When you’re buying cable ties for installation purposes, the difference between a reliable fastening and a failed one often comes down to product quality. With over 40 years experience in cable ties and electrical cable management, we have supplied cable ties to almost every industry that uses them: electricians, scaffolders, packaging, food production, contractors, mechanics, oil & mining, marine, agriculture, events companies, the list goes on. We have supplied cable ties across the UK from large organisations to individuals and we are often told the same thing every time: people want a high quality cable tie that doesn’t break the bank. So we wanted to create this blog so that you can look for what we look for when determining whether a cable tie is fit for purpose.
Over the years we’ve seen every type of cable tie failure imaginable, and we’ve learned exactly what separates proper ties from cheap plastic rubbish.
At first glance, a cable tie is a cable tie, especially black ones. Sure they come in different sizes but to the average person on the street they’re all the same and do the same thing. However, there’s a world of difference in quality, performance, and durability. Here’s what you need to know before making your next purchase.
The first thing to understand is that while most black cable ties are made from Nylon 66, the quality of that Nylon 66 varies dramatically between manufacturers.
Virgin Nylon 66 is the gold standard. Cable ties made from 100% virgin material offer the best tensile strength, UV resistance, and longevity. They’re more expensive to produce, but they perform consistently and reliably in demanding applications, and carry the price tag to go with it.
Ground (reground) Nylon 66 (recycled material) is where corners get cut. If you’re not looking to break the bank on virgin nylon66 cable ties this is where you will be looking to buy. However, you have now entered into the realm of what makes a good or a bad cable tie. Most cable ties in circulation contain at least some ground Nylon 66. This is recycled material that has been reground from virgin products. The important factor here is how much of the cable tie is composed of this ground material. The more ground nylon, the greater the likelihood of structural flaws, weaknesses and brittleness especially in the head and sometimes in the body of the tie. While all black cable ties may look similar on the shelf, cable ties with higher percentages of ground material (while often a lot cheaper) are inferior.
There’s an old saying in our industry: “there are cable ties, and there are cable ties.” The cheap ones might save you a few quid upfront, but they’ll cost you time and reputation when they fail on site. When you’re specifying ties for a job, ask about the material composition.
Here’s something that catches people out: not all black cable ties offer the same UV protection, even though they’re all black.
Standard black cable ties are manufactured from Nylon 66 with approximately 1% carbon content. That carbon gives them their black colour and provides a basic level of UV resistance. For indoor applications or temporary outdoor use (like short term event signage or lighting displays, fixing debris netting), these are perfectly adequate.
However, if you’re installing ties that’ll be exposed to direct sunlight for extended periods (on solar installations, outdoor cable runs, or telecommunications infrastructure), you need proper UV and heat-stabilised cable ties. These contain 2% carbon plus additional heat stabilisers, giving them superior UV resistance and extended outdoor life.
The difference matters. A high quality standard black tie might last 6-12 months outdoors before it becomes brittle. A UV-stabilised tie can last 5-10 years in the same conditions. For permanent outdoor installations, it’s a false economy to use standard ties. If you need anything longer lasting with stronger guarantees your best bet is to look towards something like stainless steel cable ties.
Standard black cable ties have an operating temperature range of -40°C to +85°C. UV and heat-stabilised versions extend this to -40°C to +120°C, which is crucial for hot environments or applications near heat-generating equipment.
Tensile strength is straightforward enough on paper, but understanding what those numbers mean in practice is important. Here’s how our cable ties are rated:
These figures are determined by manufacturer testing, where ties are placed around a smooth cylinder which is then gradually opened, exerting equal pressure on all parts of the tie until it eventually breaks. This standardised test gives you the maximum load the tie can handle under ideal conditions.
But here’s the thing about real-world installations: they’re rarely ideal. Your cable bundles aren’t perfectly smooth cylinders. They have corners, edges, and irregular shapes that create stress points. That’s why we always recommend choosing ties with a safety margin well above your actual load requirements.
Laboratory testing is one thing. Real-world reliability is another. That’s why we’ve developed our own three-stage testing process for every batch of cable ties we receive. These aren’t official tests; they’re practical checks that tell us whether ties will actually perform on site.
First, we take a handful of ties straight from the bag and whack the heads firmly and repeatedly on the desk. This may sound like an attempt at mindless destruction (and in a way it is), but it’s extremely effective. If the ties are made from poor-quality Nylon 66 (particularly if there’s too much ground material in the mix), the heads will either shatter or the tooth will fall out under the impact.
Good quality ties just bounce off the desk. Poor quality ties fail immediately. It’s a quick and easy way to check the quality of the material and it’s saved us time dealing with a number of potential suppliers over the years.
Next, we zip up several ties and try to tug them open again. This isn’t about brute force; it’s about checking whether the locking tooth has any structural weak points. A properly manufactured tie shouldn’t release under reasonable pulling force once it’s locked. If the tooth fails or the head gives way easily, that tie isn’t going to hold under installation stress.
Finally (and this is the most important test), we fasten a tie around a piece of square or rectangular timber (something with sharp corners) and pull down hard on it. This deliberately exaggerates the installation process, particularly for applications like cable tray fixing or scaffolding work where ties are constantly stressed against edges and corners.
As I said before, it’s very rare that a cable tie will be used on a perfectly flat, perfectly round surface. In reality, they’re zipped tight around irregular bundles, pulled across sharp edges, and stressed in ways that laboratory testing doesn’t replicate. If a tie’s body snaps during this test, it’s got structural weaknesses that’ll show up on site.
The body of the tie should be one of the strongest parts of the fastening. If it fails under inadequate force during our corner test, that’s a poor-quality tie that we won’t supply to our customers.
Here’s where even experienced installers can get caught out: bundle diameter calculations.
Let’s say you’ve measured your cable bundle and it’s got a circumference of 300mm. Logic says you need a 300mm cable tie, right? Not quite.
That 300mm length measurement includes the tail, which is the smooth section at the end of the tie that has no teeth. The tail can’t grip anything; it’s just there to give you something to pull on during installation. The actual usable length is shorter.
Additionally, the length measurement typically doesn’t include the head of the tie. Some manufacturers measure from the tip of the head to the end of the tail. Others measure just the body length. This inconsistency means a “300mm” cable tie might actually be anywhere from 285mm to 300mm of usable length depending on the manufacturer and whether they’re working in metric or imperial measurements.
The most common length of cable tie (300mm) can actually be 292mm long depending on what part of the tie you’re measuring from and whether it’s specified in met
