It looks very similar to the ones used when giving an injection / putting in an IV. If it is, it won’t get enough pressure to stop a major bleed.

I think you might well be right.

The CAT is also an excellent option. That's what I have in my kits.

CAT is great. They are also plentiful and inexpensive in my area.

Have any of us needed to apply a tourniquet to an injury after direct pressure didn't work, outside of a battlefield situation? I am curious, because of the few hundred SAR incidents I have been involved in, we have never applied a T. I can understand that battlefield injuries are a different situation, but I suspect that most civilian situations are easier to control. Direct pressure has always done the job in my experience.

How many of those incidents involved an arterial bleed?

I don't think that's what you meant. The CAT and the SOF-T are pretty similar in appearance and operation. The SWAT-T is quite different and not easily applied one-handed.

Where the SWAT-T works for me is in my laptop bag, where it's cheap, multipurpose and much better than nothing in a low-threat environment. I have a CAT with the trauma kit I carry at the range. When I'm serving as an RSO I'd much rather prevent someone from getting hurt. If Plan A fails I'd like to be able to keep them alive to get them to the professionals.

Good question - not sure,precisely - perhaps 10 to 15. Om at least a couple of occasions we started IVs to compensate for lost blood - one was a major amputation (arm). Direct pressure worked nearly always; a couple of times we did use pressure points.

One feature of my experience is a major amount of lag time between the injury and the arrival of responders. Even with prompt notification, the interval is likely to be an hour or more.

One point I would make is that, when space and weight are critical, don't bother carrying a specialized T. Use your bandanna and a stick.

Who has actually deployed a tourniquet?

There is no pneumatic aspect of this "tourniquet". Basically an elastic constricting band with a release buckle.

Pete