Quality Rubber Bands

There are black UV resistant rubber bands used for offshore fishing. Google Fathom Offshore and rubber bands. Come in # 64

Or just google UV resistant rubber bands, will probably generate a lot more opetions. Regular rubber bands degrade rapidly

Hair ties are great. The best I've come across are the Scünci elastic hair bands and they are a decent bit more durable than regular rubber bands.

They are, thankfully, available on Amazon.com and fairly common everywhere else, too.

The other thing that has worked well for me is cutting bicycle innertubes into "ranger bands".

Oh! So it's the UV that's eating up my rubber bands?! Wow, it doesn't take much, either.

Thanks for the sources, guys.

Why not smoke you own from light shock cord?

I'm with Dale. Custom sizes available.

Shock em if you got em.

Second the shock cord … use them to wrap up platy bottles, gloves, neoair, wrap around sawyer mini and its accessories, you can larks head them on anything or tie them on … everything … I get the 1/16th from zpacks …

Sorry, I don't understand? Buy shock cord and make it into a loop, how? A cordlock?

Tie it in a knot? I do it all the time. Google "double fisherman's knot" and "figure-8 follow-through". The former is easier to pull apart I think.

Cut up bike inner tubes work great, depending on how much stretch you need.

Steve

I'm a Scunci silicone hair tie sort of guy. Not the fabric covered ones, but silicone. They come in several sizes, and they're pretty lightweight. They aren't as strong as bungee cords or inner tubes, but they are the best "rubber bands" I've found. No need to eat asparagus anymore, to get those blue or purple macho rubber bands (which eventually also degrade, but more slowly than regular ones).

+1 for Scunci; last a while + not heartbroken if I lose a few. I'll just steal more from my wife!
"…to get those blue or purple macho rubber bands…" Good grief I rolled on the floor; I thought I was the only rubber band miser. Don't even get me started about my twisty-tie fetish…
Discovered the Scunci a few years ago after getting sick of my keys jangling on my belt carabiner all the time. Like annoying background music. The perfect silencer! Just wrap em up & I don't sound like a Christmas sleigh ride.
Also: check out the Bandits by Darkfin (http://www.darkfingloves.com/bandit-s-industrial-strength-rubber-bands.html) for "Industrial Strength Rubber Bands". They actually work great at handling larger objects & have a much higher tensile strength. These have worked outstanding as "double insurance" particularly for waterproof protection on small Otterboxes + simliar containers. This past weekend I was just able to stretch one over an Exo Gear speaker during a packraft outing. These can degrade over time (the company recommends treating w/cornmeal-based powder for storage) but a bag of these will last a while. If the Scunci is too small, grab some Darkfin Bandits.

Delmar,

As an ex-resident of the Inland Empire during some of the smoggiest years (“what mountains?”), I can say that smog will kill rubber bands and many other rubber-like products quickly.

Scientists made early smog measurements using rubber bands:
http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/Archives/History/marchcov.html
After tire manufacturers noticed that rubber deteriorated faster in Los Angeles than other areas of the country, researchers at Cal Tech showed air pollution to be the cause. They found that rubber exposed to high smog levels cracked in just seven minutes. Thus was born one of the early methods for measuring ozone levels — stretching rubber bands around jars and timing how long the bands took to snap.

I suggest:
– Moving to a less smoggy location
– Storing your rubber bands in plastic bags with the air squeezed out
– Switching to silicone rubber bands as others have suggested, should be more smog resistant.

Good luck.

— Rex

PS: Entertaining LA Times article on the history of smog in LA.

Delmar,

Thread below may have some info of interest to you:

HERE

edited to correct link

Daryl HERE is the thread you wanted to link ,your link just goes to a photo. A +1 to Gary’s suggestion.

"a bag of these will last a while"

Do you use an entire bag at one time?

–B.G.–

Delmar,

Here’s a quick video I made of how I use shock cord …. hope this helps! Shock cord also attaches to the item so you don’t lose it …

Shock Cord Video!

"Do you use an entire bag at one time?"

No, Bob, they're not like potato chips, where you can polish off the whole lot in one sitting. It would take you several days to digest a bag of Darkfins, I'm certain.

Trace,

Thanks for taking the time to do the diy shock cord system video. Very informative.

I'm addicted to standard size (#64) rubber bands which I can operate with my eyes closed under a cold shower with people yelling at me while I'm watching tv……and driving a car.

However, I can see specific applications for the diy shock cords. I want to introduce them slowly so I don't shock my system.

Awesome! How much does one weigh, say for the Neoair? Also, what spec/where did you get that shock cord, it looks pretty thin, I've never seen it that thin. Had a thought-you know how you started off with the wrong end when undoing the neoair? A small 1cm piece of cord tied on just before that loop would let you know which one is the one to always pull off. Could just be a piece of white spectra or similar. Cheers!

(I posted this comment on the youtube video too. Really good of you to do the video on this)

Thanks! This weighs .5 grams for neoair …. for the small ones for say, a platypus, maybe .2 …. so it's a no brainer! I have an extra loop on the good end I just couldn't see it because I was looking through the camera …. the key with these isn't just that they don't break, it's that you don't freaking lose them as they attach to the object they're on! Nothing worse then losing a rubber band for your your roll up platypus bottles and then managing them as they unroll all the time … This is the 1/16 shock cord that is available from Joe at Zpacks … :)

You can also larks head them onto anything when you tie them into a loop … so if you have something with a hole in it you want to attach to something, say an accurate thermometer you want to attach to your pack without using a carabiner … just larks head it on with shock cord ….

OK I'm convinced. The evidence is overwhelming. Shock cord it is.

What a bunch of ingenious ways to use shock cord in Trace's video. And it appeals to every organizational urge I have.

And THANKS for the video!!

No problem! Here's one more pic of it being used to lark's head onto an accurite thermometer … this then can be larks headed onto a pack or hammock or tent …..

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1472524202963922&set

Aha. Excellent.

I have that same Acu-Rite thermometer sitting here on my desk, with the suction cup removed, and I've been pondering how to attach it to my tent.

If I wanted to make a continuous loop, that is, basically make a rubber band out of shock cord, would it be possible to sew the ends together? Or is knotting the way to go? If that's one big strand of elastic inside, then sewing probably wouldn't work. But if it's multiple strands of smaller elastic, then maybe, if I use a ball-point/jersey needle?

I just tie it in a knot to create a loop, clip the extra end and singe it with a light, which probably isn't necessary ….