Ankle Carry of a Tourniquet

[El Cid]

I am looking for an ankle pouch/holster that will hold a SOF or CAT style tourniquet. If it also held a spare pistol mag or a compression bandage, that would just sweeten the deal. I keep tourniquets on my armor, in the car, etc. But most of the time we are in plain clothes and not wearing our kit. I'd like to be able to keep a tourniquet on my body discreetly.

I found this: http://www.tacmedsolutions.com/store/Products_Detail.php?ProductID=96 but can't find any reviews and only the one photo. Has anyone used one? I am not thrilled with the red since this would be concealed and I don't want to draw attention to my ankles for obvious reasons.

Any suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,
Kevin

[Shokr21]

In Afghanistan we initially kept our CAT's in our lower left ankle pocket, then someone with a little better sense realized if we were in a blast we would maybe not have our legs, so we started carrying another in our right shoulder pocket. Keep in mind we also had one in our IFAK and one in our body armor flap easily accessible.

None of that matters to you, what matters is keeping it easily accessible.

Try a sweat band, cheap won't move, will keep it tight against your leg. Why do you have to buy something dedicated to exactly what you want, when a simple thing like a forearm sweatband could likely be your solution.

Maybe I'm out of bounds here, but maybe a simple solution is the best.

[Keydet08]

This wouldn't work with a SOF but with a CAT-T you could just wear it as an ankle bracelet. I just tried it with a CAT-T I had sitting around and it seemed to work just fine. If you were worried about the windlass printing you could just tuck it into your sock so it was aligned with your leg bones. When I put it on I just left the first eight inches or so of the band through the plastic loop (as it comes packaged) and then folded the band back on itself so it stayed around my ankle. If you pull on the TQ the band will expand so you can easily get it around your shoe. IMO any sort of elastic constricting on my ankle to hold a TQ would get annoying fast.

As for the Afghanistan TQ placement I have seen all sorts of SOPs regarding how to carry them. I think the best policy is to realize that they are disposable items and should be carried where most accessible, and every Marine/Soldier/whatever should have at least 2 or 3 on them when they leave the wire. If the material gets destroyed by the sun and dirt throw them out and replace them, I know our BAS had boxes of them just sitting around so there was never any sort of shortage.

[El Cid]

Thanks gents. I'll give those a go and see how I like them.

[PD Sgt.]

I have used the carrier you highlighted for the last year and a half or so on duty. I am L.E., so the risk of IED is less, and ankle carry is a much more reasonable option than for military applications.

For me, working in a uniformed capacity, the red is not that big of a deal. the outside of the carrier is black, and very little if any actually shows. If some does, it is usually the same amount or less than pictured on the website.

The first thing I noticed is that the carrier is of an adequate length for wearing with low to mid height boots. Full size lace up boots, which require at least some of the carrier to be stretched over the boot, require a little more effort to be applied to secure the carrier. I will say that so far the carrier has never come loose or fallen off. This includes participation in felon steeplechase events.The velcro used to secure the carrier is well placed and effective.

I am currently on my second carrier. The first had the stitching holding the velcro start to separate, allowing the velcro to peel. This was directly related to my use of higher boots, when I wore lower mid height boots, everything held up fine. Even with the velcro loosening, the carrier stayed on securely.

The tourniquet itself stayed in place well in the pocket. It would occasionally creep up a bit, but never came close to falling out. Once you find a "sweet spot" on your calf where the tourniquet does not rub on your ankle or shin bone, it is very comfortable. I do not notice the presence of the carrier/tourniquet in normal use.

Overall, I would recommend the carrier. I would remember it is basically neoprene and velcro, and (to me at least) is a wear item similar to gloves, and will need to be replaced from time to time.

Hope this helps.

[TehLlama]

Two columns of exposed MOLLE and some shock cord makes for a passible TQ holder for rig use.

A small sweatband could work... but a bit ghey.

[Shokr21]

If a cheap useful suggestion is "ghey" so be it.

Call me dutch, won't hurt my feelings a bit. I just like finding cheap alternatives laying around the apt. If it doesn't work, then I'll spend the money to get a proven product.

Some might call it "ghey" I call it thinking outside of the box.

Who cares if you use a pink sweatband, it's covered by your pant leg, and I'm sure the person who might get treated with the TQ will give less than a 1/5 of a **** what it was carried around in.

[El Cid]

If a cheap useful suggestion is "ghey" so be it.

Call me dutch, won't hurt my feelings a bit. I just like finding cheap alternatives laying around the apt. If it doesn't work, then I'll spend the money to get a proven product.

Some might call it "ghey" I call it thinking outside of the box.

Who cares if you use a pink sweatband, it's covered by your pant leg, and I'm sure the person who might get treated with the TQ will give less than a 1/5 of a **** what it was carried around in.
Maybe I misread his post, but I think TehLlama was talking about mounting a tourniquet on vest/armor webbing (meaning he didn't read my first post). I know I don't have MOLLE webbing on my ankle or socks... but I'm sure Craphawk will read this and start selling MOLLE ankle setups. ;)

PD Sgt - thanks! I am leaning toward that if the other two methods prove too uncomfortable or insecure.

[Shokr21]

fair enough.

Good luck and let us know if you find a good solution.