet – Jason Workman, who I served with in the Navy and who perished in the tragedy on 8.6.11
• Giveaway Wallet – In Mugging Situations
• Keychain with Solomon Bar Paracord fob, Duct Tape fob and Kingston Flash Drive
• Change, Wedding Ring and ITS Challenge Coin
• Bosca Nappa Vitello Pocket Wallet
• Titanium Bogota Toolset
• Bobby Pin
• Nemesis Knives Ti Card (bottle opener and sharpened edge)
• Cash (leftover $2 bills from Starbucks Appreciation Day)
• Emerson Commander (appendix carry)
• Bic Lighter
• iPhone 4 with Foliage Magpul Field Case (Mfg. with better tolerance than the Executive Case I reviewed)
• Moleskine Volant Mini Notebook
• Pocket Survival Kit (modified slightly since it was shown in this original article)
• 4Sevens Preon 2  in Satin Titanium (appendix carry)
• 4Sevens Titanium Pen w/ Glass Breaker Tip (takes Fisher Space Pen refills)
• G-Shock DW-6900MS w/ Suunto Clipper Compass

Be sure to post up your EDC photo here for your chance to win!

How many of you have either purchased or made your own Paracord Bracelet and ever had to unravel it to actually use the paracord? If so, you’ve probably realized how much of a pain it is to untie each part of the Solomon Bar Knot that’s used to tie these bracelets.

Today on our latest Knot of the Week, we’ll show you how to use a Chain Sinnet knot concept to tie a Paracord Bracelet that will allow you to quickly pull apart your bracelet for immediate access to your continuous 10 feet of paracord for emergency use.

This method will take a bit longer to tie than a normal Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet, but if quick access is what you need out of your bracelet’s paracord, then this is the answer.

ITS now offers Mil-Spec Type III Paracord in our store!

Paracord Bracelet » Decorative

(Strength: 4/Secure: 4/Stability: 3/Difficulty: 4) **Ratings shown are for Solomon Bar Knot, not the Quick Release Paracord Bracelet**

Uses:

• Decorative Bracelet
• Carrying Paracord for Immediate Access in Emergencies

Tying Instructions:

Pay particular attention to the beginning steps of this instruction in the video, photos and description below. If the beginning doesn’t get started correctly, it won’t tie right as you progress through.

This method of tying was first discovered by a Dan, a reader who sent in this YouTube video of a Chain Sinnet Square Knot tied by Andy Smith. In Andy’s video he actually ties this so that the buckles fall off as the bracelet is pulled apart. We’ve chosen to tie this as shown below so that the buckle is retained as the paracord is unraveled.

Note: The buckle we show is a National Molding Weinerlock buckle. These contoured buckles are definitely nice to have when you’re wearing your bracelet all day. You also don’t have to use a buckle and this can be ended in this configuration shown on our Twisted Solomon Bar Paracord Bracelet.

ITS now offers Mil-Spec Type III Paracord in our store!

1. Find the middle of a 10-12 ft. section of Paracord and halve it
2. Take the middle and girth hitch it into the female portion of the buckle
3. Thread the two working ends through the bottom bar of the male portion of the buckle
4. Now place what you’ve created around your wrist and tighten the working ends until you have the desired size
5. *You’ll want it snug, but not tight, as the pattern we’ll be creating will add some girth to the bracelet
6. Once the size is determined, you’re ready to start the pattern.
7. Take the right side working end and create a bight (loop) and bring it over the standing center part
8. Take the left side working end, create a bight and loop it through the loop you just made with the right side working end
9. Ensure the new bight passes through your initial bight from the top, not the bottom
10. Pull on the standing right hand strand to tighten the loop that’s now holding your second bight
11. Take this secondary left side working end bight and take it under the standing center part
12. Repeating the same type of work you just did, you’re now going to create a new bight with the standing right side line
13. This bight now passes through the bottom, rather than the top as you just did with the last side
14. Now you’re just repeating those steps, alternating from the right side going over the standing part and the left side going around the back of the standing part
15. Remember to tighten and push the “knots” down as you go
16. As you pull through your last bight near the male buckle, you’ll actually pull this side all the way through and into the female buckle (see photos)
17. The opposite strand you’re left with will be also threaded into the male buckle
18. Now that both strands are out the backside of the male buckle simply tuck them behind the topmost loop of the solomon bar type wrapping
19. Tighten them up and trim to your desired length, in the video you can see that we’ve melted these ends together slightly so that they’ll stay together until pulled apart, but not so much that these ends won’t pull apart
20. To quick release your bracelet, simply untuck the ends from the loop and pass them back through the male buckle and unlock the side you pulled through the bight
21. You can now pull the two sides of paracord apart quickly to deploy your paracord!

View the gallery or YouTube video below and follow along with the steps above, be sure to let us know in the comments if you have any questions!