I've carried a SOF-T daily for almost 2 years now as a result of one of your videos, and I got one of the newer generations with the extra bracket. I love the thing, it's bulletproof, and I practice with a training duplicate like crazy, but that bracket was of incredibly poor quality-- it snapped after two or three uses. Just putting it out there that I wouldn't trust that bracket to maintain tension-- the triangle is what works, even if it's pretty hard to get the windlass in there. Thank you for everything you do, though, Prepmedic-- you've upped my knowledge where the average red cross course couldn't.
Went into this saying “I can’t wait to rail this dude for saying anything other than a CAT”, but this was actually super informative and I’ll definitely add an RMT to my kit. I’ve used a water logged CAT before and it was less than fun, the RMT looks like a great backup/primary care TQ.
Great video. Thanks for taking time to make it. I would add one comment: a March 2020 study concluded that "both SAM-XT and CAT7 demonstrated a better pressure profile and hemorrhage control rate compared to SOFTT-W, with no significant difference between the two. The better outcome measures were strongly correlated to less slack". I haven't used any of them thankfully on myself, but I've had many who love the CAT and now the SAM XT. Keep up the great videos.
In my opinion the SAM XT ist the best choice for a strictly civilian EMS Tourniquet. Especially over here in Europe, where we don't have that many providers with military background. It's quite unlikely, that we'd ever have to apply it to ourselves and most of us are familiar with the locking mechanism from the SAM Pelvic Slings. So you don't need as much training and you mitigate the Risk of applying to little pretightening force.
Great content, as always! I’m trying to help a friend make an IFAK for her family’s boat. This was one of the things I was hesitant about. Like you, I use the SOF-T and the CAT mostly and was looking for a maritime alternative. Thanks!
Very nice summary. I would reinforce two of your points. The most common cause of tourniquet failure is that tourniquets are initially applied with too much slack. The second most common cause is Velcro failure. The SAM XT was developed to eliminate slack and Velcro dependence. It solves both problems very well.
Just one i have come across i thought i would share, Tourniquet - RapidStop, seems to address a lot of the concerns raised here, especially the being able to get it past obstructions ones
What i like to do with SOF-T's is to swing it like a lasso to tighten it enough to fit around my arm better. This makes it more convenient when I'm tightening it for real because I don't have a ton of slack to deal with. Maybe not very ideal in some tactical combat scenario, but I'm personally more likely to get injured in an accident than in combat/crime
Just got my Omna ratchet tourniquete which I thought would be perfect for maritime and scuba application. And than saw your video) And yes, there's newer a perfect things. Very interesting, thanks.
Have you seen the Snakestaff System ETQ Tourniquet? It is small and easy to carry. I am a retired Fire Captain/Paramedic and am an EMT/Paramedic Instructor. I will look into adding these to our equipment to teach.
the only real issue I see with the ones that ratchet other than what he was saying is it looks like the handle for the ratchet mechanism is pretty small so it might be an issue if you have larger hands
Just bought a SAM-XT to put in one of the water bottle pouches of my backpack. After I had to use my SOFT, I had been carrying a blood pressure cuff and a hemostat because I am a cheapskate EMT gonna EMT lol
An outstanding video. I think you should design "the perfect tourniquet", modifying for different environments, and sell the line of them. You could retire early... ;-)
I’m looking at getting a tourniquet, I have never owned one but have used one. I want to only carry 1 in my bag and i want to be able to trust it 100%. After looking on Amazon there are a lot of crappy 10 dollar ones that have good reviews and then ones that say it’s just a scam and it broke after 2 seconds. I will say the RMT looks fantastic, it seems great for self application and also seems reliable. Should I just go with the RMT?
My opinion: If u want to use it on ur self, buy the rmt. If u want to use it on others I would prefer the SAM or if u want the Cat. but also the rmt works well here. when there will be a lot of dirt or water the Sam or the rmt is best. I would never trust such 10 dollar stuff when things get serious
@@Flo-hv1zu yeah, bought the RMT and I have tested it on a lot of people. Skinny, fat, muscular- it doesn’t play around and it hasn’t broken yet even though I put on a 300 pound corn fed MF.
@@astatine5781 But out of my own interest: you have no comparison to a cat7 or a Sam XT for example, do you? It would be interesting to see if it doesn't matter how heavy the patient is with one of these both
Haha nooo. The rats is one of the most hated TQ of medical professionals everywhere. High occlusion pressures, comes off with patient movement, difficult to apply in real world situations etc..
Get a degree while you're in, then when you're out, join the local cop. From there you can sign up for swat. You won't always be in the swat team. You only get together when training and actual deployment. If you're not training or on actual deployment, you're on your regular cop duty. At least that's what I was told.
In theory it's a multiple time use device. In practice/field it's a once and done. Reason being, you don't want the chance of a tq breaking on you because you played with it. So you want a fresh unused tq. Also if you have to use a tq, most likely it will get blood on it. You don't want to use a bloody tq on someone else do you?
@@UnfiItered What if you simply wash the tq when you have time after the action? Put it in proper state, than it can be used again? The only thing is that the manufacturer and the law doesn´t approve re-using tqs, but without any visible physical damage, I think it is pretty obvious, that you can use it again.
any suggestions for Pediatric applications? I noticed many of the CAT and even my SOFTT was too big for a kids, and while a lot of people crap on RATS I found that it worked really well for the kid in question. BUt its RATs..... soo any better alternatives?
I just got the SAM tourniquet, thinking it was the best design, however there’s no way to turn the windlass more than 1/2 a turn. It binds on the plastic and makes a mess. ALL THE VIDEOS showing it only do 1/2 turn, then some fancy editing and hooking it into the hooks. How about you, have you been able to turn it 1-2 full turns? I’m starting to think it’s a bad design. 😕😒
@@PrepMedic great thanks for the reply. Can you tell me is there a difference between the SOF T and the SOF T Wide? I can’t seem to find any measurements or details, and most places don’t list the “gen” generation. I buy mostly off ebay not amazon. Will buy from other suppliers if price & shipping are reasonable.
Any thoughts on the Recon Medical TQ? It's a 1 on 1 CAT copy, but with an aluminum windlas, which eliminatess the breaking of plastic windlas' problem. It's not CoTCCC approved but has a lot of good user feedback.
There is no published data on the Recon cannot be recommended. Furthermore, windlass failures are usually user error, Gen 7 doesn’t have any published data on windlass failures.
Мені подарували TMT турнікет. Наскільки він нормальний, хто і що може сказати про нього? Він підійде, чи краще все обрати щось інше?.. Я з України, у нас зараз м'яко кажучи неспокійно, і така річ, нажаль, може стати у нагоді...
1) yes. But why tf would you not train. Get 2 tqs, use one as a trainer and get a friend and learn it. It’s not rocket science. 2) did you even listen to the video? Listen again. Each one has its best uses. Only you can know which is the best one for you.
Yes. Tourniquets are made to stop blood loss from extremities with arterial or substantial venous bleeding. If you get a chance, I would suggest a stop the bleed course. A lot of people choose the CAT due to popularity but depending on your needs the alternatives mentioned in the video are great options.
@@ReadySetGoPictures 1) I'm 16, that's why I don't get trained 2) are there any difficulties regarding applying them which need live/real life training, that's what I mean with which would be the best for someone who isn't trained
Try a CERT class, when I took one, they had 16 years in the class. Also ask if they give “ stop the bleed “ classes too. Awesome that you want to learn to save someone or yourself
@@aronvdr00720 To be fair, I got that training at about 13... Nevertheless, I'd recommend (as said here previously) the Stop the bleed course, getting one TQ and trying it on yourself... A pretty good thing to do is doing a quick exercise to get your heart rate up, get a tad stressed (10-20 quick pushups and some jumping jacks?) and then try to put it on with one hand - isn't as good as professional training, but it'll show you how "good" you are at it, as far as a bit of stress is considered (don't overtighten after this, though... also not medical advice etc. :D). In the end, it's great that you want to get into this at such a low age, and I encourage you to try what people here suggested! As far as specific tourniquets go, I would personally go with the CAT because that's what I've trained with. However, as a civ, the SOFT-W might be a good idea since you're "usually" gonna help someone else and not yourself (generalising, don't hate me ppl!) and it folds away better - would still take the CAT over it any time tho.
Good information to be sure but the cat and soft will still be king. They work and they are proven. Other than that just carry 2-in electrical tape....
Forget a tourniquet carry zipties instead. They work better, smaller, lighter. Can be used as handcuffs, fix your clothing or rifle, camping, small appendages, hanging gear, holding on a bandage. Can get ones that are reusable too.
Zip ties cannot be used as tourniquets. There are actually a lot of studies about that and they are almost 100% ineffective. The STAT TQ was one brand that tried to be a zip tie TQ and they failed miserably.
They literally tried to make a tourniquet that was a zip tie. There is no mechanical advantage to zip ties and they simply don’t have the pressure needed to stop arterial flow.
There are quite literally studies that show zip ties are not adequate tourniquets. 1. Like I said, you need a mechanical advantage. 2. Any restricting band needs to be at least 1.5 inches wide to bring the occlusion pressure down to a manageable level. This both increases effectiveness and decreases discomfort and tissue damage.