Fake Combat Application Tourniquets (CAT's)

[motoboy]

Well crap i'm only one for two.

One of my buddy's that is a former EMT doubled up his order from a company called Recon Medical and got me some stuff. The CAT he got for me is a fake.

Another good vid that North America Rescue made that shows some good side by side info..

[clodhopper]

Alrighty. Somebody needs to help eshplain it to me.

I get it that the supposed "fake" isn't the real deal, but it was less cost and appears to me to still be just as functional, minus the narrow windlass issue. All the minor differences touted as identifying the fake don't appear to affect function. What is the big deal here? If you were paying full price and getting a knockoff, I could understand that. The amazon one is about half the cost, which means I can have two for the same price, more likely to have one handy. Don't bother tossing in here the "what is your life worth" argument, we all make value judgements on everything in life.

How is the "fake" going to be less than serviceable?

[hurley842002]

Alrighty. Somebody needs to help eshplain it to me.

I get it that the supposed "fake" isn't the real deal, but it was less cost and appears to me to still be just as functional, minus the narrow windlass issue. All the minor differences touted as identifying the fake don't appear to affect function. What is the big deal here? If you were paying full price and getting a knockoff, I could understand that. The amazon one is about half the cost, which means I can have two for the same price, more likely to have one handy. Don't bother tossing in here the "what is your life worth" argument, we all make value judgements on everything in life.

How is the "fake" going to be less than serviceable?

I'm guessing you didn't see post number 10?

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[DenverGP]

I've got two of the recon medical ones, used one at cmailliard's training class, it was just as strong as the actual NAR ones. Applied it full force several times. I trust it enough that it's in one of my first aid kits.

[Sawin]

Thanks for sharing cmailliard. I have not noticed those subtle differences until you pointed them out and have admittedly directed folks (like yesterday, which i suspect prompted this thread) to the knockoffs... for what it's worth, I have used one of the knockoffs for demonstration purposes and torqued it down as tightly as I could on a "fun noodle" (foam water toy)... as well as tightly enough to stop flow of blood in my arm... and the knockoff one worked just fine. I guess it could "pop" and fail at any minute, but I tend to think like clodhopper a little bit here and having multiples more readily available is not a bad thing.

I suspect like anything else, there are degrees of quality amongst the frauds as well...

[MarkCO]

Chris, or anyone else, have you tried this one yet?

[Wulf202]

I played with a previous version of that. Lacked the large pull ring. Requires two functional hands, or teeth as pictured. Heavier and more expensive but it definitely works. It's actually more comfortable because of the width.

We didn't have any kids around but I suspect the minimum limb size is much larger than a child's arm.

[MarkCO]

I played with a previous version of that. Lacked the large pull ring. Requires two functional hands, or teeth as pictured. Heavier and more expensive but it definitely works. It's actually more comfortable because of the width.

We didn't have any kids around but I suspect the minimum limb size is much larger than a child's arm.

They make several variants. The one pictured is for over 120 pounds. I was able to put it on with one hand, so maybe they have upgraded. They just sent me this one for demo this week.

[Mtneer]

How is the "fake" going to be less than serviceable?

Watch the video I put up in post #4. As Sawin suggested, there's likely a huge range of quality among the fakes. You don't know what you got until you test it, hard.

Since cost is a factor for most of us, instead of buying 2 known fakes of questionable quality, consider buying a real CAT-7 and get a RATS as your backup. The latter is in no way equal to a CAT or SOF-T but it's lighter, smaller, and cheaper. Plus the RATS is superior for kids and dogs. I have an AR sling with a RATS sleeve built in and you barely tell it's there. One is none....

[clodhopper]

Watch the video I put up in post #4. As Sawin suggested, there's likely a huge range of quality among the fakes. You don't know what you got until you test it, hard.

Since cost is a factor for most of us, instead of buying 2 known fakes of questionable quality, consider buying a real CAT-7 and get a RATS as your backup. The latter is in no way equal to a CAT or SOF-T but it's lighter, smaller, and cheaper. Plus the RATS is superior for kids and dogs. I have an AR sling with a RATS sleeve built in and you barely tell it's there. One is none....

I am not trying to be an ass. BUT.... the video you reference does not answer my question. The only thing close was his test that the original needed only 2 twists while the fake needed 5. That doesn't tell me it wont be serviceable, but rather difference in application/use.

I get it. It is important to support quality providers, and there are many fanbois of having the best of the best. I am not LEO, paramedic, etc. EVERYTHING I purchase has to pass through the cost/value matrix as my money isn't endless and I have much more to purchase than just a fancy top end first aid kit.