Utility Cycling - Potentially Handy Gadget: Adjustable Bungee Cord

http://www.thinkgeek.com/clearance/on-sale/df72/

I picked up a couple of these since strapping things to my bike racks frequently requires wrapping and stretching and trial and error. I haven't had a chance to use them yet, but they seem solid. They're pretty heavy-duty, and I can stretch them without the adjustable-ness slipping. Hopefully they mean no more carrying multiple different sizes with me when I do shopping.

They seemed useful, so I thought I'd post 'em here.

They seem interesting and handy. Would have to see if they hold out over time. For most my loads bungees can't handle it. Cam and/or Ratchet straps are a must.

Fancy. You can get similar cords at Lowes / Home Depot. Maybe not quite as nice (no "clean tie off" toggle), but cheaper...

Then again, those think geek ones are on a nice discount... really not that bad of a price...

Those look like they can be very useful.

Marc

Those look like they can be very useful.

Marc
I've got something around here which is a similar idea, called "magic cords" I think. No pics, but they are 4 lengths of shock cord, and 4 football shaped, lugs that you thread the cords through and pull sideways to lock into place. You can pull through as much, or as little as you want, and you can chain 2 or more together. I was just trying to remember where they are, ..where else? strapped crosswise over the snap deck on the Dummy!

Personally, I like the Nite Ize figure 9 (http://www.niteize.com/collections/figure-9/products/figure-9-small-1) gadgets. I have several in small, medium, and large. I find them virtually indispensible.

Personally, I like the Nite Ize figure 9 (http://www.niteize.com/collections/figure-9/products/figure-9-small-1) gadgets. I have several in small, medium, and large. I find them virtually indispensible.

That looks pretty neat. FYI, the bungees from ThinkGeek are actually the #9 version of the Nite Ize KnotBone Adjustable Bungee (http://www.niteize.com/products/knotbone-adjustable-bungee).

I did use one of mine to strap a 16 lb bag of cat food to the top of my Mundo. It worked well, though that's not a particularly heavy load.

That looks pretty neat. FYI, the bungees from ThinkGeek are actually the #9 version of the Nite Ize KnotBone Adjustable Bungee (http://www.niteize.com/products/knotbone-adjustable-bungee).

I did use one of mine to strap a 16 lb bag of cat food to the top of my Mundo. It worked well, though that's not a particularly heavy load.

I find these nearly indispensible. I have used the figure 9's to secure stuff to my rear rack, attach cargo to the back and/or top of my child trailer (Goodwill or recycle runs with the kid), attach stuff to my car's roof rack, bind several 2x4's together for carrying them up some stairs, make handles on a rope for a TRX (http://www.amazon.com/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=trx&tag=googhydr-20&index=aps&hvadid=7138295379&ref=pd_sl_8988sxwsde_e) style suspension workout, tie stuff down in the back of a truck, haul huge loads of brush in my wheelbarrow, as ends to tie my Hennessy Hammock up, to tie a ridgeline on a tarp... the list goes on...

I imagine they would also work with bungee material. Even so, I see virtually no use for ratchet/cam straps or for bungee cords: there is nothing they can do that my figure 9s can't.

On a side note, I've recently started experimenting with Prusik (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prusik) knots. I use those for suspension training (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_Training) in order to make quickly adjustable handles, thereby adjusting the height...