Last Updated on 04/02/2022
How Do You Make a Water Bottle Holder With Paracord?
When you are traveling with a water bottle and don’t have anywhere to store it, carrying it in your hand might seem like the only option. In this guide on how to make a water bottle holder with paracord, you will learn a simple trick that will serve you for the rest of your life.
There is more than one way to make a water bottle holder with paracord. You can make an elaborate jug sling by weaving the strands together or you can make a simple attachment that will achieve the same thing. In this guide, we will be looking specifically at the simplest way to make a paracord water bottle holder using the least amount of cordage and effort.
I first discovered this trick at a music festival when I was carrying a big bottle of water around with me. I saw somebody else doing the same but they were wearing their water bottle over the shoulder like a handbag instead of carrying everywhere they went like me. As soon as I got back to my tent I cut a length of cordage from my tent guy lines and made my first paracord bottle holder.
What Do You Need to Make a Paracord Water Bottle Holder?
You don’t need any tools or special equipment to make this work, you just need two things to make a water bottle holder from paracord:
- About 1 meter of paracord or similar cordage
- A water bottle
It really is that simple. Yes, you can make elaborate slings out of 4 different strands of cordage that create a sort of bottle net but this isn’t necessary and only adds more weight to your pack. The method I teach is far simpler and requires a fraction of the paracord.
3 Step Guide to Making a Water Bottle Holder from Paracord
There is no complicated weaving or braiding to do with this simple method to creating a carry handle for a water bottle, just three simple steps.
Step 1: Cut your paracord to length
You want about 3 – 4 feet of paracord to begin with and the ends should be sealed with a lighter or candle to prevent fraying.
Basically, it needs to be long enough to form a loop that will leave the bottle sitting at hip level. So if you are tall you may need more paracord and if you are short then less is needed.
Step 2: Tie it around the neck of the bottle under the lip
On every plastic water bottle, there is a lip at the top of the bottleneck which sits just below the level the screw cap will tighten to. This is where we need to tie our cordage to the bottleneck using your choice of knot.
You can go simple with a simple overhand knot like the one we use here or learn something a bit more difficult but more effective like the jug sling knot. Keep reading for a video demonstration on making a jug sling knot further down the page.
Make sure you leave enough length at each end to tie a knot and join the two ends together.
Step 3: Secure the two ends to make a loop
To secure the two ends, again, I like to keep it simple and just use a basic knot most of the time.
Start by tying an overhand knot at the very top of each end.
Then you can tie a double overhand knot to bond them together and finish the bottle holder
How to Make a Jug Sling Knot (Video)
Making a jug sling knot for a wide-rimmed water bottle made from paracord takes a little bit more practice and knowledge of knots. If you are interested in learning this bushcraft skill then watch the video below for visual instructions.
Can You Use Rope to Make a Water Bottle Sling?
If you want to use a rope to make your bottle carrier instead of paracord then you should go for something thin. If you only have a chunky rope then you would be better making a proper jug sling as seen in the video above and the rope is a bit too thick to catch the lip of a bottle and may slip off when the bottle is full of water.
Can You Add a Carabiner Instead of a Shoulder Strap?
Absolutely you can use a carabiner clip instead of a shoulder strap. This way you can attach your water bottle to your backpack instead of carrying it over your shoulder. To do this you simply need to shorten the shoulder strap to around two or three inches long and make a small loop for the carabiner to slot through. You use the same technique as laid out in our step-by-step guide on how to make a water bottle holder with paracord.
