Bungee cords are today probably one of the most widely used accessory across various adventure sports to secure objects without tying knots and to absorb shock. Be it trekking, mountaineering, cycling or motorcycling; you are sure to find at least one application for which bungee cords are perfect.
The problem is, over the past many years, we have heard a few of our customers complaining about the quality of bungee cords that they had purchased locally from general utility stores. According to them, simply put, the bungee cords that they bought from local market were cheap but unreliable. Some of them would last for years, whereas others would snap during the first use.
And when you are securing luggage with a bungee cord, you really need to be a 100% sure that the bungee isn’t going to decide to snap when you are busy doing what you love out there.
Well, the reason why local bungee cords are unreliable for use in adventure sports is simple, the method of construction. Local bungees are made using inferior material and design. While they can still be used as clotheslines at home, they are not at all the right choice for securing luggage.
To make the difference clearer, we decided to split open both the type of cords and show you their insides.
Original/Genuine MotoTech ® Bungee cord (purpose built for securing luggage or your belongings on the motorbike / bicycle while travelling)
Other Bungee Cords (not meant for adventure sports)
CORE
In this paricular genuine bungee, you’ll notice that the inside of the bungee, called the core, is constructed of multiple elastic strands (120 individual strands to be exact, we counted), which are tightly held together by an interwoven sheath that’s made from a material called polypropylene.
On the other hand, in the local bungee, you’ll see that the core is made of only 5 rubber bands, which are loosely held together inside the sheath.
SHEATH
Now notice the two sheaths. At the time of taking these photographs, both the bungees were cut in an identical manner. On the genuine bungee, there was hardly any disintegration of the sheath, whereas on the local bungee, the sheath disintegrated almost a whole centimeter immediately after being cut open.
SIMPLE MATH
As we saw before, there are 120 strands in the genuine bungee v/s the puny 5 in the local bungee.
Which means, when 1 of the bands inside the local bungee breaks its strength goes down by 20%; whereas on the genuine bungee 24 strands will have to break for its strength to come down by 20%!
Simply put, this is the reason why the genuine bungees can withstand higher degrees of wear and tear and are more reliable.
RANGE OF CHOICE
Because genuine bungees are purpose built, they are available in a wide range of lengths, strengths and locking mechanisms.
Because of this, you have the liberty of choosing the bungee that best suits the application for which you want it.
To take a closer look at the wide range of bungee cords available with us, CLICK HERE
If you’ve had a similar experience regarding bungee cords during your travels, we’d love to know about it in the comments below.
And remember, ride safe and never stop evolving!