Link – With Tourniquets, You Get What You Pay For

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Friend Of The Blog ™ ,Rawles, over at SurvivalBlog has a link to this gem:

All 50 study volunteers were successful in applying the CAT tourniquet in under 60 seconds. With the MTET, only 40 combat medics (80%) succeeded, with the MTET requiring a longer median time overall to complete the task. In addition to failing the 60-second test, mechanical failures (14%) were encountered in the form of a bent windlass rod, ripped stitching, and a deformed buckle. I don’t need to tell you that mechanical failure of a tourniquet can mean the difference between life and death.

I’m amplifying ,Rawles’ post because while I am a fan of saving a buck, there are some things that one should just not cut corners on….stuff that keeps you from dying is some of that. A new real-deal CAT is less than thirty bucks. Paying half that for a knockoff only seems like good sense if you don’t really believe that there may someday be a time you’re gonna need the thing. And when you do need it, and your knockoff doesnt work right or breaks, and you’re watching the red stuff pouring out of you, you’ll happily pay anything to have it stop. Hope you enjoyed the $15.

I’m not saying don’t cheap out on some things, I’m just saying don’t cheap out on this.

When these things are on sale from a trusted source I will buy a bunch. And when they come up for sale again, I’ll buy more. Theyre great gifts, good trade items, and if you’re gonna carry one you really should be carrying more.

Maybe you read about someone in a car acccident or accidental shooting and their just-as-good knockoff TQ saved the day. Great, I’m happy for them. But they rolled some dice and got lucky. For me, being a survivalist is about always working to improve the odds in my favor. I’ll pay the extra fifteen bucks rather than spin the wheel next time something happens that makes me go “Uhm…thats not good.”

14 thoughts on “Link – With Tourniquets, You Get What You Pay For”

  1. Tourniquets are great for the limited applications they are required. The Israeli compression bandage/wrap if far more useful in most incidents requiring “stop the blleed” situations. They are easier to use and far cheaper – have several.

    • Different tools for different jobs. There is significant overlap, but at either end of the spectrum. The TQ is preferred when you can only have one.

      From a Corpsman with the USMC & NYC Paramedic.

      • An Israeli bandage is not sufficient to stop an arterial bleed by itself. If it was then the IDF and US military would have never reintroduced the Tourniquet. They both have their intend purpose and sometimes are used in conjunction with one another. It would be like saying do not buy chest seals because Ziplock baggies and duct tape will work for your sandwich and sucking chest wound just as well. Have a good IFAK that covers the range, do not cheat yourself or loved one because you are cheap.
        https://www.rescue-essentials.com

  2. You have four limbs.
    Anyone possessed of less than 4 TQs must decide which limbs they would happily part with.

    Now count how many tribe members you may be called upon for a response.
    Do the math.

    That doesn’t mean all on your body at once, but rapidly available nearby is a minimum, anyplace they might be needed.
    When someone’s blood is spurting, it’s a bad time to spaz and fumble, let alone wonder “Where O where are my other TQs…?”

    Power tools in the shop? Check.
    The tool bag with your chainsaw and logging accessories? Check.
    Shiny box with wheels that does 100MPH? Check.
    Going camping or hiking in places where you cede top slot on the food chain to things with claws and fangs? Check.
    Your bump-in-the-night/things-are-getting-sporty ammo cumberbund? Check.

    Even then, still only about the price of one good pistol.

    And buy at least one orange one, take it out of the package, and train with it annually, at minimum.
    Strong hand, weak hand, teeth and elbows, whatever you can imagine.
    Teach the Significant Other and/or any kidlings too, as necessary.
    It only takes a second grade education, and modest muscle skills, for about one minute.

    You ever need one, you’re not going to get a second chance to do it right the first time. Neither will they.

    This is Math For Dummies easy.

    • I would steer clear of any medical gear on Amazon. Far too many Chinese-garbage fake products make it through Amazon’s all-but-nonexistent vetting process for suppliers.

      If the day comes that you need a tourniquet, you need a real tourniquet not an airsoft-grade fake product. Buy from a reputable dealer located in the US.

  4. In a pinch, a necktie will do, but it is certainly not optimal. Being drenched in blood and twisted tight enough to stop circulation ruins an expensive silk tie, and although the lady lived, she did lose her arm. In retrospect, I don’t think anything could have saved the arm, though.
    Due to that traumatic experience in my youth, I now I carry two TQ in my vehicles at all times, plus one in each IFAC. You just never know what might happen, and when.

  5. Since this appeared yesterday, I’ve found several advertised brands of the Israeli compression bandage that are all supposedly wonderful. Can any of you steer me to one or more that is not a ripoff at a reasonable price? Thanks, Gray Fox

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