New "Gen 4" SOFT-T Wide Tourniquet vs Gen 3?

[frozentundra]

My daily carry SOFT-T Wide is getting kinda chewed up and I was planning to relegate it to dedicated training use. While shopping for a replacement, I see that they have released a new model that is supposed to be lighter, have an upgraded buckle, and an smoother functioning slider that tightens easier.

Does anybody have experience with how the newer model functions, and especially if it "flat packs" well?

Links to what I'm looking at below. It makes me wonder that I don't see Dark Angel Medical selling them, and yesterday Greg Ellifritz put an Amazon link the older Gen 3 in his "Weekend Knowledge Dump" on the Active Response Training blog.

https://www.rescue-essentials.com/so...-4-tourniquet/

[EricM]

The Gen 4 is about 3.5" longer and the buckle is different, otherwise they seem identical. The Gen 4 buckle is notably thicker...it is of tubular construction, 4.75mm diameter, whereas the Gen 3 is flat, about 3.4mm thick. The hook the buckle snaps into naturally has to be thicker as well to accommodate the buckle, about 9.5mm vs 7mm. Also, the sliding part of the Gen 4 buckle is thicker because its faces are about 15 degrees from parallel, whereas on the Gen 3 those faces are nearly parallel, max 10.5mm vs 8mm. However, when folded flat with Tom's method, I'm not seeing a significant difference.

In use (practice), there's no question the Gen 4 buckle is smoother in action when pulling the strap through, but the only time I could see that making a real difference is when doing a one-handed application without bracing against something for the initial tightening. Because there is less friction from the buckle, it is much more likely that the force of pulling on the strap causes the strap to tighten as opposed to making the whole thing rotate around the limb. I'm pretty new to all this so I don't feel qualified to comment on whether that is really important or not. (It seems to me you always have at least the ground you're standing on to brace against, but maybe there's something I'm not considering.)

Hope that helps a bit, let me know if you have any other questions. Here are a few pics to compare the buckle, Gen 3 on top:

[HopetonBrown]

EricM, wondering if you've seen the RevMedX tourniquet, and your thoughts. I took a 1 day class from a former Army SF medic who worked for the company. Naturally, he liked their product the best, then the SOFT-T Wide, with the CAT offerings and RATS receiving a thumbs down.


http://www.revmedx.com/rmx-tourniquet

[EricM]

Sorry, don't have any experience with that one. And to be clear, I do not have any medical background to have an informed opinion anyway. Just trying to come up to speed on this stuff.

[frozentundra]

Hope that helps a bit, let me know if you have any other questions. Here are a few pics to compare the buckle, Gen 3 on top:

It helps a lot, thank you! Those comparison shots are really well done.

I've had some occasional trouble getting the Gen 3 to cinch down correctly on my own arm without rotating. Usually when applying with my "dumb" hand, while letting my "smart" arm dangle in an incapacitated fashion. Probably operator error, but I'll take any advantage I can get if/when I"m bleeding to death, as I'll likely not be on top of my game. If the Gen 4 addresses that particular issue, while still packing reasonably flat, then I'm definitely going to give one a try.

Thanks again for taking the time.

[EricM]

I've had some occasional trouble getting the Gen 3 to cinch down correctly on my own arm without rotating. Usually when applying with my "dumb" hand, while letting my "smart" arm dangle in an incapacitated fashion. Probably operator error, but I'll take any advantage I can get if/when I"m bleeding to death, as I'll likely not be on top of my game. If the Gen 4 addresses that particular issue, while still packing reasonably flat, then I'm definitely going to give one a try.

You may already be familiar with this technique, but here's a video that (starting around 0:50) shows examples of bracing for a one-handed application. Bracing in such a manner, in my very limited experience, is most reliable and works well with either Gen 3 or Gen 4 -- but like you say, why not take every advantage you can get.