Catahoula Tarred, Braided Nylon Twine

Strength as advertised. Minimal to no stretch. Very little “tar” odor. Great product.

This amazing twine is strong, virtually breakproof and invisible in the landscape. I have used many spools in my gardens. It would be superb where any string is needed. it is a good value for an excellent product.

Very high quality. Not stickey but holds a knots really well.

Excellent line. No surprises here. It is as described. Tarred bank line is a must have staple where lightweight but very durable line is needed. You could rebuild your local civilization with a bunch of this stuff, a lot of duct tape, and some good knives. ;))

Product worked great.

I think this line will work for my purposes. The colder temps in Alaska tends to make the line somewhat stiff when tying a knot. I've learned to rub it in the palm of my hand to loosen it up. No noticeable odor. Holds a knot well.

This review is for Catahoula Manufacturing #18 Tarred Braided Bank Line, 1/4 lb Spool AND Catahoula Manufacturing no. 36 Tarred Twisted Bank Line, 1 Pound Spool (Approx. 470 feet)Twisted Bank Line-TBLKept hearing about this on YouTube and I figured I would give it a try.The quality of this line is top notch. The tarring is even and smooth, not too sticky but you know you have a tarred line. The tar has has not rubbed off so I am not worried about getting tar on items I am using this line on.I went with the #18 (~165 ft/lbs tensile strength) and 1/4 spool to try it out. Liked it so much that I went ahead and ordered the #36, ~350 ft/lb tensile strength, 470 ft, 1-pound spool. Love this stuff.It is stiff for sure when compared to standard untreated nylon line. I found that the tar creates friction that can make slip/sliding knots harder to move and/or tighten. When friction/pressure knots are used, this line will hold!Since it is braided line, it does not unravel when cut and this makes tying knots easier. Separating this line to get to the individual strands of nylon line would be more difficult with this braided line. They sell the same line strength in a twisted version which unravels easily compared to braided.It has the smell of tar but it is not irritating to me and I hate the smell of tar, gets me nauseous.I like 550 cord but it is hard to find actual 550 cord. Most are labeled as such but when you unravel the rope, it does not twist cleanly, the nylon outer sleeve is loose. This makes tying knots more difficult and I would think makes knots weaker. Also, the relative bulk of 550 cord makes the thinner TBL more attractive. For tying tarp/tent guy or ridge lines, you do not need 550 cord strength. The #18 is more than enough and you can carry 3-4 times the amount of line for the same weight.This does not completely replace 550 cord, but it is now my go to for securing things.This stuff is tough! It also resists abrasion. I used this (#36 actually) to hang my steel target (10" gong, AR500 steel) and it worked all day. no problems. So much for the heavy duty chains.I posted a pic of the basic nomenclature of the various bank lines. This info was derived from the catahoula website.

tl;dr Toughest cordage for its size I've ever seen, better off cutting it with a pair of wire cutters than a knife or (cough) scissors. And like wire, it's stiff, and tends to stay where its put (though no quite the same as wire). Sticks to itself well, meaning even simple knots don't come loose without some work. Does not stretch or compress at all, and is dense (heavy for its size). This is basically the opposite of paracord in every way, which is a GOOD thing.I got this stuff specifically because it's not paracord. Up to this point, most of my cordage was paracord, and I found myself looking for something different. When I was a kid I lived on a farm and we didn't have paracord, but we had all manner of different twines and ropes and did just fine with it. I got into paracord when I was in the military and afterward, especially when it became popular with all the DIY and survivalist types (more ideas and options to buy, etc.), but I've never been completely satisfied that paracord can solve every cordage problem. Enter "bank line", or tarred twine, which comes in various weights as we as braided and non-braided (which is simply called "tarred twine", nothing on the label about being non-braided). The is a review of the braided stuff, I wrote one for the non-braided separately.I could rave about the awesome properties of this twine for pages, and list dings I can complain about, but you don't care about that. Just get you some. #36 seems about right for most applications (not huge but definitely enough heft for almost every job). I might order some of the very small stuff for fun but if I only had one roll of cordage left to survive with, this would be it. Am I going to throw out all my various paracord? Nope. It has some great uses that it's perfect for. But this stuff is the roll you toss in the toolbox or go-bag when you have no idea what to expect from the day. I used to do that with paracord but found it lacking in some situations. This bank line will never let you down.