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Thread: Soft, CAT or RAT?
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07-06-2019, 21:53 #1
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Soft, CAT or RAT?
Which one are you carrying?
I'm doing some research into what to pack into an IFAK/range med kit and would like to understand from the medics amongst us which of these tourniquets they would recommend; keeping in mind that the average user would likely not be medically trained.
I'm partial to the CAT but that's not based on any solid scientific evidence.
What say you?
TIA
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07-06-2019, 22:13 #2
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
I'm no expert by any means. When attending a "stop the bleed" course with Rob McCallum last year he recommended 3 types of TQ and we trained with them.
CAT - This was the easiest to apply one handed. Overall ease of use and good design makes this an awesome piece.
SOFT - Very "heavy duty" TQ but a little more difficult to apply one handed.
SWAT - This is an elastic tourniquet that's harder to apply in untrained hands and might not be as effective as the other two on the upper leg. Can be used as a pressure bandage as well.
In my IFAK I carry a SWAT TQ, compressed gause and latex gloves. Reason being the SWAT is compact and extremely versatile. In a bigger kit that I do not need to carry on me, I'll personally have a CAT.
Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk
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08-06-2019, 06:39 #3
Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
Only the CAT Gen 6 and 7 and the SOFT W, the wide version, are on the CoTCCC list.
The Gen 7 CAT is pretty much the state of the art at the moment.Cattle die, kindred die, every man is mortal:
But I know one thing that never dies,
the glory of the great dead.
Havamal
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08-06-2019, 07:00 #4
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08-06-2019, 07:30 #5
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
For those of us who had to Google it, CoTCCC is the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care.
Found these videos covering the 'new' approved TQ's.
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08-06-2019, 10:14 #6
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
CAT Gen 7 and SOFT are great tourniquets. I prefer the CAT Gen 7.
Stay away from the RAT and knockoff CATs like "rotation compression tourniquets".
SWAT-T tourniquet is nice to use as a pressure bandage with some gauze, not so much as a tq.
Meddev and Cerberus Tactical Outfitters are great for med gear.
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13-06-2019, 20:57 #7
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
Been filling up on information over the last week.
For starters, it appears that the RAT mostly gets a no vote straight out the gate. So that's not happening.
It then comes down to the CAT and the SOFTT-W. The SOFTT-W gets a bit of a nudge over the CAT in that the wider strap results in less soft tissue damage.
This is my layman's understanding, of course, so take it with a pinch.
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13-06-2019, 23:48 #8
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
CAT Gen7
SOFF-T Wide Gen 3 or 4
SAM XT
Those are the only ones I'd use on myself
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13-06-2019, 23:59 #9
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Re: Soft, CAT or RAT?
RATS has been proven ineffective numerous times, in fact a substantial amount of people when on a spree and burnt their RATS tourniquets at the beginning of the year in the USA after more proof of its failures was released.
The CAT gen 7 is easier to apply one handed although the SOFT T wide gen4 is meant to overcome this minor issue that the gen 3 had. SOFT T wide and CAT are the established trusted brands although the TCCC guidelines recently approved a whole bunch of new tourniquets. Personally I carry a SOFT T wide daily due to the fact that it can be flat packed into a slimmer profile compared to a CAT. As already mentioned be cognisant of knockoffs especially the CATs seem to be a favourite to copy.
If you want to watch informative videos on Tourniquets (reviews and demonstrations) go search for Skinny Medics YouTube channel!
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28-08-2019, 16:12 #10
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