Written by: Greg Ellifritz
I spent some of my day off today working with three of the new CoTCCC-recommended tourniquets.
I self applied the TMT (Tactical Mechanical Tourniquet), RevMed TX2, and RevMed TX3 to each limb. I was able to achieve full occlusion (no distal pulse) on all applications.
I like the extra width of the TMT and the Ratcheting TX3.
TMT
The TMT has a really fast buckle to allow the tourniquet to be quickly unfastened to place around a limb without having to slide the looped tourniquet up the limb from the hand or foot. It seems really fast to apply to another person in that mode. Despite the speed, the buckle seems cheaply made and I’m not sure how well it will hold up. Time will tell.
The TMT is about as difficult to apply single handed as the SOFT-T. It’s not horrible, but it isn’t super fast either.
The ratcheting tourniquets are very slick. The problem with them (like any tourniquet) is that your initial placement must be very tight before you start ratcheting. Otherwise you will run out of ratcheting band to tighten. The pull loop makes it easy to get the tourniquets on tightly when using two hands.
The TX-2 and TX-3 have the same closing mechanism. They differ in width.
With a single hand, the instructions state that you should hold the pull loop with your teeth to prevent the tourniquet from sliding during application. Really? Is that the best they could come up with? It worked, but it wasn’t easy.
I expected the ratcheting tourniquets (without windlasses) to be smaller. The ratchet mechanism is fairly thick and heavy. Folded up, they are actually a bit larger than the footprint of a CAT.
For use on another patient, I like these new additions. For self application, they are all slower than the CAT. As I primarily carry my tourniquet for ME, I’m going to keep carrying my CAT.
I have the RMT and the SAM-XT on order and will report on them when they arrive.
For research on all the tourniquets recommended by the Committee on Tactical Combat Casualty Care read my Tourniquet Research Review.
