This pocket dump comes from David Sproles who lists his profession as personal financial adviser. It includes the requisite items plus a R.A.T.S. tourniquet. R.A.T.S. – Rapid Application Tourniquet System – tend to be best for the smaller limbs of children and pets or as a secondary tourniquet.
How many of you guys carry a TQ and which style do you prefer?
RATS TQ is not good gear. It’s a tactical tchotchke for combat cosplay… like a paracord bracelet, shemagh, etc.
Stick to a TCCC-approved TQ like the CAT or SOFTT-W, guys.
Was gonna post wondering how long before REEEEEEEEEing about the RATS but it was literally first post.
GG.
But is it really REEEEEEEEing if it’s about anything other than good boy points and chicken tendies?
Isn’t that watch a ‘Tag’?
My pockets are full of stuff already. Then there’s the gun, knife, reload, multi-tool, flashlight, oh – and the one-year-old on the hip. The RATS tourniquet is easy to use and -perhaps most importantly- easy to CARRY. Unlike other bulky TQ’s, I don’t have a problem threading the RATS through my belt loops which makes it such a low profile that I can carry it every day. Some people may think it’s “tacti-cool” postering but I know how to use it and at least I can have with me every day.
It may be easy to use and easy to carry, but it’s not effective at doing the intended job – stopping massive blood loss from a limb. Would you carry a gun that is a jam-o-matic, or would you pick one that you can count on to work when you need it? You’re more likely to use the TQ than the gun. There are plenty of belt and ankle holders for real TQs if you’re pockets are too overburdened.
Have you tried one?
My guess is 90% of people who knock it have never even applied one.
I teach TECC/STB multiple times every year. No one, and I literately mean no one out of hundreds of people, who has never seen a RAT before was able to use the RAT successfully the first time.
Nearly everyone gets the CAT/SOFTT right the first time.
Yes. I have. Many times. I have never been able to get one to work. I Regularly teach TCCC courses I bring along a dead pig and I replace its femoral with IV tubing and stimulate blood flow. No one has ever been able to get that flow to stop with the rats. Ever. And these are not big pigs. Maybe 80 lb total.
That’s a very accurate statement. Most have never actually used one in a real life encounter. My son did in a motorcycle accident on a severely severed leg and it worked. That being said I think there is better and the CATT is my go to and carry. still carry a RATS in my bag for my grandkids and dogs though.
I think you’re right. They’re stupid simple, although they may require a bit more strength than a wind-up tourniquet. RATS is good gear.
RATS work fine for me. Tried and tested it before making it part of my edc. Plus, I carry a standard tourniquet in my bag, a couple in my truck, and even a couple throughout the house. Since I carry so much other stuff, having a rats in small form is better than having nothing at all. If I go out in areas where I know a standard tourniquet is more practical, like the woods, then I’ll carry one. For edc at work, shopping, around town, etc etc… A RATS is fine and I trust it to keep me alive long enough given the scenario provides I’m able to do so. Get one on Amazon prime, test it out, and if it doesn’t work or you don’t like it, send it back. I personally love having the small form factor in my pocket over the bulky CAT style.
Black and white photo needs more diffused lighting, those shadows throw it off.
RATS tourniquet for me. Why? Because if I am injured and alone, I can still put it on myself on my strong arm.
You can do that with the cat as well. Even faster.
RATS = aggressive marketing
RATS =/= any medical studies or evidence that it is a functional medical device
“It works for me because I tried it at my dining room table” does not equal it being an efficacious device folks. The general consensus in the tac medical community is that the small width of the device is going to lead to ligature injuries. I can stop bleeding with a boot lace as well but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Until I see a peer-reviewed and published study showing it is safe, I will carry a tourniquet that has been SCIENTIFICALLY proven to work. CAT for me all day, every day.
Out of the hundreds of people I have taught STB/TECC to over the years, I have not had one, that is ZERO out of hundreds apply the RAT successfully with no previous instruction. Even people with previous TQ knowledge, yet almost everyone can apply the CAT/SOFTT with near to no knowledge.
The amount of people I have seen wrap the RAT around once and then tie it into a bow is what keeps my STB/TECC classes in business.
My main EDC is a Stinger missile launcher, and my backups are 4 Desert Eagles (2 on each ankle). Plus I keeps a Barrett 50 cal slung discreetly over my shoulder. So if anyone engages me, there will be no use for a tourniquet. A mop and bucket, yes! A stupid ass tourniquet, no!
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