Thanks for updating your old thread! There was a lot of great information in here and I agreed with most people that the CAT is about the simplest and quickest for most folks who are not combat medics. I just wanted to add that I have now replaced my beloved CAT tourniquets in my IFAK with the SAM Extremity Tourniquet (XT). SAM Medical was nice enough to send me a couple to evaluate (I write for an international police publication) and I was at first sceptical about all the holes. But they make a good point in that most people don't put them on tight enough. The SAM XT solves that because the ratchet locks into the holes when enough tension is reached. I would now say that the SAM XT is the quickest and easiest TQ I have ever used.

The reason they sent me two is that I wanted to test one to destruction. (It's what I do before I write about stuff.) They said to do what I wanted with it, and send them back the pieces. Here is the amazing part - I could NOT break the darn thing. I tried everything. As I was sitting in my backyard frustrated because I couldn't break it, I started eyeing up my floor jack that I had just used to change over the tires on my truck. It is rated at 3-tons. Hmmm.

So I wrapped the XT around the jack and started cranking. Now, either I am getting old; the jack is not performing up to its rating; or ... well, I STILL could not break it. I just finally gave up, marked it for training purposes and threw it in with the rest of my training kit.

I am loving the SAM XT. And, lest you think I am saying that just because they sent it to me for free, so did CAT. I still love my CATs and they go in my big vehicle kit, but the one on my hip that I am going to trust with my life (and hopefully never need) is the SAM XT.

By the way, I did the same test on the CAT and it was equally impressive. It held until near the end when I couldn't crank anymore, and the velcro started slipping a bit. And don't forget that this crude backyard - literally - test FAR exceeded any practical or operational usage.

And, it's always nice to know that if my floor jack ever suffers a severe extremity wound, I know what to go for first.