I’m currently using the SOF Tourniquet, with aluminum bar.
Scroll down, it’s the first on when you get to the tourniquets.
http://www.cavalryarms.com/medical/MISC.html
I have ordered Med stuff from Cavalry Arms, great company to deal with and they ship to Iraq!
I am still using the CAT. The SOF is good too, but is a bit more bulky. I carry 4 CATs on me at work. Two are on my kit, and two are in the pockets of my flightsuit.
So, two are above waist, and two below. I do this because blasts tend to mess up gear along with bodies. It would suck to find out your CAT is laying 10 feet away in the pocket of the leg that used to be attached to your body. 
Interesting that you posted this, as having a “tourniquet resource” thread was something I wanted to start in the new section. There certainly appear to be a lot of options. Here’s a few that I’m aware of that look to be the most common or at least the most marketed towards our purposes. Listed alphabetically.
Cavalry Arms
$15
Combat Applications Tourniquet (C-A-T)
$30+/-
Mechanical Advantage Tourniquet (MAT)
$36+/-
Racheting Medical Touniquet (RMT)
$30+/-
SOF Tactical Tourniquet (SOF-T)
$25+/-
SWAT-Tourniquet (SWAT-T)
$9+/-
I also have a CAT- you are right about being less bulky. Less secondary frag also…
Rob,
A bunch of guys out here [in the past] carried a modified ratchet strap as a tourniquet, they will work, but under stress it’s easy to over tighten and cause even more tissue damage.
Some still might use them, but they weight about 1lb.
Our medics don’t recommend them.
Anybody have a side by side comparison of the tourniquets?
I am currently carrying the SOF (with tactical black windlass), but it is pretty big. It looks like the CavArms is a relatively more efficient package, but I really have no idea, and I am interested in the CAT if it is a space saver over the SOF and has been effective.
F2S, I have, or will shortly, all of the above on order from one place or another. I was trying my best to find one place that had them all so I could pay shipping one time but that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen. I want to weigh, measure, etc. each one and get some apples:apples photos of each one.
Cinch Tight Tourni-Kwik 4 (TK-4 or TK-4L)
Thanks, forgot about those. Adding to the post above.
I can get you a side by side pic of the CAT & SOF ones later tonight hopefully.
The twist bar on the CAT is plastic, seems pretty stiff but I’m not sure how much pressure it would take to break.
Anyone know anything about the MAT?
http://www.acep.org/workarea/showcontent.aspx?id=40782
EVALUATION OF SELF-APPLIED
TOURNIQUETS FOR COMBAT APPLICATIONS 2007
CAT and SOF Tactical Tourniquets. Best I could do…
Side note on the SOF, I had the “flap” folded under the main section of the twist bar so the screw lock device could be seen easier. Normally the scuba webbing also be under that screw lock device. Hope that makes sense.
The CAT definitely folds up flatter and is lighter.
Carried them back in 2006. Nice idea, but the thing broke. Plus, when you let off the pressure and it unwinds, it goes very fast which is a bad thing.
Not sure if they are better now. Lastly, they are bulky.
Bad thing about the CAT is it is all black. This can be bad in a low light situation, such as … on the floor of a Surburban with your sunglasses on, bouncing down a road.
Rob, you should have some made in Yellow to match your visor!
I have SOF, CAT and LBT Ratchet Tourniquet.
but I prefer the CAT because it’s quite KISS…
FWIW, it does come in orange
I carry two SOF tourniquets in every bag and vest I have, plus two LBT ratchet tourniquets in my med bag for serious lower extremity trauma such as amputations and blast injuries where I am not necessarily as concerned about additional tissue damage as I am about stopping blood flow.
We use the SOF-T.
I carry a MAT for personal use due to ease and I have (2) SOF-T’s.
