Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am an active duty EMT. I have never had to apply a TQ in an emergency situation on the job. Last week, I ran a circular saw across my left wrist and completely severed my radial artery, tendons and ligaments. I applied pressure, then wrapped my wrist with an improvised TQ, (an extension cord) and set off to find a real TQ among my supplies. The first tourniquet I found was a RATS, but I was covered in blood and couldn’t get it to work. While I was still lucid, it was unnecessarily complicated and time was of the essence, so to speak. The SWAT T was next, but I couldn’t even get it out of the package. I discarded both and found my CAT T and a few seconds later I was safe. I called in a rotor, but by the time it arrived I was unconscious. I was airlifted to a level 1 trauma center 200 miles away. If it wasn’t for the CAT T, I wouldn’t be typing this review, even though I’m doing it one handed. When seconds count, only the CAT T worked for me. When I got home yesterday and time wasn’t an issue, I tried the other brands again, along with another experienced EMT. Neither one of us could get either them to work quickly, effectively or properly. Both of these other brands had been hyped by either my agency or Medics I work with. As it turns out, none of the other EMTs and medics where I work had ever actually used a TQ when a life was on the line, much less their own life, and when they were on their own. FIVE IMPORTANT LESSONS I LEARNED FROM THIS. First: ONLY BUY THE ORANGE. When seconds count, all the black stuff in your kit looks the same, and if a newbie was helping you, they couldn’t tell the TQ from any of the other myriad black things in your bag. Second: THE TQ GOES ON TOP, IN THE MAIN COMPARTMENT. I almost died because I had everything arranged in separate compartments and couldn’t remember in which compartment the TQ was. The only way I found it was to upend the entire kit on the ground. At work we do a daily inspection of our trauma bags, but our own First Aid kits are rarely, if ever inspected by us. PUT THE TQ ON TOP. Third: REPLACE ANY OTHER BRAND OF TQ WITH A REAL NORTH AMERICAN RESCUE CAT T. Ignore all the armchair medics and people hawking “new and improved” tourniquets. The CAT T works. I’m speaking from experience; I only had seconds to live, and only one tourniquet worked like it should. Fourth: Circular saws, or any power saws are dangerous, so don’t work alone. I’ve been a contractor for almost 50 years, and it still happened to me. Fifth: A properly applied TQ hurts worse than the wound.