Rigger’s Rubber Bands

Parachute Rigger’s Rubber Bands are seldom talked about, but are extremely beneficial to aid in securing gear, and numerous other uses.  The primary purpose of these rubber bands is to hold parachute 550 line securely in order to allow an easy deployment of the lines when a chute is opened. If you’ve ever packed a chute, or been around one when it was, you’ll surely recognize these.  We primarily use them to hold tourniquets and strobes to our gear.

The life on these particular rubber bands is far greater than any regular rubber bands, but like all things rubber they will eventually rot. The bands shown in the picture are the standard size Rigger’s Rubber Bands measuring 2″ (length) x 3/8″ (width), and have been attached to this rig for nearly a year and show no signs of rot or cracking. Conventional rubber bands are a little less than half as thick as the 1/16″ thick Rigger’s Rubber Bands.

There are some new products on the market to hold Tourniquets that we are currently evaluating and will report back once we’ve put them through the ringer.

Here’s a online retailer where we order our Rigger’s Rubber Bands through, but be aware that they require a $25 minimum order.

Stay tuned for more articles on Parachuting and Rigging!