A great part of my "stop the bleeding" kit, and easier to use than a CAT
I carry tourniquets in all my first aide kits - most of them started off as "boo boo" kits, with band-aids and gauze, but I've added good shears, tourniquets, clotting gauze, and chest seals to them to build an effective "stop the bleeding" kit.<br /><br />While there are many CAT tourniquets in my my kits, I recently tried out the SAM XT, at the recommendation of a military combat aide instructor.  He claimed (and I agree) that the SAM XT tourniquets are a bit more "fool proof" to use.  Simply loop over the extremity and pull until it clicks, then tighten the windlass.  CAT versions work well enough, but can be difficult to use on yourself or get tight enough before winding.  These take the guesswork out of that process with the self setting tightness mechanism.
Rating: 5 stars