Do high-quality bungee cords exist?
- Thread starter Gene Neill
- Start date
Let me tell you about the high quality bungees I used to secure 2 new sailboards to a roof rack! Over $2,000 worth of styrofoam on the side of the NJ Turnpike on an April evening a few decades ago, not to mention the damage to the car behind me. 
Not one of my shinier moments!
Not one of my shinier moments!I've had good luck with these Perfect Bungee cords. Looks like they are available right here at SailboatOwners:
https://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?18897
They aren't quite as stretchy as rubber cored ones, but they last a long time even out in the sun, the hooks are plastic so no chance of them hurting anything, including you, and they are available in different colors and lengths.
https://shop.sailboatowners.com/prod.php?18897
They aren't quite as stretchy as rubber cored ones, but they last a long time even out in the sun, the hooks are plastic so no chance of them hurting anything, including you, and they are available in different colors and lengths.
Buddy of mine was a BASE jumper. He used a 100’ 4-cord braid of 7/16” bungee cord. The stuff with the fabric mantle and rubber strand core. After 2 jumps he tossed each cord assembly and built a new one. Testimony to the short life-cycle of these things. I took the old ones, cut them to 25’, whipped the ends and handed them out to folks for non-critical things like lashing down lawn furniture, boat tarps and the world’s largest water-balloon slingshot. They don’t last long, and that is a good thing.
I'm sure there are, but I've no idea where to find them or how to identify high quality from not so much. We use some we got from the chandlery on the waterfront in Bequia and it has held up well on the main topping lift for at least a year. Others, mostly premade up ones don't seem to have the lifespan of shock cord bought off a roll in a chandlery or hardware store (Home Depot and Lowes like stores excepted).
Go to a shop that supplies truckers. They have the best and most UV resistant bungees. I usually can get three to four years of year round, weather exposed use before I have to replace them.
A flash of inspiration hit me ... McMaster-Carr: https://www.mcmaster.com/catalog/125/1608
They seldom disappoint, and they had the precise lengths I needed. I went ahead and ordered a couple of the "salt-water-resistant" ones with stainless steel hooks, and a couple "UV-resistant" ones with plastic coated steel hooks. We'll see how they hold up.
They seldom disappoint, and they had the precise lengths I needed. I went ahead and ordered a couple of the "salt-water-resistant" ones with stainless steel hooks, and a couple "UV-resistant" ones with plastic coated steel hooks. We'll see how they hold up.
Just to be clear, I didn't intend to drive all the way to North Carolina with bungees securing the boards. It was raining when I was loading the roof rack and after I took time to get the sail bag secured, I didn't want to take so much time on the boards. I was making a local stop before continuing so my thought process was to use that stop to secure the boards with the normal straps when the rain would hopefully slacken (I was on a schedule to get to that stop as well). The problem was that I forgot about it as soon as I got there 10 minutes later …
I bought box of these about 2 years ago for the boat. I like the flat ribbon bungee and the square shaped plastic hook. My wife saw them and immediately snatched them out of my boat box and appropriated them for her bicycle car rack. I had to go back to Lowes and buy another set or 2.
Brand is Blue Hawk. These are 48" in length. They have been in use for 2 years and still look good.
Brand is Blue Hawk. These are 48" in length. They have been in use for 2 years and still look good.
Davis Instruments makes some really nice ones with SS clips on the end and webbing covers. VERY strong, totally abrasion resistant. Not cheap. I use them to:
https://www.davisinstruments.com/product/minishockle-black-24-61-cm/
- Secure the rudder up when docked.
- Keep slack out of my dock lines (like a snubber, but on the leeward side).
- Secure kayak on wing deck.
https://www.davisinstruments.com/product/minishockle-black-24-61-cm/
I buy a container with mixed pairs from Home Depot every other year........ they work perfect. Throw them away when they begin to fray. But for heavy duty use I have 4 black rubber bungy cords.... heavy steel hooks. Had these for going on 5 years and still elastics and strong.
Greg
Greg
Put a note on your calendar to update us 18 months from now....
We have some of these and I love them. We don't use them for any tough application, but they work very well and seem easy to separate. I should get more in different lengths.