Without a doubt the most durable windlass tourniquet on the market. Designed to withstand extreme conditions, we pick this as our winner amongst the windlass style tourniquets for laypeople. It has a metal bar and clasp, solid feeling velcro and nylon that’s been shown to stand up to some pretty crazy abuse. You can’t go wrong with a CAT or a SOFT-T if that’s your preference, but if you’re new to windlass tourniquets and want something government approved and military grade, this is a great pick.
We love that it comes pre-configured, ready to slip over a limb straight out of the package.
Manufacturer’s Description:
SICH-Tourniquet (Strengthened Individual Combat Hybrid Tourniquet) is a strengthened hybrid of two famous tourniquets. It is achieved through using metal strengthening components. Due to aluminum furniture and special patented adhesive tape, integral structure and telescopic platform, this unique tourniquet stood under double pressure and worked successfully even being dirty from bleeding, from any grease or oil, and it didn’t lose its efficiency at extremely low or high temperature (-40 / +50). The tourniquet did not impact soft tissues at its application. Moreover, it can be applied with just one hand.
Metal fittings – Light but rather resistant duralumin fitment can stand extreme working loads.
No injuries – Soft coating + integral buckle and platform + incorporated patented telescopic mechanism prevent from soft tissues pinching and from their atrophy, if the tourniquet is applied.
Triangle for fixing – Our special patented form of triangle enables quickly and securely to fix the stick and the tail of the rope.
Ergonomics – No any extra millimeter. The optimal size of the platform and its holder selected an result of numerous tests conducted under extreme conditions. Maximum square area and force of holder blocking compared with other tourniquets.
Rope for marking – Due to special grey coating it is possible to make markings with any sharp object (bullet cartridge, nail, etc.).
Extra strong sticking technology – Special patented technology ensures extra strong sticking of the tape and its secure and effective operation at any state, being wet, snow-covered, dirty, in frost and heat.
The “CAT” is the gold-standard military grade arterial tourniquet. Field tested in the fields of Iraq, Afghanistan and countless other battle fields, it is the leading arterial tourniquet worldwide. While it doesn’t offer the same ability to be taken into the ocean with you that the SWAT and Omna tourniquets do, and the price-tag is a bit hefty, this is our favourite tourniquet to have on the beach or in the car as a backup. This device has saved the lives of over 1000 civilians and military personnel since the start of the “Global War on Terror”. Barack Obama wanted every man, woman and child in the US to know how to use one. It’s our goal to train up as many surfers and ocean lovers as we can in how to use them – the CAT is the go-to “on the beach” tourniquet to have on hand if life-threatening bleeding results from your ocean activities.
Manufacturer’s Description
The most universally accepted and used tourniquet to prevent death from limb loss. The choice of the US Military and numerous military and civilian response units around the world. Tried and True, made in the USA.
Features
Despite the proven effectiveness of the Combat Application Tourniquet®, the new C-A-T® GEN7 goes even further toward making it easier and faster to use. All six components of the Combat Application Tourniquet® have been re-designed and improved on the C-A-T® GEN7.
Single Routing Buckle – Decreased blood loss, effective slack removal, fewer windlass turns, simplified training with single protocol application standards.
The Omna Ocean Marine Tourniquet was invented by an American Surfer with experience in armed conflict zones. When he found himself surfing near Croc-infested waters, he vowed he’d find a way to make sure he always had a tourniquet with him in the surf. 5 years of intensive product development and testing, and now you have the quality controlled and highly reliable legrope tourniquet.
We were very proud to bring the Omna legrope tourniquet to the Australian public back in 2017. After further product testing and development, the team at Omna has released what we think is AN EVEN BETTER product for surfers, ocean swimmers and divers alike. The people spoke, and Omna listened. This next generation product is thinner, more reliable and easier to use.
We are the original advocates of having your tourniquet somewhere on your body rather than attached to a legrope or your leg – and this product can now fit snugly in your chest zip just like the SWAT-T does, meaning it is a legitimate option for picky surfers (like us!!!) who don’t want anything to get in the way of surfing the way your used to surfing.
NOTE: We no longer offer the legrope versions of the Omna range. We want our customers to have tourniquets they won’t mind having with them in the water, and this product gets a big tick in that box from us
The SWAT is the least complicated and least expensive quality controlled tourniquet currently available. With no hard or sharp pieces, it’s almost like it was designed for the surf community – it can be comfortably stashed in the chest zip of your wettie or in the pocket of your boardies. In it’s vacuum sealed pouch it should age well in your First Aid Kit should you not want to carry it in the surf.
In conjunction with Surfing Doctors, the Better Surf team is doing post-marketing testing to see how these hold up and function after weeks / months / years being exposed to the marine environment – if you’d like to be on the Better Surf Product Team let us know!
Better Surf is happy to make this innovative product available direct to civilians in Australia for the first time. We first got our hands on this tourniquet in the United States a few months back and have since lined up a licensed distributor role here in Australia.
Manufacturer’s Description:
The SWAT-T will treat a variety of injuries, minor to life-threatening. The SWAT-T™ is being carried by Military (Conventional and Special Operations medical and non-medical personnel), EMS, Law Enforcement Officers, Contractors, Federal Agents, and prepared citizens (individually or as part of active shooter kits). Carried by many as a pressure dressing, all-purpose wrap, primary and/or back-up tourniquet.
The SWAT-T™ was developed by a former Operator/Medic with 14 years experience in Operational Medicine -former USAF Pararescue Journeyman (Para-Jumper or PJ), Contractor DoJ/FBI SWAT Operations, National Registry Paramedic, and Emergency Medicine Physician. The SWAT-T™ is being marketed and distributed by H&H Medical Corporation, LLC and its affiliates.
Having to deal with a real shark bite scenario would be amongst any ocean users worst nightmares. These kits were designed by Surfing Doctors, specialising in Emergency and Pre-hospital medicine to make it easier for anyone – medical or not – to save a life in the surf.
Key features
Comes in a water-proof roll top bag with no corroding parts, ideal for salty environments
Waterproof, pictorial instruction card on exactly what you need to do to stop the bleed and save a life. Pegged to the outside of the bag with no gory pictures, it’s there in the heat of the moment, and also just to look at now and again to keep you mentally prepared if you or your loved ones are ever victims of a serious shark bite
Includes only Australian TGA-approved, hospital and military grade components
Designed and hand assembled in Australia
Includes:
Waterproof Roll top bag
1x 2-sided waterproof instruction card
Step by step shark bite management on one side
Step by step arterial tourniquet activation on the other
1x SWAT-T tourniquet. Easy for anyone to use, super durable and packs small and flat so you can have it with you at the point of injury
1x SiCH tourniquet. Ultra Rugged Eastern European design and build. Classic “windlass” design that will keep the military and medical crowd happy, but with a couple of really nice additions that make them the most robust, easy to use and reliable windlass tourniquet for our purposes. Designed specifically to handle extremes of temperature and exposure to the elements
2x 20x20cm hydrophobic “combine dressings” to cover massive wounds, keeping them clean and out of sight while waiting for help to arrive
1x elastic dressing to secure the combines in place
6x XL, Ultra heavy duty combat nitrile gloves to keep you clean and safe when helping others
Lifetime replacement warranty – if the worst ever comes to pass and you need to use this kit on a loved one or random on the beach, you’re a legend and we would be honoured to shout you a replacement (and a beer, of course).
Dr Jon Cohen of Calm As First Aid Kits was interviewed on Beach Grit following the fatal shark attack of surfer Robin Pedretti on the Gold Coast.
From the article…
A catastrophic attack and your buddy is going to lose consciousness in three minutes; after five minutes the outcomes are poor, says Cohen.
“Once someone goes into hypovolemic shock a cascade of bad things happen in your body. It decreases your chance of survival,” says Cohen. “In all of the tactical combat critical care, in military areas, wherever there’s mass casualties, big shootings, bombs, massive car crashes, the only thing that’s indicated to do before anything else is to get on the tourniquet.”
On asked if being trained in the use of tourniquets is the new CPR.
“There’s still going to be a lot more people during of heart attacks, and that’s true in the surf,” he says, “But if you’re surfing with your family, your kids, some group of buddies, getting the crew together to make sure they know what to do, giving it thought, having a strategy of what to do is part of your risk assessment when surfing sharky spots.”
