My bicycle kit is shifting more to a focus on trauma with a reduction on owwies, based on Montanero’s comments, the it will probably have both a SWAT-T and a C-A-T. My collision with another bike (BTDT) resulted in a big owwie to my left forearm that really hurt but wasn’t enough to stop me from riding home; a collision with a car might need a TQ, big pressure wraps and 9-1-1. Just over-thinking.

It has no windlass.

It requires two hands to apply as a tourniquet.

It breaks easily when attempting to apply sufficient pressure to achieve occlusion, especially on thighs.

While the SWAT-T is better than nothing, I strongly urge the CAT for everyone other than medical professionals. The SOFTT-W is preferred by medical professionals I know and trust for buddy aid, but the CAT is the only CoTCCC approved tourniquet that works well one-handed for self aid.

Thanks, good post. There’s an article at wiki/Emergency_tourniquet

I like the SWAT-T because it’s 4” wide and should make an excellent aid for direct pressure, but that article indicates I may need to get a 3rd TQ besides the SWAT-T’s. The SOFTT-W looks good and is mentioned in the article as is the C-A-T.

Some may ask why and that was discussed earlier in this thread. It’s usually a layman who is first to an accident scene. That person dials 9-1-1 and then what?? It would be a good thing if that layman had first aid training and also had the ability to stop serious blood flow. That’s how I and I think others here are approaching this.

Taking the thread off on this TQ tangent for so many posts, it should have been a separate thread, but it is what it is.

If someone needs encouragement to go for a first aid training it is good to keep in mind that the odds are at about 80% that the skill will be used on someone you care about.
I know a motorcycle club that requires a yearly refresher for the members (usually taken at a club event). Their approach is: "if you don´t care enough for your fellow people to take that training, you´re not fit to ride with us". Those people carry a customized FAK when they ride too.

This has been a most informative thread and has resulted in my first ever purchase of a dedicated TQ (I probably will add another model, as well, most likely the CAT).

But let's do keep this in perspective - most bleeding can be stopped with direct pressure. That has been my experience attending to well over 100 accident scenes with blood flow.

And no system is perfect - windlasses can break. Pneumatics have their problems as well. Imagine applying a pneumatic at 4,000 feet to a patient who will ascend to 8,000 feet, to eventually land at a hospital at 2,500 feet (been there, done that).

If there is one significant injury, there is probably another, potentially even more serious, problem with the victim that is easy to overlook (often a spinal complication) that require careful handling.

Max makes an excellent point about treating someone close to you. In fact, if you have any, it will probably be your offspring. So handle your DNA with care!

The CAT is light, effective, not too expensive. It is not a burden to include in your kit.

I may add two more TCC care cards (they take up no room) and replace the QuikClot, 25 g with QuikClot Combat Gauze, Z-Fold; that would be it. After the tug-a-war in my mind, especially over the wound care items, I think I have it.

MEDICAL INFORMATION / TRIAGE
(1) Wilderness & Travel Medicine
(1) Tactical Combat Casualty Reference Card
(2) Tactical Combat Casualty Care Card

PERSONAL PROTECTION
(1) Biohazard Waste Bag
(1) Rescue Mask, Soft Case
(6) Personal Antimicrobial Wipe
(2) Emergency/Survival Blanket
(2) Respirator Mask
(2) Bear Claw Glove Kit

BLEEDING
(2) Combat Application Tourniquet, Rescue Orange
(1) QuikClot, 25 g
(2) Trauma Bandage, 4"
(4) Compressed Gauze

AIRWAY
(1) Bolin Chest Seal
(1) Hyfin Vent Chest Seal Twin Pack
(2) Nasopharyngeal Airway w/ Lube, 28 Fr

WOUND / BLISTER / BURN
(2) Trauma Pad, 5" x 9"
(1) Burn Dressing, 2" x 6"
(3) Burn Jel, 3.5 g
(1) 30 Band-Aid, 6 Knuckle, 6 Moleskin
(1) Cloth Tape, 1" x 10 yds.
(1) Stretch Gauze, 3" x 4.1 yds.
(1) Wound Closure Strips, 0.25" x 4"
(12) Antiseptic Towelettes
(2) Benzoin Swabsticks
(2) Oval Eye Pad
(2) Petroleum Gauze, 3" x 9"
(2) Povidone-Iodine, 22 mL
(4) Cotton-Tipped Applicator, 6"
(4) Non-Adherent Dressing, 3" x 4"
(4) Sterile Gauze Pad, 4" x 4"

IMMOBILIZATION
(1) Disposable Cold Pack
(1) Disposable Heat Pack
(1) Elastic Bandage Wrap, 4" x 4.5 yds.
(1) Splint, Orange, 4.25" x 36"
(2) Cravat Triangular Bandage

MEDICATION
(1) Eye Wash, 4 oz.
(2) Glucose, 15 g
(6) Aspirin, 2/pk (Analgesic)
(6) Diamode, 1/pk (Anti-diarrheal)
(6) Diotame, 2/pk (Stomach)
(6) Diphen, 1/pk (Antihistamine)
(6) Hydrocortisone 1% Creme, 1.5 g
(6) Ibuprofen, 2/pk (Anti-inflammatory)
(6) Triple Antibiotic Ointment, 0.9 g
(2) Hydration Powder
(1) Insect Bite Treatment

INSTRUMENTS
(1) Catheter Tip, 18G
(1) Digital Thermometer
(1) EMT Shears, 7.25"
(1) Irrigation Syringe, 20 mL Luer Lock Tip
(1) Tweezers
(3) Safety Pins, 2"
(1) Disposable Penlight
(1) Permanent Marker, Extra Fine Point

I also got the C-A-T trainer, practiced with it and demonstrated it to Mom. It's easy to use. The hard part was figuring out how to fold it, correctly, after practice.

The car kit is the next project; before I do anything, Mom wants to go to look at the current car kit to see what we have.

Jeanette Isabelle

I regard 'First Aid' as aid to an injured person to keep them alive until 'Secondary Aid' arrives. i.e. not paper cuts or sprains.

A well ironed largish handkerchief and training are all I feel I need.

1. We are never far from secondary aid. No wilderness or ocean use, that is a different requirement.

2. I naturally always carry a handkerchief anyway.

3. Can be deployed in fractions of a second.

4. It will double as an expedient particulate mask with, surprisingly, a good protective factor. (yes, I have tested them professionally)

5. Does not generate any liability of use. Easily counts as 'good samaritan' in UK case law.

6. In almost 70 years of life I have never needed anything else, which may be a fact of living in the UK or luck. I doubt if I shall be challenged with needing more in my lifetime.

I agree about the utility of a handkerchief or something similar, but the most worthwhile days are spent on the water or in wilderness - either on just a personal basis or professional..... And then there are cases like the lady who drove off a cliff, spending seven days before discovery and treatment.

I've added a second Bolin Chest Seal and two decompression needles.

Though I have not been trained with a decompression needle, I have a friend who served in the military and has done the procedure. The point in getting the needles without the training is that I have them in the off chance that I am with someone who knows how and when to use a decompression needle but does not have one. It's one of those situations in which it is better to have them and not need them than to need them and not have them.

Jeanette Isabelle